Work of the Week - Bernard Rands: apókryphos

On Sunday, March 14 Daniel Barenboim leads renowned soprano Angela Denoke and the Staatskapelle Berlin through the European premiere of Bernard Rands' choral symphony apókryphos. A powerfully dramatic score of piercing intimacy, apókryphos interweaves German texts of Jewish exiles during the Holocaust (Heinrich Heine, Else Lasker-Schüler, Franz Werfel, Nelly Sachs, Paul Celan) with English texts of the apókrypha. The result is a profound contemplation on the vulnerability of civilization in the face of monstrous evil. John von Rhein writing in the American Record Guide commented on the work's premiere at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra:

"Although grounded in the Holocaust, apókryphos resonates with a sense of humanity that feels timeless. One is left with the sense of spiritual renewal rising like a phoenix from the ashes of unspeakable cruelty and destruction. The precise and lively instrumental detailing, highly personal lyricism, and vivid intensity of expression that mark the best of Rands' mature works are fully evident here."

• Bernard Rands - Profile
• Staatskapelle Berlin