Paul Ben Haim, Liturgical Cantata - “Ma Tovu“

Paul Ben Haim composed his Liturgical Cantata in 1950, the first movement of which, “Ma tovu“ for baritone, mixed choir and orchestra, uses a text from the Jewish Prayer Book (Siddur) quoting Balaam’s blessing of the Israelites and their house of worship against his original intention (Numbers 24:5): “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!“. This performance by the baritone Tomasz Wija, the Berlin Choral Workshop (Chorwerkstatt) directed by Thomas Richter, and the Young Orcherstra of the Free University Berlin opened a concert titled “Nach dem Krieg“ (“After the War“) comprising Israeli and German music written between 1946–1950 and performed at the Berlin Philharmonic Chamber Music Hall on February 18th, 2007 under the baton of Uri Rom.