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jewish-music

Yiddish Films

From: Sapoznik <Sapoznik...>
Subject: Yiddish Films
Date: Tue 25 Mar 1997 02.15 (GMT)

Best sources for Yiddish films are: The National Center for Jewish Film (617)
899-7044 and Ergo Media (800) 695-3746. 


Henry Sapoznik

Yiddish Films, Sapoznik
- Davidow on "Transmigrations" Dear Ari: I donÕt wish to confuse you with the facts, but in the interest of veracity, objectivity, and respect for the creative and artistic efforts of people who open themselves, their thoughts, their souls to others, and after having tried to broach this with you privately, and being disappointed in your evasive and teflon response, I feel compelled to make my response to your review of ÒTransmigrationsÓ on your Klez pages as public as the review itself. You write that you are sorry you could not write the review I wanted, but thatÕs not at all the point. Besides being insensitive and vague, the review is flaccid. There are no penetrating observations or insights, just a slovenly series of unconnected utterances that go nowhere. Take out the false information, the jibes and the unfair and absurd comparisons with a hornblast =simkhe= band, there is precious little left even to discuss--only the unsubstantiated, nonsensical remarks about "victim's songs and victim's pieties,Ó which are again, undeveloped. And whose ÒpietiesÓ are being promoted in your review, if not yours? You barely mention the music itself, except to toss off dismissively that there are "a few love songsÓ a Òfew songs about hometowns..." Thangyewvermudge. ThatÕs all you specifically have to say about an entire album of twelve songs, an album employing four other instrumentalists besides myself and three back-up singers. Not one word about the players or the playing, except for "the wonderfully arranged Tsen BriderÓ and reference to my gravelly voice. If this constitutes a review, ketchup is a vegetable. ÒThis is not an album of traditional songs,Ó you write. Who said it was? There are, however, four gen-yew-wine traditional folksongs (that is, we do not know their writers) on the album. The other songs, too, retain their ÒtraditionalÓ melodies. Why do you describe the album as "retrograde," when so much about it Òpushes the envelopeÓ? --You got many other Yiddish albums that incorporate blues, R&B, country-rock, and reggae? If a klezmer band takes an old tune off a record and records it note for note, is that "retrograde" too? JUST WHAT ARE YOUR CRITERIA? Your review of ÒTransmigrationsÓ makes a big deal about =the Bulgars'= use of an actual contemporary Yiddish poem set to music; no mention of KemelmakherÕs wholly contemporary ÒYidishe MaykholimÓ on ÒTransmigrations.Ó In our private correspondence you write that "(Transmigrations) presents a view of a vanished Yiddish culture with which I am in disagreement. . ." How can you ÒdisagreeÓ with historical reality, which is multifaceted and not monochromatic? In your review, you write that ÒKrakowskiÕs album memorializes an imaginary world that is now gone,. . .Ó IF IT IS ÔNOW GONE,Õ HOW CAN IT HAVE BEEN ÔIMAGINARYÕ?? These songs, their authors, and the experiences they represent are hardly products of my imagination. Three songs on this album are from the Holocaust years, including "Blayb gezunt mir, Kroke, " which, although the words were written in the early days of WW2, was set to music "recently" by Manfred Lemm; the others are pre- or post-War Yiddish compositions. "There are no songs here about strong people or of peopleÕs struggles," you say. Absurd. Even the =kleyne mentshele= in ÒRegndlÓ has his personal strength and integrity. ÒYeder ruft mikh ZhameleÓ is a tribute to the children of the ghettos, camps and forests, who had to be hard as nails to survive after the deaths of their parents. ÒBlayb gezunt mir, KrokeÓ was among the last poems written by Mordkhe Gebirtig, a carpenter/poet, famous on both sides of the ocean for his depictions of Jewish life in his native city. Although friends obtained an exit visa for him and his family, he refused to be separated from his people or their fate. Exiled to a nearby village in 1940 only to be forced to return to Krakow in 1942, he was shot on a streetcorner, boarding a wagon during one of the =aktsies= rounding up Jews for deportation to Belzhits. His last known poetic works were personal attempts to deal with how the Nazi occupation affected him, his family and his fellow Je! ws. You Ònote the complete absence of fighting-back songs including songs by or from Jewish partisans during the Holocaust." Wrong. There are two songs by Shmerke Kaczerginski. The fact that you don't recognize his name or that you didn't bother to read the accompanying printed materials shows me how much attention you paid to "Transmigrations". Ò. . .. this selection represents the American view of European Jewry prior to the Holocaust. . .