THE GENESIS SUITE

 On occasion my dual loves of the arts and the Bible coincide. One of those times was when I first heard of the musicalcomposition titled “The Genesis Suite.” It is a composite piece premiering in 1945 which deals with episodes from Genesis 1-11 with the titles Prelude, Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, The Flood, The Covenant, and Babel. The whole suite is about one hour long and scored for orchestra, chorus and narrators with each of its seven movement coming from a separate composer. All of the contributors lived in the Los Angeles area and were Jewish, with one exception, and many were European refugees who had fled from the Nazi occupation.

The idea for this project came from the film composer Nathaniel Shilkret, who contributed one of the movements of the suite and commissioned the other composers ($300 each with 1,000 for the most famous composer, Igor Stravinsky). Although money was definitely an incentive for the composers, they all appeared to have taken the project seriously, and Stravinsky was known to have conducted his movement to the suite in later-day concerts. And he is quoted as being quite concerned during the formative talks prior to composition since he, according to one of the other composers, Alexandre Tansman, “was intent on avoiding any suggestion of any human voices imitating the Divine voice...to avoid the profanation that would consist of visualizing what must remain a mystery and is accepted as dogma.” That feeling was in line with Stravinsky's strong religious beliefs.

Since half of the composers were best known for their classical works and the others worked mainly in the film industry composing background music, the final result can only be compared to Walt Disney's somewhat earlier film “Fantasia.” And similar to the various reactions to that ground-breaking cartoon feature, critics and fans alike have to admit that the mix of “high” and “low” art is at times a bit jarring. As Tim Page wrote in The Washington Post to commemorate a re-issue of the record in 2001, “If 'The Genesis Suite' is ultimately an engaging curiosity rather than any sort of lost masterpiece, this is likely due to its combination of ponderous and unrelieved solemnity amid what now seems glaringly inappropriate Hollywood treacle. Or, to put it another way, it feels like a movie score (and a bit of a stunt) rather than a unified, full-fledged devotional work.”

On the other hand, the same critic also states his opinion that “considering the many hands that worked on 'The Genesis Suite,' it holds together with remarkable consistency, although some movements are stronger than others, and none of them may be said to represent their respective composers at their best.”

James Westby's comment on The Genesis Suite is also worth quoting in respect to the culture at the time: “It was an artistic and historical moment that was ripe for the unusual confluences; for a brief time it seemed as it anything was possible. It was a time when even Schoenberg and Stravinsky could rub musical elbows. It was even a time when kitsch could dance, albeit tentatively, with high art.”

To explain the comment above regarding the musical giants Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky, a little background is necessary. There was an ongoing feud between the two of them during their time in Southern California even though they were close neighbors. It is hard to determine who was most at fault, but I think most people would blame Schoenberg the most for the hostility between them. For one thing, it was well known that Schoenberg was jealous of the higher fame Stravinsky received for his contributions to the musical world since Schoenberg felt that his own contributions were far greater. Schoenberg even composed a choral work in which one movement referred to Stravinsky as Kleine (“little” in German) Modernsky. And when Schoenberg heard Stravinsky's last movement to The Genesis Suite, his comment was, “It didn't end; it just stopped.”

However, on Stravinsky's part, he is said to have been an anti-Semite, at least in his earlier years. But it is highly doubtful that Shilkret would have approached him for such an obviously “Jewish” project if that were really the case. On the other hand, Stravinsky's inclusion as the only Gentile contributor actually fits in quite well with his choice of Babel as the incident he wished to tackle since it is at that event that the Gentile nations became separated from what would become the Jewish people.

Schoenberg chose to musically illustrate the first movement concerning the chaos of Genesis 1:1-2. This was probably an appropriate choice on his part for several reason: it gave him honor of first place, his music did not have to deal with a narration that might compete with it, it fit in well with his 12-tone style which many would characterize as a bit chaotic, and (perhaps fortuitously) it placed him as far away as possible from his musical and personal rival, Stravinsky, who composed the final movement in the suite.

By the way, the religious odysseys of Schoenberg and Stravinsky form an interesting contrast. Schoenberg grew up in a secular Jewish home but began searching spiritually later on and converted to Christianity. However, later on he rediscovered his Jewish roots and remained in that faith for the rest of his life. Stravinsky's story was quite different. He was raised in the Russian Orthodox faith but largely abandoned it as a young man living in Western Europe. But by his more mature years in Europe and America, he came back to Christianity and was a devout believer in the Orthodox Church until he died.

Overall, I would say that unless your musical tastes are especially highbrow, and mine certainly are not, and you enjoy good dramatic readings from the Bible, you may really like this piece. You can purchase the CD from Amazon or stream the individual movements through MP3. (And no, I do not get any money from Amazon for recommending it!)