Joachim: Hebrew Melodies, Op. 9 For Viola & Piano/Intl

Category: Viola and Piano ** Title: Hebrew Melodies (On Poems of Byron), Op. 9 ** Composer: Joachim, Joseph ** Edited by: Leonard Davis ** Publisher: International Music Co. ** Difficulty: ASTA grade 4.

Joseph Joachim's Hebrew Melodies, Op. 9 were composed sometime in 1854 or 1855, a good 40 years after the publication of the poems that inspired them. The poet Lord Byron, in collaboration with Isaac Nathan, and English composer of Jewish heritage, published in 1815 a set of 29 songs, also entitled Hebrew Melodies, which are today better known simply as poems; the music is largely unheard and difficult to come by. Probably the most famous of all the poems in the collection is "She Walks In Beauty," which has proven itself to be among Byron's most immortal works. Joachim, like Nathan, was Jewish, and drew from similar liturgical sources when composing this setting, though Joachim limited himself to three movements in this piece.