Ó Sorry. IÕm not American. Or Israeli. IÕm an Austrian-born, Swedish-raised Canadian living in the US. My father fought the Germans with a rifle on Russian soil and helped to liberate Poland, but goshdarn, he never taught me a single song about killing them! How can this be? He must have been one of those "victim" Jews that make you so uncomfortable. Mom heard "Friling," KacerginskiÕs love song to his dead wife, in Kazakhstan, where it was borne on the lips of the refugees, fleeing east from Lithuania. Does the fact that his wife died make it a Òvictim songÓ any more than the fact that he was a partisan makes it a Òpartisan songÓ? Is ÒBlayb gezunt mir, Kroke,Ó a song of farewell to homeplace and the graves of parents a Òvictim's song"? Is "Varshe", WitlerÕs song about a survivor's hope to rebuild his community in all its infinite variety also a "victim's song"? ! Is the traditional =tish nign,= "Shabes, Shabes" a " victim's song"?And what about "Zol Shoyn Kumen Di Geule," co-written by Kacerginski and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel-- also a "victim's song"? Is it that the characters in the songs are not "strong," because some of them mourn or have suffered loss? Why this focus on strength, or the lack of it? Why focus on it in a record review of all places? Is the image of the tough, fighting Jew the only good and valid image ? No songs about killing Germans? Sorry, Ari. The comment that there are no ÒstrongÓ personages in these songs [Gebirtig, Kacerginiski, Witler and Perlman were not strong?? How do =you= know? In whose estimation?] implies that you do not understand that physical force does not--and did not--constitute the only means of resistance to dehumanization and death. Other forms of resistance occurred in the ghettos and concentration camps, =and the people who engaged in them were strong,= often doing so at risk of their lives. All of these songs, though not militantly urging armed resistance, offer testimony to the deep spiritual resistance with which many faced their unavoidable end. Kacerginski and KookÕs wish for =geule=--in whatever form it will occur-- is all that any of us can hope for. The fates of the composers of the Òfighting back songsÓ and many of the leaders of the resistance to Nazism to which you refer bear testimony to that truth. ÒAlts geyt avek mitn roykhÓ alas, in more ways than we would wish to know. ! . . Your offensive noises about "victim's songs and victim's pieties" insult Holocaust survivors and their families and judge them for not "fighting back." --Unbelievably ignorant and insensitive, coming from a reviewer of Jewish music. And compounded by the fact that you are not able to elaborate with anything resembling a rational and developed series of supportive statements. It is easy for you to armchair-quarterback the Holocaust from the perspective of a safe and cozy life--but incredibly presumptuous. If you had any idea of what it took for a Jew to so much as =own= a gun in Poland and other countries at the time--not as simple as e-mailing Billy BobÕs Gun and Ammo shack to have an Uzi Fedexed to your door, charged to your VISA. Think before you blurt. Other silly and feeble drek includes your labelling me "Marlboro Man." I'll take that dig as a compliment to my rugged good looks. Does the combination of long hair, leather and Yiddish make you uncomfortable? Am I not Jewish-looking enough for you? Is a Bokharan yarmulke or a fishermanÕs cap de rigueur for the Jewish musician now? Is it your habit to characterize people based upon their appearance? How would you like =yourself= to be characterized? For myself, I would prefer "last of the Yiddish cowboy bluesmen" or "a Yiddish Willie Nelson.