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Congratulations on the successful reception your songs have received thus
far. I suggest you submit complete scores to Joel Eglash at
Transcontinental Music Publications. Your being an "unknown" will not deter
them from giving your music every consideration. Just be prepared for their
generally slow response time.
Good luck,
Marsha Bryan Edelman
[medelman] -----Original Message-----
From: owner-jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
[mailto:owner-jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org]On Behalf Of Issongbird (at)
aol(dot)com
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 8:12 PM
To: World music from a Jewish slant
Subject: Mordechai Gebirtig songs
I have been a member of this list for a few weeks but have not submitted
anything until now. I am a classically trained singer (also a child of
Holocaust survivors from Krakow) and sing with a baritone and pianist in a
trio called The Katsenshprung SIngers the songs of Mordechai Gebirtig in
classical art song style. Over the last 3 years I have also composed songs
to most of the poems Gebirtig wrote during the war for which no music by
Gebirtig exists. Others have composed music for these magnificent poems,
but none have impressed me, and I gather others have felt the same way.
In July I sent a CD I recorded in a Yom Hashoah concert with five of
these songs to both Zalmen Mlotek
and to Chana Mlotek. Mr. Mlotek expressed great interest in the songs
and asked me to send him the music -- he said he was interested in using a
few for some of his programs.
I just heard back from Chana Mlotek yesterday. She e-mailed me that she
(and I quote): "enjoyed the CD very much and thought your settings of the
Gebirtig songs very fine. "
She also told me that she had written about my songs in her column in
last week's Yiddish Forward. In her column she said (I quote from the
English translation): From Irene Steiner (New York) we received a compact
disk of her music
to five Holocaust songs by Mordekhai Gebirtig. This is not the first
time that a composer has set music to Gebirtigs songs written during
the Holocaust, which have no music; in any case the music has not
survived. Manfred Lemm, Emil Gorowitz and others have created music
to Gebirtig's Holocaust songs. The five songs by Irene Steiner are a
success - they are simple, melodic and appropriate to the words.
I am so excited at this reaction and in particular about Chana Mlotek's
approval of my songs, given her knowledge, authority and reputation. But
being relatively new to the world of Yiddish music, I am sort of at a loss
for what to do next and wondered if anyone out there might have any
suggestions. Is it feasible to try to get them published? If so, where?
Any other persons to whom I should send my songs, either to help me publish
ro to have them performed by higher profile persons than myself? These
songs were originally written as art songs, but most would be suitable to be
performed with guitar as well, at least I think so.
These poems are astonishing in their intensity and I really believe
that my settings
are good -- I want to get these songs performed and/or recorded!! But I
am so unknown and such a novice, I don't know what to do to get the songs
out there. I have written more songs to the all of the other poems
Gebirtig wrote during this period, and they are also really good (if I do
say so myself), but I don't have them recorded yet -- I am working to
rectify this but won't be ready for another few weeks.
I welcome anyone's suggestions. Thank you so much for your time and
attention.
Irene Steiner
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