Re: Faust Klezmer Family

[Helen Winkler <winklerh...>]

Thanks Pete.  I'm continually amazed by the stories that I find hiding in those 
yizkor books.  I'm starting on my 11th batch of accumulated 
klezmer/wedding/music/dance excerpts.  Some of the highlights are posted on 
Ari's site http://www.klezmershack.com/articles/winkler/yizkorlinks.html
but there's so much more.  
Helen
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Pete Rushefsky 
  To: World music from a Jewish slant 
  Sent: Friday, May 24, 2002 6:21 AM
  Subject: Re: Faust Klezmer Family


  Helen-- this is wonderful.  You've really helped a familiar image come alive. 

  Pete Rushefsky 

    Helen Winkler <winklerh (at) hotmail(dot)com> wrote: 


    I recently found this photo on a web site (I've seen it in many other 
places as well) and realized that this family of musicians was mentioned in a 
yizkor book-so I pieced together the entries.  The photo was taken in 1912.  By 
1943 only one of the brothers remained alive.  Just wondering, outside of the 
yizkor book, was this Faust family a well known klezmer family?  Did any of 
their tunes survive?

    Helen

    http://www.tachna.com/Jewish%20Life%20In%20Poland/page%2070.htm

    photo of the faust family can be found here.


    Klezmorim - traditional musicians, most of them members of the Faust 
family.  Rohatyn, 1912.  Klezmorim frequently appeared with a badkhn 
(traditional wedding jester), who improvised humorous and sentimental rhymes. 

     

    http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/rogatin/roh129.html

    The Community of Rohatyn and Environs 
    (Ukraine) 

    49°25' / 24°37' 

    Translation of Kehilat Rohatyn v'hasviva 

    Editor and Publisher: M. Amihai 

    Yiddish editing: David Stockfish 

    English editing: Shmuel Bari 

    Published in Israel in 1962 by Rohatyn Association of Israel 

     

     

    Cherished Images

    I remember the Purim "Seudah" [festive meal] in my parents' home. That 
evening many children of the town would come to our house in their costumes. 
Especially noticeable were the groups of students who portrayed historical 
figures, including those of the Megilla. Others came from Zionist youth groups, 
wearing blue and white sashes emblazoned with the Star of David. These were 
joined by four klezmerim (musicians) from the Faust family who played typical 
Jewish melodies and ended their musical performance with "Hatikvah." The faces 
of my father, Akiva Wagschal, and my mother, Cyril, would shine with joy upon 
every display of Zionism in the town. My father, who was a Zionist, heart and 
soul, was one of the founders of the Hebrew School of Rohatyn and had also been 
privileged to visit Israel.

    http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/rogatin/roh084.html



    Every Jew from Rohatyn would certainly remember the "family band of 
musicians," the Faust family. They were the talk of the town - Moshe, Dovid, 
Itzik-Hersh, Mordecai-Shmuel, and Yaakov. Moshe, the father, was the conductor, 
Dovid, the fiddler, Itzik-Hersh, the flautist, Mordecai-Shmuel, a 
multi-instrumentalist and clarinet player, and the little ruffian, Yekel, the 
trumpet player and drummer. 

    Weddings in Rohatyn reverberated throughout the surrounding countryside. 
The canopy was set up beside the large synagogue, and the bride and groom were 
led there amidst a grand parade. The band led the way. The music rang through 
the streets and raised a great crowd. Children ran ahead and had a great time 
chasing after the band. It was lively and cheerful in the shtetl. 

    http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/rogatin/roh007e.html

    Can you then imagine the sweet joy and the exaltation when, on the morning 
after "matura' (graduation from high school), our Jewish orchestra (The Faust 
brothers) would awaken you with the joyous tunes of Jewish melodies? I do not 
think that any serenade ever sounded sweeter. And yet, how many of those who 
finished gymnasium ever had a chance for further education? 

    Yes, the Fausts played at "maturas" and they played at the weddings. They 
played after the Yom Kippur fast and on any occasion when they might earn a 
zloty. One of them, who was our violin teacher, often told me about the 
adventures of his past. He had been in the great land of America and had had a 
chance to marry a rich girl there, but he preferred to come home and to marry 
the girl he loved. He often wondered how wise he had been. Could he have 
foreseen his end ? And what a hard job it was to teach kids like us all day and 
play at social functions all night! On Yom Kippur, when all of us would run 
home from synagogue after the Fast to rejoice with our families over the 
delicacies prepared for the occasion, the Fausts would run home to get their 
violins and go from house to house, playing happy tunes to wish those who could 
afford this "luxury" a happy New Year. 

    http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/rogatin/roh032e.html

    May - June 1943 
    In the months of May and June we began to hear that all the surrounding 
places had been completely emptied of Jews. Now it was sure that the fate of 
the Rohatyn Jews was sealed and that our days were numbered. We began to become 
accustomed to the thought of the coming end. We often talked of approaching 
death as of a natural and inevitable event. We began to sell everything which 
still remained of former times and began to buy food to still our hunger. In 
some houses there were parties, with food and drink and song. There wasn't any 
music since the Faust family musicians were no longer with us. Only David 
Faust, with his wife and daughter, Rosa, were still alive. 

     

     


    Helen Winkler
    Helen's Yiddish Dance Page
    www.angelfire.com/ns/helenwinkler

    Calgary Folkdance Fridays
    www.cadvision.com/winklerj/cff.html




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