Re: Lehman Engel: Chassidic Chant & Yiddish Song Books

[Eliott Kahn <Elkahn...>]

>
>   I'll check the Beregovski collection
>myself, although it might be listed under a different name.

I can't find the title myself at the moment, either, but it is the third 
recording on the CD.


>I assume from Eisenstein's description that the melody for "A DIN
>TOIRE MIT GOTT" is also attributed to Levi Yitzchak, although it would
>be interesting to determine when it was first transcribed.

The first transcription might have been in 1914 by S. Kisselhof--from this 
recording. Joel Engel cites S[ussman] Kisselhof as the transcriber in Engel's 
1923 setting. Both were active with the Society for Jewish Folk Music. As I 
mentioned previously, Engel was one of the ethnomusicologists on the An-ski 
expedition of 1913-1915. These are the very cylinders presently in the 
Vernadsky Library in the Ukraine--also known as part of the Beregowski 
Collection.


>One of the interesting textual matters is that Levi Yitzhok in
>Eisenstein's translation identifies himself as "son of Soroh".  Is
>Soroh a male name?  Or is he identifying himself only by his mother's
>name?   

Yes, I believe so.

>If so, what is the precedent for doing so?

Don't know.


>Were the 2 Engels related? 

Not to my knowledge.

>  It's interesting that the recent Robeson
>CD reissue credits Lehman Engel  I believe that Lehman Engel wrote an
>autobiography, but I don't own it.  I also believe that Lehman Engel
>conducted a series of revivals of Broadway musicals at the New York
>State Theater in Lincoln Center that I attended as a boy (none of them
>Jewish in content).

That's him. He probably wrote the arrangement for Robeson. He was very active 
conducting musical theatre on BWY during the forties and fifties. Lehman Engel 
was also the founder of the Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, which, since 
his death known is known as the BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Both 
Alan Menken and Maury Yeston are former workshop students of his and are still 
actively involved with the workshop. Yours truly is a member of this workshop 
(on leave).

Bob, I have found transcriptions for voice and piano of several of Levi 
Yitzchok's songs. They may be found in: Kotylansky, Chaim. FOLKS GEZANGEN. New 
York: YKUF, 1954. And, yes, we have it here at the library.

I also wish to correct what I said yesterday about HABEN YAKIR LI. Levi 
Yitzchok's version is NOT the High Holiday prayer, but paraphrases the prayer 
at the end of the song and comments on it. The prayer is in Hebrew, the 
commentary is in Yiddish.

Good Shabbes,

Eliott





Dr. Eliott Kahn
Music Archivist
Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
3080 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
WK: (212) 678-8091
FAX (212) 678-8998
elkahn (at) jtsa(dot)edu

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+