Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
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Contents of Vol. 4.203
November 29, 1994

1) Jewish "minnesingers and minstrels" (Marion Aptroot)
2) Isaac Bashevis Singer (Henry Mullish)
3) Muzik far Houle Kraash? (Rick Gildemeister)
4) Shostakovitch (Ruben Frankenstein)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 1994 14:28:09 -0500 (EST)
From: aptroot@husc.harvard.edu
Subject: Jewish "minnesingers and minstrels"

On Wed, 23 Nov 1994, Arre Komar wrote

> In northern Europe there were a few Jewish minnesingers and minstrels of
> note in the 13th century, such as Sueskind von Trimberg in Germany and
> Mathieu le Juif in Provence. Their music and texts were rather similar to
> those of their goyish contemporaries.

Maks Erik believed that Suesskind von Trimberg was Jewish, but there is
no evidence to support this. Suesskind von Trimberg wrote in German and
had no connection with Yiddish literature - even if he was a Jew. Fact
is, that we know little or nothing about Yiddish or Judeo-German folk
music, but we do know that it is highly unlikely there ever were any
Yiddish minnesingers or minstrels. An excellent article on this by
Professor Chone Shmeruk, "Can the Cambridge Manuscript Support the
_Spielmann_ Theory in Yiddish Literature?" was published in _Studies in
Yiddish Literature and Folklore_ [Research Project of the Institute of
Jewish Studies, Monograph Series 7, The Hebrew University], Jerusalem
1986. It has also appeared in other languages. The article also deals
with the question of Yiddish creations and adaptations, and editions of
German works in Hebrew characters. By the way, Provence is not in
Northern Europe but in the South of what is now France.

Marion Aptroot

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 1994 16:05:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: mullish@acfcluster.nyu.edu
Subject: Isaac Bashevis Singer

Just so that all those Mendeleniks who live outside of Manhattan are
aware of it, it might be of interest of all to know that as I was walking
along Broadway and West 86th Street last Saturday morning I noticed that
West 86th Street had been named Isaac Bashevis Blvd. As many might know,
Singer used to live in this neighborhood.

Henry Mullish

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 28 Nov 94 14:46:52 EST
From: eeglc%cunyvm.bitnet@yalevm.cis.yale.edu
Subject: Muzik far Houle Kraash?

Mit a por teg tsurik hob ikh epes geshribn in Mendele vegn der frage tsi
iz bay mentshn vos redn nokh mairev-yidish a "yidishlekhe muzik". Iz mir
ayngefaln di miglekhkeyt as Hollekreish, oder Houle-Kraash hot gehat nit
nor verter, ober efsher a nign oykh.

Tsi ir veyst nisht, mayne gute fraynt, vos es iz Houle Kraash, hert a
mayse. Ven a kind is geboyrn gevorn, un er/zi iz nor a kleyninke, shteyt
di gantse mishpokhe tsuzamen un makhn a kaykl un zogn, in zeyer dialekt.
"Holle kreisch, Holle kreisch, vos vet zayn der nomen fun undzer kind?"
Mentshn hobn gefregt shoyn a lange tsayt fun vanen kumt der minheg. Ikh
hob ergets-vu geleyent az punkt far der tsveyter velt milkhome hot men
dos nokh geton. Ober farvos nor in Daytschland, Elzas, un der Shveyts,
(un in Amsterdam efsher?). Men hot gezogt as Holle iz geven der nomen fun
a tayvlte oder a beyze bashefenish vos vil ganvenen kinder, un der minheg
kumt frier fun di kristn, ober bay zey nisht mer, nor tsvishn Yidn.

Itst kum ikh tsurik tsu der ershter frage. Tsi veyst emetser tsi ot di
"tfile" hot gehat a nign?

Rick Gildemeister

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 1994 11:13:45 +0100 (MEZ)
From: frankens@mibm.ruf.uni-freiburg.de
Subject: Shostakovich - review

In his sympathy and solidarity with the Jews after the Doctors Trials
Shostakovich composed the music to 11 Yiddish songs, translated to
Russian under the title "From Jewish Folk Poetry" op. 79. With the help
of Joachim Brown`s essay I tried to identify them and had success with 5
of them.

I. Plach ob umershem mladenste - Lament for a dead infant -  ?
II. Zabotlivyie mama i tyotya  - Fussy Mummy and Auntie -
  Shlof, shlof, shlof!/Der tate vet foren in dorf (Ginzburg/Marek 72)
III. Kalybelnaya - Lullaby - ?
IV. Pered dolgoy razlukoy  - Before a long separation -
  Oy, Avram, ikh ken on dir nit sayn (Mlotek: Pearls... 24)
V. Predasterezhenye  - A warning -
 Her Khasi! me tor nit geyn (Rubin 78)
VI. Broshennyi atets - The deserted father -
 Elje der sheynker hot ongeton sayn khalat (Ginzburg/Marek 354)
VII. Pesnya o nuzhde - A song of poverty -
 Oyfn boydem shloft der dakh (Mlotek: Pearls 80)
VIII. Zima  -  Winter
IX. Kharoshaya zhizn  - The good life
X. Pesnya devushki  -  A girl`s song ?
XI. Schastye  -  Happiness   ?

Who can help identify the other six songs?    Who has the source
Shostakovich used, namely Y. Dobrushin & A. Yuditsky: Yidishe folks-
lider, Moscow 1940?

Ruben Frankenstein

______________________________________________________
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