Find out why Oxford composer Jeremy Arden has written a composition drawing on an ancient religious scale
When Jeremy Arden began researching the sounds of klezmer music he found that the genre drew on a scale that stretched back to use in ancient religious services. Now he is using this distinctive sound for his own composition, Im Freygish, which will be performed in Oxford this winter.
What does ‘Im Freygish’ mean?
‘Freygish’ is an ancient cantorial mode, also known as the Ahavah Rabbah mode, the Mode of Supplication, and the Altered Phrygian mode.
I was fascinated that these ancient scales had found their way out of the synagogue and into secular klezmer music. The ‘freygish’ is perhaps the most distinctive, not least because its name translates as ‘Abounding Love’, from the words of prayer in the Shabbat morning service. This scale, which some say has come to us from the time of King David, is the basis for klezmer all over the world. It has a beautiful sound, a kaleidoscope of minor and major notes with a Gypsy resonance. It is also a nine-note scale (rather than the normal seven), which throws a shot of dissonance into the mix.
Leo Appel (1st violin), Elena Kenyon-Gewirtz (2nd violin), Tabitha Appel (viola), Rachel Appel (cello); Jeremy (Jay) Arden is at the front
Tell us about the piece you wrote using this special scale.
I’m not observant but I love the synagogue and its community, especially its cultural programme. I wanted to write something to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the founding of Oxford Synagogue, which was marked in 2017. Several of our young members are brilliant musicians and it was clear that three members of the Appel family (Leo, Tabitha and Rachel) and their friend Elana Kenyon-Gewirtz would make a wonderful string quartet. My composition has four movements, each based on elemental themes: earth, air, fire and water, which, for me, contain all of Jewish history and culture. Im Freygish contains many echoes from the past projected in my contemporary musical voice.
Our ensemble performed the first two movements of Im Freygish at Oxford Synagogue’s anniversary event and at the launch of Rebecca Abrams’s book, The Jewish Journey (p14). Now the remaining parts are complete, the whole piece will be performed for the first time in December in Oxford’s Holywell Music Room.
Have you used Jewish music in your work before?
This is the first time I’ve drawn on Jewish traditions in my music. It has been a way of connecting to my heritage. I’m writing a new composition for piano based on the same mode and I’m delighted at how the scale keeps on giving new forms.
By Rebecca Taylor
Im Freygish takes place Thursday 19 December. 7.30pm. Phone for prices. Holywell Music Rooms, Oxford, OX1 3SD. 01865 276 125. See JR listings for more info or contact arden1@virginmedia.com.
This article also appears in the Oct 2019 issue of JR.