CD – Voices of Ashkenaz

Alan Bern (Berlin / USA) – accordion

Michael Alpert (New York) – voice, violin, frame drum

Thomas Fritze (Köln) – double bass, guitar, percussion, voice

Svetlana Kundish (Ukraine/Israel) – voice

Andreas Schmitges (Köln) – guitar, mandolin, voice

Deborah Strauss (New York) – violin, accordion, voice

Till Uhlmann (Halle) – hurdy gurdy

Vivien Zeller (Berlin) – violin

The Voices of Ashkenaz ensemble has embarked on an exciting journey. Six musicians from USA, Ukraine/Israel and Germany dedicate themselves to revealing the surprising relationships and parallels between Yiddish and German folk songs.

The program is a creative approach to these relationships, a game with melodies and texts. Traditions that once belonged together in the old Ashkenaz (Hebrew for Germany) come together again; a particularly fascinating meeting due to their different developments in different cultures, periods and places.

Traditions that once belonged together in the old Ashkenaz (Hebrew for Germany) come together again; a particularly fascinating meeting due to their different developments in different cultures, periods and places.

Andreas Schmitges found them and together they created a multi-layered program was created in which the Yiddish and German versions of the songs and pieces are played side by side and together with love for the music and attention to detail.

1 Patsch & Klatsch

2 Nem aroys a ber fun vald – Unmögliche Dinge

3 Tse vuzhe gibn dir mayn lib kind? – Schuster, den mag ich nicht

4 Fort a yidele – Der grausame Bruder

5 Raynlender – Rheinländer

6 Tumbalalayka

7 Retenish – Rätsellied

8 Sheyn bin ikh sheyn – Schön bin ich, das weiß ich!

9 Snider-Sher

10 Ekhod mi yaudea – Eins, das weiß ich

11 Pumai ir liben geselen

12 Vayngortn – Weingarten

13 Gey ikh mir shpatsirn – Ich ging einmal spazieren

14 Hob ikh a por oksn – Lügenlied

Produced by Andreas Schmitges and Frank-Uwe Neis, 2016.

www.askenaz.eu