Four Yiddish Folksongs (2021)

Four Yiddish Folksongs is scored for soprano, violin, clarinet, and piano, based on field recordings from the Ruth Rubin Archives of Yiddish Folksong. The source recordings are of Jewish immigrants and refugees to North America (before and after the Holocaust). The Project was a commission from the Institute of Jewish Research (YIVO).  

The composition blends multiple musical traditions such as several genres of Ashkenazic Jewish music (folksong, klezmer, cantorial, etc.), 12th – 14th secular medieval music, some spectralist techniques, 17th-18th century schematic practices (Partimento), as well as contrapuntal form, such as chorale, choral prelude, canon, and Fugue.     

Like so many people, I was alone for much of the pandemic. With time to myself, I explored field recordings of Yiddish folk songs from the Ruth Rubin Collection. I was enraptured by the soul, humor and pain of this forgotten world that lived in the hearts of many but in the memories of few. Stunning performances emerged from ordinary people recalling songs of their youth and past lives. As every note inspired me, I dreamt of writing something based on these recordings, but it remained on the back burner while I was engaged in other projects.

Coincidentally, I received a phone call in early 2021 from The Institute for Jewish Research (YIVO), who wanted to commission a piece as part of an art song project inspired by Yiddish field recordings. Having buried my head in the Ruth Rubin Collection for almost a year, I was already full of ideas and writing down the notes merely felt like dictation.

Four songs in particular mirrored my life at the time, expressing how I viewed certain people in my life and how I convey pain and love. One song, “Bay a Taykhele,” depicts my emotional state following a destructive romantic relationship. Another, “Hob Ikh Mir a Shpan,” is about a friend who experienced suicidal ideation during the pandemic. The last song, “Oyf di Felder,” conveys how I fall in love and struggle with unrequited desire, while the music itself derives deep inspiration from the Bach cantatas I immersed myself in during this period of isolation.

“Four Yiddish Folksongs” was commissioned by The Institute for Jewish Research (YIVO) and premiered by Megan Jones, Collin Lewis, Blanche Darr, and Sung-Soo Cho at the Bard Conservatory of Music on April 21, 2021.

September 27, 2021 | Derek David, Jewish Boston
Triumph of the Creative Spirit Through Yiddish Art During COVID

January 19, 2022 | Boston Festival of New Jewish Music, Boston Synogogue, MA.
Performed by Megan Jones, Yasmin Valenzuela, Abigale Reisman, and Inês Andrade.

April 21, 2021 | Bard Conservatory of Music, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Performed by Megan Jones, Collin Lewis, Blanche Darr, and Sung-Soo Cho.