Product Details

• Format: Classical, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Winstar
• VHS Release Date: April 27, 1999
• Run Time: 55 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 1572524758
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #602,079 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Commissioned and performed for the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the State of Israel, this video of Noam Sheriff's Mechaye Hametim (Revival of the Dead) epitomizes Jewish life and aspirations in a powerful blend of carefully coordinated sounds and images. In successive movements the music evokes life in the Diaspora, then the horrors of the Holocaust; it prays for Holocaust victims and celebrates the foundation of Israel. Its primary audience will be Jewish, but some of the Hebrew texts may sound familiar to admirers of Handel's Messiah.

Sheriff's score is eclectic, using motifs that recall cantorial styles (with tenor and baritone cantors), folk music, and the classic oratorio techniques of mainstream Western culture. Video images are powerfully matched to the music--symbols, landscapes, ancient buildings, flowers, children at play, marching soldiers, book-burning, freight trains, and concentration camps. --Joe McLellan

From the Back Cover

This orchestral performance was filmed on May 4, 1998, performed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Zubin Mehta at Yad Vashem--the largest repository of information and memorial to the Holocaust in the world--and incorporates historical footage from the archives of Yad Vashem. Noam Sheriff's composition, Revival of the Dead, was performed on this poignant remembrance site as a joint tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and the founders of the state of Israel.

Since the premiere of Sheriff's Festival Prelude by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Leonard Bernstein at the opening of the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv in 1957, his works have been regularly performed all over the world. Among his significant compositions is the trilogy of vocal works Revival of the Dead (Amsterdam, 1987), Sephardic Passion (Toledo, 1992), and Psalms of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, 1995). His latest work, Genesis, commissioned by the IPO premiered recently at the festival concert of the 50th Independence Day of Israel. Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Ramat Gan Chamber Choir and Ankor Children Choir; Cantor Joseph Malovany, tenor, Vladimir Braun, baritone; conducted by Zubin Mehta. 55 minutes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good performance, August 6, 2000

By 

Kenneth Fung (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sheriff - Revival of the Dead / Mehta, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (DVD)

The performance of the Israel Philharmonic under Maestro Mehta is simply superd. So as the soloists and choirs, the performance of the children's choir is especially delightful. The composition is newly commissioned, however, it is quite approachable, not those difficult to understand 20th Century stuff. However, as a DVD, the words sung should have been closed captioned. There should be some descriptive subtitle for clips included. All in all, an enjoyable performance but not the most thoughtfully produced DVD.