Jewish Music Festival Concert 5
Yiddish Music by NKU
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Performance 7:30pm
Venue: Plum Street Temple
Program
Arrangements by Robert De Cormier (1922-2017)
(Voice, violin, and piano reduction by John Yaffé)
Freylekh
Tum-balalayke
Zog, maran
Az der rebe zingt
A nign
Rozhinkes mit mandlen
Dona dona dona
Tayere Malke
Kimberly Lazzeri, soprano
Christina Seal, piano
William Herzog, violin
Sha, Shtil Aron Marko Rothmuller, Arr. by Judith Clurman
Three Yiddish Songs Arr. David Asher Brown
I. Dem Milners Trern
II. Hot Zikh Mir di Zip Tsezipt
III. Oy, Dortn, Dortn, Ibern Vaserl
Ahz der Rebbe Elimelech Arr. Willem Verkaik
Shlof, Mayn Fegele Mikhail Lermontov, Arr. Judith Clurman
NKU Chamber Choir
Katie Barton, conductor
Program Description
While some folksong traditions have received worldwide attention through classical arrangements by such well-known composers as Johannes Brahms and Benjamin Britten, Yiddish folksong has not enjoyed the same exposure on the concert and recital stage. Join faculty and students from Northern Kentucky University (NKU) to experience the unique richness of Yiddish folksong. The first half of the program features NKU faculty Kimberly Lazzeri (soprano), Christina Seal (piano), and William Herzog (violin) performing Yiddish folksong arrangements by Robert De Cormier that were recently recovered and restored after being in a storage closet for over 40 years. The second half of the program features the NKU Chamber Choir performing Yiddish choral arrangements under the baton of Katie Barton.
CHAMBER CHOIR PERSONNEL
Soprano 1: Becca Bowman, Joanna Chapman, Olivia Lamb
Soprano 2: Meg Booker, Abigail Guilford, Jasmine Hollifield, Katie Schumann
Alto 1: Lily Lamb, Kimberly Legel, Lisa Malsom, River Saunders
Alto 2: America Gandolfo, Annie Hovey, Anna Stephens
Tenor 1: Kenton Lowe, Noah Warner
Tenor 2: Jimmy Renton, Josh Turner
Baritone: Zach Felts, Vance Jones
Bass: Amir Edwards-Cuff, Charlie Frederick
Freylekh
Yum bum bum bum, yum bum bum bum,
Yuh duh dai di di dum dum (etc.)
Ay ay ay ay di di dum,
Ay ay ay ay di di dum…(etc.)
Joyful!
Tum-balalayke
Tum-bala, tum-bala, tum-balalayke.
Tum-bala, tum-bala, tum-balalayke.
Tum-balalayke, play, balalayke,
Tum-balalayke — Play something merry!
There stands a boy, and he ponders;
Ponders and ponders, the whole night through:
Whom he should marry and not put to shame,
Whom he should marry and not put to shame.
Tum-bala, tum-bala, tum-balalayke…(etc.)
“Maiden, maiden, I’ll ask you this:
What can grow without rain?
What can burn without end?
What can yearn, cry without tears?”
Tum-bala, tum-bala, tum-balalayke…(etc.)
“Foolish boy, how can you even ask!
A stone can grow without rain;
Love can burn without end;
A heart can yearn and cry without tears.”
Tum-bala, tum-bala, tum-balalayke…(etc.)
Zog, maran
Tell me, Marrano, my brother:
Where have you prepared your seder?
“In a chamber in a deep cave,
There I have prepared my seder.”
Tell me, Marrano: Where, and from whom,
Will you get your matzahs?
“In the cave, with only heaven to help her,
There my wife has kneaded the dough.”
Tell me, Marrano: Where will you manage
To find a hagadah?
“In the cave, in a deep crevice,
Is where I’ve hidden it for a long time.”
Tell me, Marrano: How will you
Protect yourself
When they hear your voice?
“If the enemy captures me,
Then I will die with songs on my lips.”
As der rebe zingt
When the Rabbi sings,
All the Chasidics sing:
Ya la la la la, ya la la la la —
All the Chasidics sing.
When the Rabbi dances,
All the Chasidics dance:
Tra ya ya ya ya, tra ya ya ya ya —
All the Chasidics dance.
When the Rabbi cries,
All the Chasidics cry:
Oy oy oy oy oy, oy oy oy oy oy —
All the Chasidics cry.
When the Rabbi laughs,
All the Chasidics laugh:
Ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha —
All the Chasidics laugh.
When the Rabbi whistles,
All the Chasidics whistle:
Pht pht pht pht pht, pht pht pht pht pht —
All the Chasidics whistle.
A nign
Once upon a time, there was a pauper,
He quarreled with no one (except God).
Wonders upon wonders would befall him
When he sang such a melody:
Tshi-ri-bim-bim-bam
Tshi-ri-bi-ri-bim-bam
Tshi-ri-bim-bim-bam,
Oy, tshi-ri-bi-ri-bim-bam,
Tshi-ri-bim, tshi-ri-bim, tshi-ri-bim,
Bim-bim-bam, ba-ba-ba-bam.
