Re: Yiddish Tango!

[Lloica Czackis <lloicale...>]

Dear Sylvia,

It seems to me too that the marriage of tango and Yiddish song is an 
extraordinary event, partly because of the great beauty and poignancy of the 
songs, but especially because of its significance. It is through this music 
that I came to understand my cultural identity as an Argentinian Jew.

I have been researching the history of the Yiddish tango for nearly four 
years, and as listers may remember, I produced a show in London last 
November with two wonderful tango musicians who are also Argentinian Jews 
(the pianist & arranger, Gustavo Beytelmann, is a familiar name as a tango & 
film music composer - for example in the Argentininan film "The Jewish 
Gauchos" - and he played with people like Piazzolla). My research will be 
published for the first time in the April edition of the UK magazine Jewish 
Quarterly, and I'm hoping to have a CD out soon.

The songs I have found so far come from three places: the Yiddish Theatre in 
New York and Buenos Aires (which in the 1940s and 30s was home to the second 
largest Jewish community in the world) and the Eastern European ghettos 
during WWII (excluding the two tangos rendered by Zalmen Mlotek and Adrienne 
Cooper, with whom I was fortunate enough to study here in London). There is 
more out there to find, and it is in my immediate plans to dedicate a couple 
more years to this.

It seems to me that the root of Yiddish tango is intimately connected to the 
spirit of tango itself. Therefore it is possible to find a song like 'Dos 
Tango fun Oshvientshim' ('The Tango of Auschwitz'), written around the same 
year that lyrics with strong social comments appeared in Buenos Aires, such 
as 'Cambalache' ('Junk Shop').

I could carry on and on. This topic is absolutely fascinating. I hope that 
my research will be of interest to you. Contact me off list if you need the 
distribution details of the Jewish Quarterly.

There some more information on my website: www.lloiczackis.com/tangele.htm.

Gut shabes,

Lloica





>From: Sylvia Schildt <creativa (at) charm(dot)net>
>Reply-To: jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
>To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>Subject: Re: Yiddish Tango!
>Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:12:25 -0500
>
>Dear Listers and especially Lloica:
>
>I have to own up that it was the Cooper-Mlotek "Ghetto Tango" that began to 
>open my awareness to the importance of the tango in modern Yiddish song.
>
>The degree to which this theme has insinuated itself into Yiddish music
>continues to amaze and astound me.
>
>Yet until this very second, I had not connected "Vu Ahin Zol Ikh Geyn" with 
>that family of tango-inspired songs.  But of course, it has all the
>poignancy and despair that is tango -- now that I hear it in my head again, 
>of course! I wish I had a recording this minute to play.
>
>We are going to be having a workshop at the conference of the International 
>Association of Yiddish Clubs (IAYC)  on Yiddish Tango, complete with 
>archival Argentinian cinematic footage from the late 30's into the 50's and 
>60's.  Also the pivotal involvement of Jewish Argentinian musicians and 
>actors in the world of mainstream Argentinian tango.
>
>Any more Yiddish tango songs I should be aware of????
>
>
>Khag sameakh,
>
>
>Sylvia Schildt
>Chair
>8th IAYC Conference
>Baltimore, Maryland
>
>
>
>
>
>on 3/14/03 4:33 PM, Klezcorner (at) aol(dot)com at Klezcorner (at) aol(dot)com 
>wrote:
>
> > Lloica Czackis wrote:
> >
> >> Does anyone know if the Polish composer of tangos, foxtrots & romances
> >> Pjotr Leschenko was Jewish?
> >>
> > I have received many comments after the "Tango Cd" posting, this one 
>from
> > Bret Werb is most interesting.
> >
> > Hi Simon: Leschenko wasn't Jewish but his two best tango writers Strok 
>and
> > Marjanowski were.  Anyway: please reserve a copy of "Echoes" for me for
> > when I blow by next month.
> > I've done a lot of looking-up on Strok, who wrote the tango original 
>(for
> > Leschenko) that became the Barry Sisters hit "vu ahin zol ikh geyn."  
>his
> > career turn is an interesting story. ( Bret Werb)
> >
> > Hatikvah Music
> > 323) 655-7083
> >
> >
>


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