The Jewish Song

Finnish-Swedish Moses Pergament (1893–1977) was a prominent and well-known figure in the music scene, active both as a composer and as a music critic for Svenska Dagbladet, but sadly now largely forgotten. He was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Helsinki but moved to Stockholm in his twenties.

The Jewish Song was composed towards the end of the Second World War, while the Holocaust was still ongoing and becoming increasingly revealed. The texts are taken from two of Ragnar Josephson's poetry collections from the early 1900s: Kedjan (”The Chain”) and Jewish Poems. There, Pergament found ”the feelings of a true Jew. Not a contemptible nationalism, but a liberating sense of solidarity, even in the greatest suffering”. The work has been called a choral symphony, but in his biography of Pergament (2016), Carl-Gunnar Åhlén argues that symphonic song cycle would be a better description.

This is masterful, overwhelming, and emotionally impactful music that over the years has sadly been neglected. The only recording available is from 1974 – with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, soloists, and choir conducted by James DePreist. It was also the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra that premiered The Jewish Song in its entirety in 1947, after various planned performances had been delayed for years, probably due to political anxiety – even after the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Here, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir are led by Tobias Ringborg, and as soloists, we hear singers Agneta Eichenholz and the Norwegian Kjetil Støa.