Genesis Suite

Genesis Suite is a 1945 work for narrator, orchestra, and chorus. A musical interpretation of the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis, the suite was a collaborative work by seven composers, some of whom wrote film music in Hollywood. The project was conceived by Nathaniel Shilkret, a noted conductor and composer of music for recording, radio and film. Shilkret wrote one of the seven pieces and invited the remaining composers to submit contributions as work-for-hire. Two giants of western twentieth-century music, Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky wrote, respectively, the first and last parts. The Biblical text used in the spoken word narrative is the American King James Version. It was intended to be a crossover from art music to popular music.

Shilkret conceived of the Genesis project while traveling with his friend Rex Schepp, perhaps around 1943. A letter from Nathaniel Shilkret to his son dated 9 February 1944 indicates that music for four of the parts had already been written (although not necessarily delivered to Shilkret) and that contractual matters with Stravinsky were holding up the writing of his part. A letter from Shilkret to Béla Bartók and a 24 July 1945 letter from Janssen to Shilkret (see the commons for copies) indicates that Bartók had received a down payment for writing the "Prelude" and, as of July 1945, was preparing the work. According to Shilkret, Bartók did not do his task due to ill health, and Manuel de Falla and Richard Strauss had also been approached in connection with the project at some point, but declined. Paul Hindemith is described in the above referenced 9 February 1944 letter from Nathaniel Shilkret to his son as an alternate if Stravinsky declined.

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