WANDERING AROUND JEWISH MUSIC: Hava Nagila & Other Jewish Favorites | Chava Alberstein | C’s de jongens. Producer Cobie Ivens
1- Hava Nagila & Other Jewish Favorites.
Performed by, in succession: The Andrew Sisters; Pete Seeger; Jan Peerce; Al Jolson; Harry Belafonte; Cab Calloway and Betty Madigan. Hava Nagila is one of the first modern Jewish folk songs in the Hebrew language. It became a staple of band performances at Jewish weddings and religious celebrations. In Judaism, a nigun is a wordless melody line. Especially in the Hasidic tradition of Judaism, nigunim play a major role and are seen as a form of prayer.
CD. Hava Nagila & Other Jewish Favorites.
LABEL: Factory of Sounds (2017), code: FOS 2205012. VIDEO
2- Chava Alberstein.
On Lemele, Israeli singer Chava Alberstein sings in Yiddish again. The tone of most of her songs on Lemele (Lamb) is melancholic again, something that you quickly get when you sing in Yiddish, according to Chava: “It is the language of our grandparents. You talk to people who are no longer alive and that makes you sad”. The recent revival of klezmer has increased interest in Yiddish again and in Chava Alberstein the language has an excellent ambassador. The singer recorded Lemele in Prague with a Czech orchestra. The voice of Chava Alberstein (herself born in Poland) and the music of the orchestra complement each other perfectly.
CD. Lemele – Chava Alberstein.
LABEL: Rounder Records (2007), code: RRECD 17. VIDEO
3- Trio C Tot De Derde.
The trio consists of accordionist Coos Lettink, violinist Carel den Hertog and clarinetist Caspar Terra. Lettink and Terra have known each other since the third grade of primary school and started improvising music together around that time. With the addition of Den Hertog’s virtuoso violin, a real trio was created with the humorous name Trio C Tot De Derde. The conservatory students often use traditional Klezmer, Balkan or gypsy music as a basis for many improvisations, which gives the music a life of its own. Like ‘true gypsies’ they play everywhere and also on the street. Furthermore, the music of Trio C Tot De Derde is exuberant, humorous, melancholic and virtuoso.
CD. C’s de jongens – Trio D tot de derde.
LABEL: Syncoop (2004), code: 5764 CD 277. VIDEO
Producer: Cobie Ivens
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