Yiddish Piano Bar
Avanti! Forverts!
I-tal-yah
Jewish Songs at an Exhibition
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The popular Yiddish song - from Broadway, bars and the by-ways of the Old and New Worlds—comes alive at the Yiddish piano bar. Bernstein moves across musical genres, from the blues to cabaret, mixing the sacred and the secular, poetry with everyday life. This program combines performance, commentary and opportunities to sing along.
With Stu Brotman (bass) and Sheldon Brown (reeds). A unique performance set to paintings by self-taught Toronto artist Mayer Kirshenblatt . Kirshenblatt’s vibrant portraits of his home town Apt, Poland before the Holocaust inspire a rich blend of traditional song and contemporary sound . Projected images of the paintings connected with the songs complete this experience that recreates the sights and sounds of a Jewish Polish town. Presented in conjunction with the book and exhibition They Called Me Mayer July: Painted Memories of Jewish Life in Poland Before the Holocaust by Mayer Kirshenblatt and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett.
A vibrant presentation of Italian musical treasures, in an uninterrupted dialogue with many other European and Mediterranean Jewish traditions: Italo-Yiddish texts from Venice to Purim party songs of 17th century Livorno (the melting-pot of Mediterranean cultures), Tuscan melodies from Florence and Siena, hilarious lyrics adapted to local versions of Chad gadya, Roman satires, liturgical opera arias, resurrected Judeo-Italian songs, wedding poems, heartbreaking Yiddish lyrics traditionally adapted to Neapolitan melodies, Ladino songs that include bits of Italian…
With Michael Alpert (voice, guitar, accordion, and fiddle) and Francesco Spagnolo (voice, guitar, and fiddle). This musical program highlights the repertoires of the Jewish Labor Bund and the beginnings of the Italian workers' movement, presenting forgotten gems, like anti-WW1 songs from both fronts (Italy and Austro-Hungary), and Italo Calvino's lyrics about the Italian liberation struggle of 1943-45.