French composer Darius Milhaud had a Jewish background and had to flee France under the German occupation of the Second World War. He was exiled in the US and felt as such. When the neighbor of a festival of the Boston Symphony commissioned him for a small piece of chamber music, he put much of the biblical exile of the Jews into it. The commission came from the Jacob’s Pillow Dance festival, so his own history, that of the Jews and the name of the festival beautifully came together.
The short piece is composed for four string and oboe, with the latter acting as the angelic voice whispering the dreams to Jacob. While listening to it, I was encouraged to quickly stop the music, or put the volume very low. I can imagine: this is not the most relaxing music. Challenging, for sure.