February 20, 2004

A composer's spiritual quest becomes a symphonic "Odyssey of Faith"

In the musical world, sometimes the most unlikely forces come together in the most serendipitous ways.

The collaboration among a Louisiana orchestra, its German conductor, a prominent rabbi, and a native New York composer and his massive symphony-oratorio recreating nothing less than the essentials of the Jewish faithwill be realized on March 4 and 6, 2004 when the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) under Music Director Klauspeter Seibel premieres College of Music Professor Stephen Dankner's 85-minute Symphony No. 5 ("Odyssey of Faith").

With liturgical guidance from Rabbi David Goldstein of the Touro Synagoguea mutual friend of both composer and conductorthe piece uses prophetic texts from the Old Testament as well as poetry written by children who perished in the Holocaust. Utilizing the full complement of the LPO and combined choruses of the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans and the Loyola University Chorale (with soprano and baritone soloists Ellen and Philip Frohnmayerboth College of Music voice faculty), and a stage band, these performances mark the largest ensemble ever presented to concert audiences in New Orleans by the LPO.

A composer of more than 60 works including string quartets, concerti, song cycles, sonatas, film scores, and seven symphonies, Dankner had been contemplating writing a piece of these dimensions and with this subject matter for over five years. Driven by the events of September 11, 2001, Dankner began the work on September 12 and finished it 10 weeks later.

Symphony No. 5 is in three large sections: Genesis of Faith, Loss of the Sacred Spirit (Abandonment), and Redemption. Part One is concerned with the origins of faith and employs two choruses: one singing in Hebrew for the words of God, and the other in English for the narrative and commentary on the Jacob's Ladder story. Part Two opens with a Lamentation which leads into the poem The Butterfly, written by a child who perished in the concentration camps. In an eerie portrait of the kind of music performed by Jewish prisoners in the infamous Theresienstadt concentration camp orchestra, Dankner took the typical instrumentation and arranged a Schubert march. This "stage band" is pitted against the full orchestra, which distorts and deconstructs the little march until it is unrecognizable, leaving only a fragment fading away into Prayer of Memorial. In another Schubert quote, an accordion, as Death, plays a lonely folk-like tune, telling a weary traveler "it is time for you to go with me." Part Three combines the earlier prophetic texts with a message of hope, using passages from Ezekiel 37: 11­14 recounting the resurgence of the Jews from death and the resurrection of the people. To affirm God's covenant with the children of Israel, both choruses sing the Sh'mah Yisrael (Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God; the Lord is One). A benediction for all humanitya prayer for peace closes the symphony.

Seibel is effusive in his praise for Symphony #5: "Stephen Dankner is a wonderful musical storyteller," he says. "You listen to his music and you understand his message, because the music thrills your intellect and your emotions." The composer is adamant that his symphony is not just for Jews, nor is it a dogmatic work espousing only the Jewish viewpoint. "The piece sums up my personal quest for my spiritual relationship to the religion into which I was born," says Dankner, "and became my own odyssey of faith."

A native of New York City, with music degrees from New York University, Queens College, and The Juilliard School, Dankner is a prolific composer and teacher. His works have been recorded on more than half a dozen CDs on the Albany, Gasparo, Centaur, and Romeo labels, and many of his chamber works have been performed in Europe, Asia, and throughout the United States. His commissions have included the Audubon Institute, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the LPO, which premiered his last three symphonies. Dankner has been a visiting composer at the Aspen Music Festival, was a grant recipient from the American Music Center, and received two Louisiana Arts Fellowships, among many others. Since 1986, he has been on the faculty of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts/Riverfront and is a part-time instructor at the Loyola College of Music.