Mandy Patinkin's Yiddish album

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

>Leaving the etymology besides, I would like to say that "Shmaltz" as a
>musical term brings a lot of syrup to my ears. If you force me to exemplfy
>it musically I would say - Mandy Patinkin. I think that his recent CD
>should be discussed on this list. In my ears it's all shmaltz. And kitsch.
>The very idea of presenting "White Christmas" in Yiddish makes me vomit.

I wish we could find ways to discuss those items with which
we disagree without bringing bodily functions into the picture.

In this case, I have to both agree and disagree. Yes, the new
Mandy Patinkin album is shmaltzy and overproduced in terms of
the music that I most enjoy. But I also notice that people who
know who Mandy Patinkin is (I didn't--I don't know if I've ever
seen one of his movies or shows.) love the album. 

What thrills me especially is how much of a celebration of Jewish
participation in American culture the album is. He doesn't just do
the shlaggers like "Rozinkes mit mandln," but also shlaggers that
are usually ignored in the mass market context, like that old union 
organizing weepy, "Motl the Operator."

And then, and here is where I get excited and jump up and down 
(although, like you, Ingemar, this is my kind of album, musically
--but conceptually it is such a nifty, big thing!). In addition to 
the expected shalggers he does two sets of songs =from English= 
translated back into Yiddish. First, and to me, very significant, 
is his medley of "Take me out to the ball game" and "God Bless America"
(and I love Henry Sapoznik's translation on "Take me out to the
ball game--I don't remember who translated the latter). What 
could be more American than baseball? What could better reflect
that Yiddish pastiche that the first generation of Americans on
the lower east side loved, and the deep love that many (my 
grandparents among them, even though they were a generation
removed) than to combine baseball--a uniquely American game to
which they thrilled (especially to cheer on Jewish athletes--
baseball players like Hank, er, Greenbaum? Greenberg?--not
my generation, but you get the point). I guarantee that this
medley and these two songs would have thrilled my grandfather
(although he might have questioned the Yiddish, which is where,
in my opinion, Patinkin does Yiddish the greatest honor--but
bringing these Americanisms =back= to Yiddish). And we'd have
gone to a baseball game--the Brooklyn Dodgers, preferably, to
celebrate.

Oh, and the inclusion of songs written by American Jews like
"White Christmas"? What an amazing way to reflect how Jewish
assimilation must look to Patinkin and Patinkin's audience,
as something positive and permeable such that, not only can
a Jew write an anthem for a former Christian holiday (still
meaningful to many Christians) now celebrated as a triumph
of American consumption, and who wrote that song that 
Americans all know and love (well, most Americans, even me,
in this case, so long as I only hear it occasionally, and
in Yiddish), but a Jew?

So, to rein myself in and attempt to be short, for Mandy
Patinkin to acknowledge his Jewish heritage by doing a 
Mandy Patinkin album in Yiddish is kind of neat. And a lot
of people seem to be loving it. But what makes this special,
is the selection of a set of songs that reflects how American
Jews of the first Yiddish-speaking generations saw America.
It's such an amazing tribute to language, to culture, and to
our times and the times of 75 and 100 years ago. 

There =are= other people doing amazing Yiddish for people 
who know and love Yiddish music--the recent "Brikele" album
by the Dutch singer Mariejan van Oort, accompanied only by
piano (Jacques Verheijen), or the incredible new music and
new words that Josh Waletzky, Jeff Warschauer, and Deborah
Strauss are doing that makes Yiddish song current and 
familiar, or even that silly, but wonderful kids album that
Living Traditions just released, Grine Katshke (and don't
get me started about stuff that Adrienne Cooper or Zalmen
Mlotek or the Klezmatics or Brave Old World or the Flying
Bulgars are doing).... And there are others that I'm not
mentioning that must be satisfying other tastes--I have
a stack of nearly a dozen Yiddish albums looking for 
reviews, and I don't even usually write about Yiddish song.

So, no, the new Mandy Patinkin may not be my kind of album, 
or yours, Ingemar, but it's still an amazing album. Imho.

Good shabbes,
ari

Ari Davidow
The klezmer shack: http://www.well.com/user/ari/klez/
owner: jewish-music mailing list
e-mail: ari (at) ivritype(dot)com