YIDDISHLAND is a unique collection of 120 New Yiddish Songs composed by 12 outstanding contemporary Polish composers to poems by the greatest 20th century poets writing in Yiddish. The collection includes 12 albums, which will be published between September 1, 2019 and September 1, 2023.
The premiere of the three initial albums (Silence, Kroke, Shir Hanoded) already on September 1, 2019 at the Agnieszka Osiecka Atelier Theater in Sopot (Poland).
1
Silence
- A Tfile / A Prayer
- Unter dayne vayse shtern / Under Your Starry Heaven
- Moyshe / Moses
- Sibir / Siberia
- Erdene klavishn / Earthy Piano Keys
- 02Gan-eydnLid-p2pGan-eydn lid / The Song of Eden
- Bay tog a levaye, bay nakht a kontsert / A Funeral During the Day, a Concert in the Evening
- 01Fun beyde ekn velt / From Both Ends of the World
- Hinter di forhangen / Behind the Curtains
- Di nekhtns far hayntvegn / Yesterdays for Present Days
- Roykhn / Smoke
- Hoykhe violontsheln / Tall Cellos
- Der geto-fidler / The Fiddler from the Ghetto
- Bonus track: Epilog / The Epilog
2
Kroke
- Hey, Klezmorim! / Hey, Musicians!
- Hulyet, hulyet, kinderlekh / Be Happy, Little Kids
- Avreml
- leyner yosem / Little Orphan
- Hey, tsigelekh! / Hey, Little Goats
- 03TsuMaynGelibter-p2pTsu mayn gelibter / To My Beloved
- Hungerik dayn ketsele / Hungry Kitten
- Ikh hob dikh lib / I Love You
- Dos lidl fun goldenem land / Song of the Golden Land
- Bruderl, lekhayim! / Eh, Brother, Cheers!
- Di zun iz farganen / Sunset
- Mayn veg / My Way (Instr.)
- Di nakht kumt on tsu shvebn / The Night Soars
- Erev Yom-Kippur / Yom-Kippur Evening
- Blayb gezunt mir, Kroke! / Farewell, Cracow!
- S’iz gut! / It’s Good!
- Mayn kholem / My Dream
- Mayn yoyvl / My Birthday
3
My Blue
- 04Lomir-zheZingen-p2pLomir-zhe zingen / Let’s Sing
- Rabeynu Tam / Rabbi Tam
- Oyfn veg shteyt a boym / By the Road
- Khelemer balade / Ballad of Chelm
- Dos kleyne tsigaynerl / Little Gypsy
- Malkele
- Itsik Shpitsik
- Ikh bin der veg keyn mayrev / I Am the Way to the West
- Eynzam / Alone
- Mit farmakhte oygn / With Closed Eyes
- Milkhome-balade / A War Ballad
- Dos lid fun der goldener pave / Song of the Gold Peacock
- Unter di khurves fun Poyln / Under the Ruins of Poland
- 05Ovntllid-p2pOvntlid / The Evening Song
- Kh’vel oyston di shikh / I’ll Take off My Shoes
- Kh’hob zikh yorn gevalgert / My Exile
- Epilog / The Epilogue
- Der sof funem klorvaysn tsigele / The End of a Snow-White Goat
- Blue (Instr.)
4
Ghetto
- Vilne / Vilna
- In geto / In the Ghetto
- Unter dayne vayse shtern / Under Your Starry Heaven
- Undzer shtetl brent / Our Little Town on Fire
- Unter di poylishe grininke beymelekh / Under the Foliage of Polish Green Maple Trees
- Shtil, di nakht iz oysgeshternt / Quiet, the Night Is Lit with Stars
- Dos elnte kind / A Lonely Child
- Geto / The Ghetto
- Shpiltsayg / Toys
- Unter di khurves fun Poyln / Under the Ruins of Poland
- Shtiler, shtiler, lomir shvaygn / Quiet, Quiet
- Ikh hob shoyn lang / It’s not a Long Time
- Zog nit keynmol / Never Say
- Blayb gezunt mir, Kroke / Farewell, Cracow
- Mir lebn eybik / We Live Eternally
- Elegie / Elegy
- Der sof funem klorvaysn tsigele / The End of a Little Snow-White Goat
- Zey zenen do shoyn di vagonen vider / The Train Cars Are Here Again
- A shtot on adresn / A Town Without Addresses
- 06DerFremder-p2pDer fremder / Alien
- Di nekhtns far hayntvegn / Yesterdays for Present Days
- Zing! / Sing!
