Symphonic arrangements and folk tunes associated with the history and traditions of the Jewish people will be woven together in the music to be presented in the “Epic of a Nation” spectacle on the night of July 20 in Soldier Field as a climax to Jewish Community Day at a A Century of Progress.
Leo Kopp, conductor and student of Jewish folk music, music director for the spectacle, is negotiating to present the “Hebraic Rhapsody” by the Russian composer, Zolotaroff, as a highlight of the spectacle’s opening scene, laid in Palestine.
The presentation will trace the history and life of the Jews from ancient times to the present, through many lands and ages. There will be a scene from Spain before the Inquisition. Merry folk dances will mingle with the elaborately costumed dances presented in the courts of the Spanish kings. Mr. Kopp has composed most of the numbers of this scene.
Symbolizing the suffering and despair which was born with the Inquisition will be the music of “Kol Nidre” and Bloch’s “Israel” symphony.
Later the dramatic action, music and dancing will lead the audience into the Chassidic period. This scene will feature music which has been associated with the epoch.
Hundreds of dancers, a chorus of five hundred mixed voices and a symphony orchestra of seventy-five pieces will be seen and heard in addition to the cast of three thousand.
Blake Scott is dance director for the spectacle.
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