Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Marc Chagall (1889–1985) was a Russian-born French artist and this splendid collection serves as a musical illustration of his life. Disc One sets the scene: Chagall was born in Vitebsk and raised in a community steeped in Hassidic tradition and spirituality where Yiddish culture rubbed shoulders with Old Russian folk traditions. So we start with three Yiddish songs followed with some Klezmer music and then the Moscow Male Voice Choir. These are complemented by Tchaikovsky songs that use poems by Tolstoy and Maikov and then Shostakovich’s “Jazz Suite Number Two” to recall the circus atmosphere that Chagall often evoked. Disc Two is subtitled 'Musical Muses'. Bloch’s “From Jewish Life” and “Baal Shem”, Ravel’s “Hebraic Melodies” and an extract from Bach’s “St Matthew Passion” remind us that Chagall’s art is deeply influenced by religion. It was Chagall himself, for example, who invited Messiaen to perform “Visions De L’amen” (included here) in his Museum Of The Biblical Message at Nice. Other featured excerpts illustrate Chagall’s work as a designer for opera and ballet and are worth hearing although they may not be of specific interest to lovers of spiritual music.

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