Ó That way you don't advertise the addictive weed nicotine at my expense. . . Ari, you have every right to express your reaction to music as you feel and experience it. You even have the right to distort and misrepresent facts to support your own points. It dismays me, however, that what you say and how you say it passes as a critical review. Not only do you not get it; you have no interest in getting it. I invite any reader of these lines to read other reviews of ÒTransmigrationsÓ on the KameÕa Media web page (http://www.kamea.com) and to listen to selections from the CD and form their own judgments. Wolf Krakowski KameÕa Media An open letter to Ari Davidow about his review of Wolf KrakowskiÕs ÒTransmigrationsÓ CD: Dear Ari: I donÕt wish to confuse you with the facts, but in the interest of veracity, objectivity, and respect for the creative and artistic efforts of people who open themselves, their thoughts, their souls to others, and after having tried to broach this with you privately, and being disappointed in your evasive and teflon response, I feel compelled to make my response to your review of ÒTransmigrationsÓ on your Klez pages as public as the review itself. You write that you are sorry you could not write the review I wanted, but thatÕs not at all the point. Besides being insensitive and vague, the review is flaccid. There are no penetrating observations or insights, just a slovenly series of unconnected utterances that go nowhere. Take out the false information, the jibes and the unfair and absurd comparisons with a hornblast =simkhe= band, there is precious little left even to discuss--only the unsubstantiated, nonsensical remarks about "victim's songs and victim's pieties,Ó which are again, undeveloped. And whose ÒpietiesÓ are being promoted in your review, if not yours? You barely mention the music itself, except to toss off dismissively that there are "a few love songsÓ a Òfew songs about hometowns..." Thangyewvermudge. ThatÕs all you specifically have to say about an entire album of twelve songs, an album employing four other instrumentalists besides myself and three back-up singers. Not one word about the players or the playing, except for "the wonderfully arranged Tsen BriderÓ and reference to my gravelly voice. If this constitutes a review, ketchup is a vegetable. ÒThis is not an album of traditional songs,Ó you write. Who said it was? There are, however, four gen-yew-wine traditional folksongs (that is, we do not know their writers) on the album. The other songs, too, retain their ÒtraditionalÓ melodies. Why do you describe the album as "retrograde," when so much about it Òpushes the envelopeÓ? --You got many other Yiddish albums that incorporate blues, R&B, country-rock, and reggae? If a klezmer band takes an old tune off a record and records it note for note, is that "retrograde" too? JUST WHAT ARE YOUR CRITERIA? Your review of ÒTransmigrationsÓ makes a big deal about =the Bulgars'= use of an actual contemporary Yiddish poem set to music; no mention of KemelmakherÕs wholly contemporary ÒYidishe MaykholimÓ on ÒTransmigrations.Ó In our private correspondence you write that "(Transmigrations) presents a view of a vanished Yiddish culture with which I am in disagreement. . ." How can you ÒdisagreeÓ with historical reality, which is multifaceted and not monochromatic? In your review, you write that ÒKrakowskiÕs album memorializes an imaginary world that is now gone,. . .Ó IF IT IS ÔNOW GONE,Õ HOW CAN IT HAVE BEEN ÔIMAGINARYÕ?? These songs, their authors, and the experiences they represent are hardly products of my imagination. Three songs on this album are from the Holocaust years, including "Blayb gezunt mir, Kroke, " which, although the words were written in the early days of WW2, was set to music "recently" by Manfred Lemm; the others are pre- or post-War Yiddish compositions. "There are no songs here about strong people or of peopleÕs struggles," you say. Absurd. Even the =kleyne mentshele= in ÒRegndlÓ has his personal strength and integrity. ÒYeder ruft mikh ZhameleÓ is a tribute to the children of the ghettos, camps and forests, who had to be hard as nails to survive after the deaths of their parents. ÒBlayb gezunt mir, KrokeÓ was among the last poems written by Mordkhe Gebirtig, a carpenter/poet, famous on both sides of the ocean for his depictions of Jewish life in his native city. Although friends obtained an exit visa for him and his family, he refused to be separated from his people or their fate. Exiled to a nearby village in 1940 only to be forced to return to Krakow in 1942, he was shot on a streetcorner, boarding a wagon during one of the =aktsies= rounding up Jews for deportation to Belzhits. His last known poetic works were personal attempts to deal with how the Nazi occupation affected him, his family and his fellow Je! ws. You Ònote the complete absence of fighting-back songs including songs by or from Jewish partisans during the Holocaust." Wrong. There are two songs by Shmerke Kaczerginski. The fact that you don't recognize his name or that you didn't bother to read the accompanying printed materials shows me how much attention you paid to "Transmigrations". Ò. . .. this selection represents the American view of European Jewry prior to the Holocaust. . .