TORONTO—On April 3, Journey to Jerusalem, a novel oratorio composed and conducted by Eyal Bitton, gave its first Toronto performance to a full house at Beth Tikvah Synagogue. Originally composed for Jerusalem's 3000th anniversary, it premiered in Montreal in 1996.
While the performances by the choir and soloists were not outstanding, the overall impact of the work hailed as "The Jewish People's Oratorio" was fully felt by the mostly white-haired crowd; with the exception of a few grumpy grandpas, a deserved standing ovation was instantaneous and genuine.
Described in Wholenote magazine as "an epic and majestic oratorio recounting the 5000-year journey of the Jewish people," the oratorio is divided into five sections: God, National, Homeland, Exile, and Return. These signify the following periods in Jewish history, respectively: the birth of the faith itself, the observance of the Torah, the establishment of a homeland, the 2000-year diaspora, and the creation of the modern state of Israel.
Journey to Jerusalem is called a modern oratorio because it does not consist solely of classical music; added to the mélange is some musical theatre, Andalusian, Sephardi, klezmer, and Ashkenazi music.
Although a few songs are derived purely from Biblical and liturgical texts, Bitton's libretto simplifies the scriptures such that any given gentile can follow along. The generally homophonic, sometimes modal writing is ear-friendly, concerned equally with declamation of text and an almost poppy catchiness.
The Beth Tikvah Choral Society is a religiously motivated group of individuals, rather than professionals who have musical training. This hardworking choir was fine when singing tutti, but individual sections at times seemed devoid of vigour or maybe just plain nervous. Nonetheless, a casual observer may not have been aware of these minor qualms. Some sections were truly moving, particularly the choral dialogues spoken by God and the Angel.
The soloists were not consistently cast. Thirteen-year-old Yehezkel Lipinsky sang the parts of Isaac and Ashkenzi Boy mostly in tune and with satisfactory conviction, adding an element of haunting realism to The Offering. Cantor Tibor Kovari also did fairly well, obviously connecting to his assigned characters. His juicy role, depicting Abraham, High Priest and Ashkenazi Cantor, was also the meatiest musically. This role would be even more appropriate for a professional, classically trained performer.
Disappointing was the performance by Michéle Tredger, mainly because the soprano misuses her impressive instrument. The graduate of Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts and McGill University possesses great range and a delicate, honeyed timbre, but sings with an over-the-top approach to vibrato. Nearly every note she sang came through as manufactured nasality and got in the way of her interpretation. Rather than boldly Biblical, her performance came across as sub-par Broadway.
The 25-piece orchestra of violins, violas, cello, contrabass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and timpani, was flawless under the direction of composer Eyal Bitton.
Despite any minor inconsistencies of Toronto's premiere of Journey to Jerusalem, it is doubtless that this oratorio will survive; after all it has a built in audience. Eyal Bitton's strongest songs in the score—Jerusalem, The Gift of God, Exitus Iudaeus, and Sepharad—do great justice to the subject of Judaism while never seeming overly didactic. Moreover, the timely musical work is as accessible as it is enjoyable, which ultimately is what does justice to Journey to Jerusalem.
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