Yiddish song
Encyclopedia
Yiddish song is a general description of several genres of Jewish music
sung in Yiddish which includes songs of Yiddish theatre
, Klezmer
songs, and "Yiddish art song" after the model of the German Lied
and French mélodie
.
, which was also exported to America and Israel, though Henry Sapoznik (2005) writes "Historically, Yiddish song and theater have had a higher visibility than klezmer music in Israel." Generally 17th and 18th century songs and lullabies are anonymous, but the composers of others such as are known; such as Oyfn Pripetshik "On The Hearth" by Mark Warshawsky
.
companies were composed as incidental music to musical theatre, or at least plays with strong musical content, whereas others are "hit" individual arias and numbers culled from Yiddish operetta. In America, aside from America's own Yiddish theatres, songwriters and composers employed Yiddish folk and theatre songs, along with synagogue modes and melodies, as material for the music of Tin Pan Alley
, Broadway
and Hollywood. Irving Berlin
was one of the popular composers to move from Yiddish song to English songs. Bei Mir Bistu Shein is an example of a Yiddish song which was later recast as an English hit.
(Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport), was In Zaltsikn Yam "In the Salty Sea". Yiddish workers' choral societies continued - including that led by Lazar Weiner in New York until the 1960s. Zog Nit Keyn Mol "Never say (this is the end of the road)" was a partisan song written in 1943 by Hirsh Glick
, for the Vilna Ghetto
resistance.
, Moses Milner, Alexander Krein
, and Solomon Rosowsky
. In America composers included young immigrants Lazar Weiner
, Solomon Golub, film composer Henech Kon
, and Los Angeles cantor Paul Lamkoff. Though like many German Lieder and French mélodies Yiddish art songs may make sensitive use of folk tunes. One example of a conscious 21st Century approach to the Yiddish folk song as art song, in the context of Schubert, is A Yiddish Winterreise cycle of folk songs arranged by Alexander Knapp for English baritone Mark Glanville.
Jewish music
Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish People which have evolved over time throughout the long course of Jewish History. In some instances Jewish Music is of a religious nature, spiritual songs and refrains are common in Jewish Services throughout the world, while other times, it is...
sung in Yiddish which includes songs of Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revues; melodrama; naturalist drama; expressionist and...
, Klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
songs, and "Yiddish art song" after the model of the German Lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
and French mélodie
Mélodie
Mélodie refers to French art songs of the mid-19th century to the present; it is the French equivalent of the German Lied. It is distinguished from a chanson, which is a folk or popular song.-Nature of the mélodie:...
.
The Yiddish language and song
From the fourteenth century secular songs were sung in Yiddish, though rabbis of the period directed that sacred songs were only to be sung in Hebrew.Yiddish folk songs
One of the main genres of Yiddish folk song in Central and Eastern Europe is KlezmerKlezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
, which was also exported to America and Israel, though Henry Sapoznik (2005) writes "Historically, Yiddish song and theater have had a higher visibility than klezmer music in Israel." Generally 17th and 18th century songs and lullabies are anonymous, but the composers of others such as are known; such as Oyfn Pripetshik "On The Hearth" by Mark Warshawsky
Mark Warshawsky
Mark Markovich Warshavsky was a Yiddish-speaking folk poet and composer from the Russian Empire.He graduated from the Law school of Kiev University and practiced law in Kiev. By the influence of Abraham Goldfaden Warshawsky started to write songs and sing them in his circle of friends accompanied...
.
Yiddish theatre songs
In Europe many of the songs of the Yiddish theatreYiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revues; melodrama; naturalist drama; expressionist and...
companies were composed as incidental music to musical theatre, or at least plays with strong musical content, whereas others are "hit" individual arias and numbers culled from Yiddish operetta. In America, aside from America's own Yiddish theatres, songwriters and composers employed Yiddish folk and theatre songs, along with synagogue modes and melodies, as material for the music of Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
, Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and Hollywood. Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
was one of the popular composers to move from Yiddish song to English songs. Bei Mir Bistu Shein is an example of a Yiddish song which was later recast as an English hit.
