Tr: Rivkele di Shabesdike

[borzykowski <borzykowski...>]

This e-mail can be of interest for some list-members and perhaps somebody has 
another information about this topic...

----- Message d'origine -----
De : Antonio Celaya <celaya (at) sirius(dot)com>

>     While searching for information on the song Rivkele di Shabesdike I
> stumbled upon your letter to a young lady mentioning the song.  In your
> letter you note that the song was written by Pesakh Kaplan.  I do not
> suggest you are incorrect, as I don't know, but I have also read that it
> was written in the Ghetto by Reuven Lifshutz.  May I ask the source of
> your information.
>     I am a composer and would very much like to do a choral arrangement
> of the song, so that it could be shared with choral singers who would
> otherwise probably not ever hear it.  Perhaps I have no right to
> approach the song, but I hope I can set it in a simple way that is not
> disrespectful.   I have read that Reuven Lifshutz died in the early
> 1980's.  I would like to contact his heirs and request permission to set
> the piece before I start the long work of an arrangement.  Do you know
> whether the author has any heirs - under the circumstances it would
> hardly be surprising if he did not.  Any information you can provide
> will be greatly appreciated.



The first time I heard  "Rivkele...", I was told that the anonymous manuscript 
was found in the ruins of the Bialystok's Ghetto
after the huge pogrom of saturday (shabes) july 12, 1942 when 5000 Jews 
(especially males) were killed. Rivkele was the surviving
wife of one...

Later, I discoverd some instrumental or vocal interpretations of this song 
without author's mention  (Giora Feidman, Chava
Alberstein, Klezmokum) and only a few (Sarah
Gorby, Zahava Seewald) with Pesakh Kaplan as author of the lyrics.
AFAIK, Reuven Lifshutz was mentionned as author of the song "Der Hoyfzinger fun 
Varshauer geto" on the Klezmer Conservarory
Band's13th birthday's album and "Motele fun Varshauer geto" on the CD "Voices 
of the Ghetto" but these three songs are actually the
same!!!

Michal

Michel Borzykowski
e-mail: borzykowski (at) infomaniak(dot)ch
Geneva klezmer page: http://borzykowski.users.ch






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