Wine flowed from the melody,
And he swallowed gulp after gulp.
Wonders upon wonders would befall him
When he sang a song like this:
Tshi-ri-bim-bim-bam…(etc.)
The Jew sings, and sweetness pours forth,
And he almost leaps for joy.
Wonders upon wonders would befall him
When he sang a song like this:
Tshi-ri-bim-bim-bam…(etc.)
Rozhinkes mit mandlen
In The Temple,
In the corner of a room,
Sits Bas-Tsion the widow, alone:
Endlessly rocking her son Yidele
And sings him to sleep with a sweet lullaby.
Ay lu lu lu…
Under Yidele’s cradle
Stands a snow-white little goat.
The goat has traveled to sell his wares.
That will be your calling, too,
Trading in raisins and almonds.
Sleep now, Yidele, sleep.
Ay lu lu lu…
Dona, dona, dona
On a wagon there lies a little calf,
Lies bound with a rope;
High in the sky flies a swallow,
Joyfully circling back and forth.
The wind laughs in the wheatfield,
Laughs and laughs and laughs;
It laughs for a whole day,
And half the night.
Dona dona dona dona,
Dona dona dona dai;
The calf cries, and the farmer says,
“Who told you to be a calf?
You could be a bird,
You could be a swallow!”
The wind laughs in the wheatfield…(etc.)
Dona dona dona dona…(etc.)
Poor calves are bound
And dragged to slaughter;
Whoever has wings flies upwards
And is a slave to no one.
The wind laughs in the wheatfield…(etc.)
Dona dona dona dona…(etc.)
Tayere Malke
My dear Malke, may you be well!
Fill up the goblet with wine.
Yum day di dum ba, yum bay di dai
From his goblet,
Which gleams so beautifully,
My grandfather would drink,
My grandfather himself.
There have been bad times,
As sometimes happen;
But he clung to the goblet
Like iron and steel.
Yum day di dum ba, yum bay di dai
My dear Malke, may you be well!
For whom shall I drink this wine?
We shall drink, and drink without end,
To those of us who have departed!
Yum day di dum ba…(etc.)
To life!
Sha, Shtil
Shhh, quiet, don’t make a commotion.
The rebbe is going to dance again.
Shhh, quiet, don’t make a clamor.
The rabbi is going to dance again.
And as the rebbe dances,
the walls dance as well.
Let’s all clap our hands.
Shhh, quiet, don’t make a commotion.
The rebbe is going to dance again.
And as the rebbe dances,
the table dances with him.
Let’s use our feet.
And as the rabbi sings the holy melody,
Satan lies dead.
Dem Milners Trern
Oh how many years have gone by,
Since I was a miler right here in this place…
The wheels turn, the years pass,
I’m already old, and ancient and gray,
The wheels turn, the years pass,
I’m already old, and ancient and gray,
There are days in which I try to remember,
If I ever had a bit of happiness?…
The wheels turn, the years pass,
No answer comes back,
The wheels turn, the years pass,
No answer comes back,
My happiness all gone, I remained
Without a wife, without children,
in this place
All by myself…
The wheels turn, the years pass,
And I am as miserable as a stone.
The wheels turn, the years pass,
And I am as miserable as a stone.
I’ve heard said, they want to drive me away,
Out from the village and from the mill.
The wheels turn, the years pass,
Oh without any end or purpose…
The wheels turn, the years pass,
Oh without any end or purpose…
Where will I live?
Who will take care of me?
I’m already old, I’m already tired…
The wheels turn, the years pass,
And with them I vanish as well…
The wheels turn, the years pass,
And with them I vanish as well…
Hot Zikh Mir Di Zip Tsesipt
I’ve worn out my sieve
and it’s completely broken.
My shoes got torn,
so I’ll dance in my stockings.
Dance, dance opposite me,
and I’ll dance opposite you.
You take the son-in-law,
and I’ll take the daughter-in-law.
Oy, Dortn, Dortn, Ibern Vaserl
Oh, there, there, across the water,
Oh, there, there, over the bridge!
You’ve driven me out into far away lands,
And I yearn to have you back!
Oh, how many evenings
we spent sitting together,
Oh, how many evenings late at night!
And how many tears we’ve shed until
we could bring our love together.
Oh, your dear eyes, like black cherries,
and your tender lips like rose paper;
and your delicate fingers, like ink and pen –
Oh, won’t you please write to me often!
Ahz der Rebbe Elimelech
When Rabbi Elimelekh
Became happy,
(Became happy, Elimelekh)
He took off his tefillin
And he put on his glasses
And he sent for his two fiddlers.
And the fiddling fiddlers
Fiddlingly fiddled!
Oh, they fiddlingly fiddled, they did!
Shlof, Mayn Fegele
Sleep, my little bird, close your little eye,
Sleep, my child, sleep!
Close your little eye, my dear little bird,
Sleep, my child, sleep!
An angel, a good angel
will be your protector from today until dawn!
With his little wing, over your cradle,
He covers you quietly!
Sleep happily, know not a care,
Sleep, my dear child!
Sleep happily, know not a care,
Sleep long in good health.
Cincinnati Arts & Cultural Exchange 