Yiddish political and secular choral song
Di Shvue "The Oath" (1902) was the Yiddish anthem of the socialist, General Jewish Labour Bund in early 1900s Russia. Another song by the same composer, S. AnskyS. Ansky
Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport , known by his pseudonym S. Ansky , was a Russian Jewish author, playwright, and researcher of Jewish folklore....
(Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport), was In Zaltsikn Yam "In the Salty Sea". Yiddish workers' choral societies continued - including that led by Lazar Weiner in New York until the 1960s. Zog Nit Keyn Mol "Never say (this is the end of the road)" was a partisan song written in 1943 by Hirsh Glick
Hirsh Glick
Hirsch Glick was a Jewish poet and partisan.Glick was born in Vilna in 1922. He began to write Yiddish poetry in his teens and became co-founder of Yungvald , a group of young Jewish poets...
, for the Vilna Ghetto
Vilna Ghetto
The Vilna Ghetto or Vilnius Ghetto was a Jewish ghetto established by Nazi Germany in the city of Vilnius in the occupied Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , during the Holocaust in World War II...
resistance.
Yiddish art songs
Composers of self-consciously "serious" Yiddish art songs include the composers of the Society for Jewish Folk Music founded in St. Petersburg in 1908 which was associated with composers including "the Jewish Glinka" Michael Gniessin, Joseph AchronJoseph Achron
Joseph Yulyevich Achron, also seen as Akhron was a Russian composer and violinist of Jewish origin, settled in USA. His preoccupation with Jewish elements and his desire to develop a 'Jewish' harmonic and contrapuntal idiom, underscored and informed much of his work...
, Moses Milner, Alexander Krein
Alexander Krein
Alexander Krein was a Russian composer of Jewish heritage.-Background:The Krein family was steeped in the klezmer tradition; his father Abram was a noted violinist...
, and Solomon Rosowsky
Solomon Rosowsky
Solomon Rosowsky was a famous cantor and composer in his own right, and son of the renowned cantor of Riga, Baruch Leib Rosowsky. It is likely that Rosowsky's family is related to the Rasofsky branch of the Barney Ross family.-Early life:...
. In America composers included young immigrants Lazar Weiner
Lazar Weiner
Lazar Weiner was a Ukrainian-born, American-naturalized composer of Yiddish song. He emigrated to America at the age of 17 and later became the music director of the Central Synagogue, New York.-Works:...
, Solomon Golub, film composer Henech Kon
Henech Kon
Henech Kon, Henryk Kon, 1890-1972, born in Łódź to a Chassidic family, sent at the age of 12 to his grandfather in Kutno, where he studied torah but also studied with local klezmers, absorbing folk music from players and badkhonim...
, and Los Angeles cantor Paul Lamkoff. Though like many German Lieder and French mélodies Yiddish art songs may make sensitive use of folk tunes. One example of a conscious 21st Century approach to the Yiddish folk song as art song, in the context of Schubert, is A Yiddish Winterreise cycle of folk songs arranged by Alexander Knapp for English baritone Mark Glanville.
Selected Recordings
Art song- The Yiddish Art Song Leon LishnerLeon LishnerLeon Lishner was an American operatic bass-baritone. He was particularly associated with the works of Gian Carlo Menotti, having created parts in the world premieres of four operas by that composer...
, bass; Lazar WeinerLazar WeinerLazar Weiner was a Ukrainian-born, American-naturalized composer of Yiddish song. He emigrated to America at the age of 17 and later became the music director of the Central Synagogue, New York.-Works:...
, piano. Omega - A Yiddish Winterreise Mark Glanville, baritone; Alexander Knapp, piano. Naxos. Includes songs by Mordecai Gebirtig, and others.