Ó Sorry. IÕm not American. Or Israeli. IÕm an Austrian-born, Swedish-raised Canadian living in the US. My father fought the Germans with a rifle on Russian soil and helped to liberate Poland, but goshdarn, he never taught me a single song about killing them! How can this be? He must have been one of those "victim" Jews that make you so uncomfortable. Mom heard "Friling," KacerginskiÕs love song to his dead wife, in Kazakhstan, where it was borne on the lips of the refugees, fleeing east from Lithuania. Does the fact that his wife died make it a Òvictim songÓ any more than the fact that he was a partisan makes it a Òpartisan songÓ? Is ÒBlayb gezunt mir, Kroke,Ó a song of farewell to homeplace and the graves of parents a Òvictim's song"? Is "Varshe", WitlerÕs song about a survivor's hope to rebuild his community in all its infinite variety also a "victim's song"? ! Is the traditional =tish nign,= "Shabes, Shabes" a " victim's song"?And what about "Zol Shoyn Kumen Di Geule," co-written by Kacerginski and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel-- also a "victim's song"? Is it that the characters in the songs are not "strong," because some of them mourn or have suffered loss? Why this focus on strength, or the lack of it? Why focus on it in a record review of all places? Is the image of the tough, fighting Jew the only good and valid image ? No songs about killing Germans? Sorry, Ari. The comment that there are no ÒstrongÓ personages in these songs [Gebirtig, Kacerginiski, Witler and Perlman were not strong?? How do =you= know? In whose estimation?] implies that you do not understand that physical force does not--and did not--constitute the only means of resistance to dehumanization and death. Other forms of resistance occurred in the ghettos and concentration camps, =and the people who engaged in them were strong,= often doing so at risk of their lives. All of these songs, though not militantly urging armed resistance, offer testimony to the deep spiritual resistance with which many faced their unavoidable end. Kacerginski and KookÕs wish for =geule=--in whatever form it will occur-- is all that any of us can hope for. The fates of the composers of the Òfighting back songsÓ and many of the leaders of the resistance to Nazism to which you refer bear testimony to that truth. ÒAlts geyt avek mitn roykhÓ alas, in more ways than we would wish to know. ! . . Your offensive noises about "victim's songs and victim's pieties" insult Holocaust survivors and their families and judge them for not "fighting back." --Unbelievably ignorant and insensitive, coming from a reviewer of Jewish music. And compounded by the fact that you are not able to elaborate with anything resembling a rational and developed series of supportive statements. It is easy for you to armchair-quarterback the Holocaust from the perspective of a safe and cozy life--but incredibly presumptuous. If you had any idea of what it took for a Jew to so much as =own= a gun in Poland and other countries at the time--not as simple as e-mailing Billy BobÕs Gun and Ammo shack to have an Uzi Fedexed to your door, charged to your VISA. Think before you blurt. Other silly and feeble drek includes your labelling me "Marlboro Man." I'll take that dig as a compliment to my rugged good looks. Does the combination of long hair, leather and Yiddish make you uncomfortable? Am I not Jewish-looking enough for you? Is a Bokharan yarmulke or a fishermanÕs cap de rigueur for the Jewish musician now? Is it your habit to characterize people based upon their appearance? How would you like =yourself= to be characterized? For myself, I would prefer "last of the Yiddish cowboy bluesmen" or "a Yiddish Willie Nelson.Ó That way you don't advertise the addictive weed nicotine at my expense. . . Ari, you have every right to express your reaction to music as you feel and experience it. You even have the right to distort and misrepresent facts to support your own points. It dismays me, however, that what you say and how you say it passes as a critical review. Not only do you not get it; you have no interest in getting it. I invite any reader of these lines to read other reviews of ÒTransmigrationsÓ on the KameÕa Media web page (http://www.kamea.com) and to listen to selections from the CD and form their own judgments. Wolf Krakowski KameÕa Media "Transmigrations", Wolf Krakowski, Paula Parsky

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