The Schillinger Quartet giving the premiere of Im Freygish, at the Holywell music Room in Oxford 2019. My quartet is inspired by the idea that traditions and objects, and in the case of music, scales and melodic forms are passed between the generations and travel with the diaspora across the world.
Klezmer evolved from many sources, one of which is the ancient music of the synagogue, and the term ‘fregyish’ also refers to an ancient cantorial mode. It is also known under several other titles, including the Ahava Rabboh mode, the Mode of Supplication, and the Altered Phrygian mode. Ahava Rabboh, meaning, “abounding love” refers to the words of prayer in the Shabbat Shacharit, or morning, service. This scale, which some say has come to us from the time of King David, is the basis for klezmer all over the world. The Freygish mode has a beautiful sonority: a kaleidoscope of minor and major with semitic colourings and a gypsy resonance. Its special qualities are partly due to it having nine notes, rather than the normal seven, which throws a shot of dissonance into the mix.

Im Freygish

Jeremy Arden