Songs My Bubbe Should Have Taught Me...

[R.A.S. <richards...>]

Dear fellow Listers,

Time, I thought, to lighten things up a little around here, time we all
relaxed a little from all the intense debates that have been raging on of
late.. :)  And what better way to relax than with some great music?! So, as
I finally got my mitts on Lori Cahan-Simon's "Songs My Bubbe Should Have
Taught Me, Volume One: Passover", this affords the perfect opportunity to
insert some diversion into this list. :-) BTW, this review (along with a
few others) should be up at Rainlore's World of Music
(http://www.rainlore.demon.co.uk/WorldOfMusic.html) as well at some point
after shabat - the site's finally starting to take shape a bit.

For those not familiar with the Yiddish language, let me start by
explaining that "bubbe" in the above title means grandmother. At the time
of writing this review, pesakh (Passover) is not far off, and whether
religious or secular, this album would make for a wonderful
seasonal treat; and even if you're not Jewish at all, it'll still make for
a wonderful treat, the songs are simply marvelous and Lori Cahan-Simon's
great gift, like all great music and art is a gift to all mankind.

"Songs My Bubbe Should Have Taught Me" is a collection of Yiddish secular
songs connected with Passover. The lyrics and music of these songs are by
some of the finest poets and composers that Yiddish culture has given rise
to. For this reviewer, these songs are a new discovery, and to paraphrase
Lori Cahan-Simon's introduction in the liner notes, meeting with them has
been like finding a long-lost friend.

Lori Cahan-Simon's vocals are outstanding, as are Michael Alpert's, another
veteran of the klezmer and Yiddish song "revival" who also features on this
album. The supporting ensemble is superb and of impeccable pedigree, and
Steven Greenman's arrangements are supremely crafted. Both production and
presentation are simply wonderful, and there is a great atmosphere of
heymishkayt (homeliness, homeyness). The listener is, as it were, somehow
transported into somebody's parlour where the family and relations are
gathered singing and playing, and he or she is made to feel at home. It is
a comfortable as well as somehow comforting experience. The songs' stories
are told with great eloquence and poignancy. Tales of great sorrow and
sadness, of oppresssion and savagery, as well as of contentment and
ultimately liberation and the triumph of the human spirit, unfold like some
great epic. Here the listener without knowledge of the Yiddish language is
greatly helped by the excellent liner notes by Lori Cahan-Simon, Dr. Itzik
Gottesman and Steven Greenman, which include full translations into English
of the lyrics of each song, a valuable aid to following the stories in
greater detail. That said, even as a non-Yiddish speaker with only the most
rudimentary knowledge of the language mainly through my interest in klezmer
and Yiddish song, I found it unusually easy to follow the lyrics and
understand most, almost instinctively, without reference to the booklet.
Further testimony, as if it were needed, of Lori Cahan-Simon's great
expressive gifts and her superb diction.

This album must be considered beyond essential in any collection of Yiddish
song. The wonderful heritage presented in it simply must not be lost,
either. To let such a thing happen would be unforgivable. Unfortunately,
Lori Cahan-Simon is not, at present, supported by any record label, and had
to raise finance to fund this album by herself. "Songs My Bubbe Should Have
Taught Me" is an ongoing project, and so I would, if I may, like to urge
you to support this worthy effort in any way you can. By buying the CD, or
direct contribution if you can, or maybe you own/run or are part of, or
even just know of, a business or some kind of organisation that might be
able to help and support this cause. 

Above all, enjoy these great songs if you get a chance.


Richard

(Renaissance Man)

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