Continuing Evolution: Yiddish Folksong Today

by ALEX WEISER

One of the musical genres that is well represented in YIVO’s archival and library holdings is the oral tradition of Jewish songs in the Yiddish language. Its full historic breadth is difficult to gauge, but it is understood to stretch back as early as the 1300s. We have at our disposal today documentation of approximately 7,000 different songs in about 20,000 different variants.

As the YIVO Encyclopedia explains, the genre of Yiddish folksong “constitutes a lyrical reflection of the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the Jewish people in Yiddish. The songs shed light on religious and secular practices and customs, holidays, and celebrations and convey personal insights into daily life and historical events.” These songs share some qualities with the folksong traditions of co-territorial groups, but also have distinct features.

These works themselves are artifacts of history that can deepen our understanding of the musical, literary, cultural, and political worlds they came from. Even lesser known musical gems broaden the richness of their respective traditions, allowing us to listen beyond the celebrated canon of perennial favorites. What is more, their beauty and inherent musical value have much to offer audiences today.

This tradition began to be studied and documented in the late 19th and early 20th centuries resulting in the creation of archival collections and field recordings by ethnographers, the publishing of collections of song texts, melodies, and analyses, and more. Important examples of all of these can be found at YIVO and are used by scholars studying this music, performing artists learning this repertoire, and composers and songwriters drawing on these traditions.

In addition to facilitating access to these collections, our knowledgeable staff answering research questions, and our digitization projects making these materials more accessible, YIVO brings attention to these collections through hosting performances of this music and commissioning composers and songwriters to create new work that engages with it.

The latest and most ambitious program of this nature is a music festival YIVO is planning for May 2022. YIVO’s Continuing Evolution: Yiddish Folksong Today festival will showcase a variety of new and old music related to Yiddish folksong, bring to light little-known works from our collections, discuss YIVO’s collections and digitization efforts, and celebrate Yiddish folksong’s continued legacy.

Over the past few years YIVO has commissioned works based on Yiddish folksong from a slew of esteemed composers: Martin Bresnick, Marti Epstein, Aaron Kernis, Judith Shatin, Derek David, David Ludwig, Anthony Russel, Daniel Schlosberg, and Dan Shore. These works were all premiered in online performances during the pandemic and are available for viewing on YIVO’s YouTube channel. As a part of Continuing Evolution: Yiddish Folksong Today, YIVO is planning to premiere all of these works in-person in May alongside three brand-new commissions from composers Annie Gosfield, Lainie Fefferman, and Anat Spiegel.

The festival will also feature discussion about performances from the YIVO’s 1973-1975 Folksong Project: East European Jewish Folksong in its Social Context. Thanks to a “Recordings at Risk Grant” from the Council on Library and Information Resources, this collection has now been digitized and is available to researchers: archives.cjh.org/repositories/7/resources/20117. This latest recording digitization effort joins YIVO’s Ruth Rubin Legacy (ruthrubin.yivo.org) as an important online resource for researchers around the world.

Join us in May as we explore, celebrate, and expand the rich musical legacy of Yiddish folksong!

Curious to hear our past concerts? Listen now on YIVO’s YouTube Channel.

Alex Weiser is YIVO’s Director of Public Programs.