Celebrating the richness of traditional Jewish melodies, dances, and folklore, the music of Paul Schoenfield has at the same time been embraced by the world’s leading orchestras, conductors, and soloists. These WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS include the Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, commissioned/debuted by Robert Vernon (principal violist of the Cleveland Orchestra); the hauntingly beautiful Four Motets; and scenes from the mystical opera The Merchant and the Pauper, in which a supremely beautiful maiden stranded on an island wilderness is reunited with her betrothed-an allegory of the Jewish people and God, as related in an old Hassidic tale.