- Der geto-fidler / The Fiddler from the Ghetto
- Eli, Eli / Eli, My Lord
5
Shir Hanoded
- Rozhinkes mit mandlen / Raisins with Almonds
- Kinder-yorn / Childhood Years
- Leyg dayn kop / Lay Your Head
- Vaylu / Woe to Me!
- Amol iz geven a mayse / Once Upon a Time
- Oy dortn, dortn / Away out Yonder
- Di sapozhkelekh / Little Boots – Instrumental
- In der fintster / In the Dark
- Der Rebe Elimeylekh / Rabbi Elimeylekh
- Zol zayn / Let It Be So
- Dona, Dona
- Zol shoyn kumen di geule / Let the Redemption Come
- 07DiElter-p2pDi elter / Old Age
- Shir Hanoded / Wanderer’s Song
6
Mayne Teg
- 08ALidOnANomen-p2pA lid on a nomen / A Song Without a Name
- Oyf ale felder / In All Fields
- Memento Mori
- 09FartogInShtot-p2pFartog in shtot / Morning in Town
- Di shtot / The City
- Mayne teg / My Days
- Trinklid / A Drink Song
- Yedn ovnt shtarbn mir / We Pass Away Every Night
- Gevisn / Conscience
- Bay der libes-sude / At the Feast of Love
- In’m shandhoyz / The Whorehouse
- Aheym / Back Home
- Um kumt di zun / And the Sun Comes
7
Moscow ’52
- A bagegenish / An Encounter
- Ayn un oys / Inside Out
- Ikh hob plutslung… / I’ve suddenly…
- Brokhshtiker / Pieces
- In vinter-farnakhtn / Dark Winter Night
- Antloyfn / Escape
- Toyte goyes / Dead Women in Greatcoats
- Vinterdik / In Winter
- Di royz / Rose
- Farganvet fun unter di berg… / From the foot of the hill…
- Katerinke / The Hand Organ
- Lid fun an oreman / A Pauper’s Song
- Vi fliglen fun a vintmil / Like the Windmill’s Wings
- Tribute to Shlomo Mikhoels
- 10LiderVegnLider-p2pLider vegn lider / Song of Songs
- Yiskor Elohim! (The Angel of Death Over Moscow)
8
Layla
- Gehat hob ikh a heym / I Had a Home
- 11Kroke-p2pBlayb gezunt mir, Kroke! ∕ Farewell, Cracow!
- Layla Layla / Night, Night
- Ayn un oys / Inside Out
- Toyte goyes / Dead Women in Greatcoats
- Bahalt mikh in a blat / Hide Me in a Leaf
- Unter geyt di velt / The World Goes Down
- Kh’hob lib di berglekh / I Love Mounts
- Umetik / Sadness
- Shpiltsayg / Toys
- Lied / Take My Song
- Troyerik lebn / Sad Life
- Notes shloflid / Notes’ Lullaby
- Host mikh farlozn / You Have Left Me
- 12Epitaf-p2pEpitaf / The Epitaph
- Zol di harfe Got loybn / Praise the Lord
9
Scream
- Wtedy wrócą moje pieśni (Polish) / It’s a Long Time
- Milkhome / The War
- Viglid far mir / A Lullaby for Me
- Mames / Mothers
- Harbst (German) / Autumn
- Got hot farbahaltn zayn ponem / God Covered His Face
- Płaczmy razem wrogu mój (Polish) / Let’s Cry Together, My Enemy
- Poem (German) / A Poem
- 13OnBot-p2pOnbot / Suggestion
- Zey zenen do shoyn di vagonen vider / The Train Cars Are Here Again
- Tragik (German) / Tragic
- Anna Frank
10
Mimaamakim
- Der mentsh / The Man
- Mayn umru volf / My Wolfish Angst
- Tsvelf shures vegn sene / Twelve Lines About the Burning Bush
- Ful mit nakht un geveyn / The Night and Lament Everywhere
- Epitaf / The Epitaph
- Alts vos iz eynzam / Everything That Is Lonely
- Roykhn / Smoke
- Bahalt mikh in a blat / Hide Me In a Leaf
- Di nakht iz fintster / The Night Is Dark
- Ale mayne nekhtn zaynen shtigl / All My Yesterdays Were Steps
- Di balade fun der tsvelfter sho / The Ballad of Twelve O’clock
- Un ale zaynen zey avek / All of Them Are Gone
- 14Mimaamakim-p2pMimaamakim / From the Depths
- Tsu di kumendike / To Those Who Will Come
- Tsu Bethovens levone sonate / To Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata (bonus)
11
Bukovina
- Zilber / Silver
- Likht / Light
- Tsvishn Kosev un Kitev / Between Kosev and Kitev
- Im tsug / On the Train
- Tsi veystu ver der volkn iz? / Do You Know Who the Cloud Is?
