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Program Notes
The main theme of the first movement of the quintet is lively and syncopated, with a blues-like mixing of major and minor modes; there is also a more singing, lyrical theme, and an eventual combination of those contrasting characters and musical ideas.
The second movement begins with a simple, prayer-like melody in the trumpet; the music grows more pleading and agitated before reaching a slightly uneasy peace at the end.
The third movement is based on “El Nora Alila”, a Sephardic tune used in the closing service of the holiday of Yom Kippur–a jubilant tune used as part of this most solemn of holidays. In this piece, the melody is made into even more of a lively dance by the way it is presented rhythmically; it is developed in this dance-like fashion throughout the movement, also combining with the opening theme of the first movement.
—Gerald Cohen