I urge everyone to go see this performance of Yosl Rakover Speaks to God in honor of the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Info below:
On the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Yiddish Theater returns to the Lower East Side
Yosl Rakover Speaks to G-d
a one man show, text by Tzvi Kolitz, starring David Mandelbaum
Monday, April 19th at 8:30 PM
Community Synagogue
325 E. 6th Street
In the ruins of the ghetto of Warsaw, among heaps of charred rubbish, there was found, packed tightly into a small bottle, the following testament, written during the ghetto’s last hours by a Jew named Yosl Rakover.
Suggested Donation $18
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Yiddish American Music: ‘Camp’ or For Real?
(an expanded version of the original that appeared in the Spring 2010 issue)
There’s a new Barry Sisters CD out, thrilling news considering they haven’t recorded an album in three decades. The Sisters represent an elusive, but magical moment in American Jewish culture, one they share with other pioneers of Yiddish American music like Moyshe Oysher, Mickey Katz, Dave Tarras, and the Musiker brothers, Sammy (Tarras’ son-in-law) and Ray.
What these performers had in common was their ability to effortlessly assimilate the best of American popular music into a Yiddish aesthetic and create something that was deeply rooted and at the same time new, exciting and American. Perhaps the best example of this cultural moment, Tanz!, the collaboration between Tarras and the Musikers, is described as “a stunningly sophisticated fusion of Yiddish and American music forms” by klezmer historian, and key figure in the American klezmer revival, Henry Sapoznik.
Sadly, the best work of many of these artists was unappreciated or under-appreciated in their own time. Tanz! was a commercial flop when it was released in 1956, despite being recognized today as one of the peak moments in American klezmer history. Katz was unable to move past his reputation as a comedian, even when he recorded an entire album of new Jewish instrumentals. Today, most of Mickey Katz’s recordings are out of print and unavailable on CD. Much of Moyshe Oysher’s catalog is either of out of print or available only in terrible, bargain basement releases.
As for the Barry Sisters, of their work that is in print, most of it has been produced on the cheap, with atrocious sound quality and no booklet to speak of. Given all that, it was with excitement that I noted this ‘new’ Barry Sisters CD in a lavish, no expense spared reissue. Our Way, the Sisters’ last studio album, was recorded in 1973. It contains Yiddish translations of American pop hits of the day. The translations were done by the legendary Yiddish actor Herman (der Payatz) Yablokoff. Barry Sisters+ Herman Yablokoff+new Yiddish songs. How could I not love it?
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Ride the Trans-Siberian railway courtesy of Google!
Through the power of the internets you can travel, virtually, from Moscow to Vladivostok. Listen to music, a Russian novel, or the radio.
The great Trans Siberian Railway, the pride of Russia, goes across two continents, 12 regions and 87 cities. The joint project of Google and the Russian Railways lets you take a trip along the famous route and see Baikal, Khekhtsirsky range, Barguzin mountains, Yenisei river and many other picturesque places of Russia without leaving your house. During the trip, you can enjoy Russian classic literature, brilliant images by photographer Anton Lange and fascinating stories about the most attractive sites on the route.
And you don’t need a visa!
The Yiddish Song of the Week is a project of the An-Sky Folklore Research Project. The An-Sky Institute is a project of the fabulous Center for Traditional Music and Dance. Sh. An-Sky was a Russian Jewish ethnographer, playwright, kultur arbeter and key figure in modern Yiddish culture.
Itzik Gottesman is the director of the An-Sky Folklore Research Project. Here’s the mission of the Yiddish Song of the Week:
This initiative is part of a larger effort by the AJFRP to revitalize traditional Yiddish folksinging performance and research on the subject. To that end, this website will emphasize field recordings of traditional Yiddish folksingers from around the world contributed by folklorists, ethnomusicologists, musicians, singers and collectors.
Each Yiddish song will be presented with Yiddish words and translation, along with commentary from the contributor. Since the website is a blog, we hope that each song contribution will elicit comments from others on the song itself, or on the singing style of the singer. Perhaps others will contribute a variant of the song from their recordings, etc.
How cool is that? The first two songs featured are performances by Itzik’s grandmother, Lifshe Schaechter-Widman. The audio player is right there on the web page. You can read the fascinating story of the songs and listen at the same time. Check it out!
A Tradition of Solidarity
February 1, 2009Black-Jewish Relations in the Pages of Jewish Currents I voted for Obama. If you’re reading Jewish Currents, you probably did, too. Throughout the past century, American Jews have voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, and in this election, more than three-quarters of American Jews did so. The surprising statistic is that my so-called peers, the under-35 cohort, [...]