- Oyfn sheydveg / On the Crossroads
- 15AntloyfndikeFroy-p2pAntloyfndike froy / A Woman Who Walks Away
- Iluzie, shvester! / Illusion, My Sister!
- Kayn un Havl / Cain and Abel
- Notes shloflid / Notes’ Lullaby
- Ikh, der trubadur / Me, a Troubadour
- Epilog
- Epitaf / The Epitaph (Instr.)
12
Tfiles
- Glust zikh mir tsu ton a tfile… / I Wish to Say a Prayer…
- Vayter fun di daled ames / Away From the Four Walls
- Epitaf / The Epitaph
- In kartser / In a Solitary Cell
- A vogn shikh / A Cart of Boots
- Undzer gloybn / Our Faith
- 16DerShneyAfnKhermoyn-p2pDer shney afn Khermoyn / The Snow on Mount Hermon
- 17Derklern-p2pDerklern? Vi azoy derklern? / Explain? How to Explain?
- Farsheydene simonim zenen do / Various Signs Show
- Ver vet blaybn, vos vet blaybn? / Who Will Stay, What Will Remain?
- Ikh hob a briv derhaltn / I Received a Letter
- A tfile – Mayn tate / A Prayer – My Dad
YIDDISHLAND is a unique collection of 120 New Yiddish Songs composed by 12 outstanding contemporary Polish composers to poems by the greatest 20th century poets writing in Yiddish.
Graphics: Andrey Bassalyga “Ikarus”
Then My Songs Will Return…
How silent it is everywhere
My songs have been slain,
No longer do I sing or play,
My poor muse is asleep …
(…)
Fields weep, the world sheds tears
Over the men gone and killed.
Black gales blow from the west.
Only Satan claps his hands.I believe the day will come,
When all the guns hush up,
Then my songs will return,
My muse will be woken by God…
These verses, created by Agnieszka Osiecka, were inspired by Mordechai Gebirtig’s poem, ,,Ikh hob shoyn lang”, which the poet wrote in January 1941. In July 1995 I sang them in a comprehensive recital based exclusively on Gebirtig’s poetry, with his own compositions, as well as new music by Ewa Kornecka. In those days, together with Agnieszka Osiecka, we read all Gebirtig’s poems available to us, and together we arranged the recital, to which Ewa Kornecka composed her first songs to Yiddish poetry. I remember the delight with which Agnieszka Osiecka translated his verses into Polish. In Gebirtig, she found her true soulmate, feeling a strong bond to him both as a human being and a poet. She joined us whenever we had a concert and talked about the poet before each performance. She cared so much! At that time nobody thought of a Yiddish song collection; however, then it all began…
So, I started reading poems by various Yiddish poets in the original versions as well as translations. I collected numerous volumes of Yiddish poetry published all over the world, many of which were presents from people who shared my passion.
I managed to invite a lot of splendid composers to create new Yiddish songs for the collection YIDDISHLAND. Thirteen premieres, including all 120 songs from the collection were produced in our Agnieszka Osiecka Atelier Theater in Sopot in collaboration with Polish and international artists from Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Belarus, Russia, Chile, Slovakia, the USA and Israel.
I am so grateful for all of this …
Our mutual record company, the Alef Music label, takes the honor to present all 12 CD albums from the collection. Certainly, it is not a coincidence that two albums in this collection: the first and the last one, feature poetry of the great Abraham Sutzkever, nor is it a coincidence that his poem Prayer opens and closes the CD collection:
A prayer has been sailing in my veins for years
It will sail until waves harmonize it to a verse:
My good Lord, let us swap our memories,
I – will recall the beginning, You – the end.
(translated by Mira Michałowska)
André Ochodlo
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