"Wandering Stars" CD launch
From a post to the Jewish-Music mailing list. Not clear if the launch activity is a lecture, concert, or both:
Julian Futter and Mike Aylward are proud to announce the launch of a new CD - "Wandering Stars" - the story of Gimpel's Lemberg Yiddish theatre.
We are launching this CD on Thursday 5 Dec at 8.00p.m. at the New London Synagogue, 33 Abbey Rd, London, NW8 0AT and anyone who is in London is welcome to come.
In 1900 Lemberg was one of the most important cities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire with a population of 160,000, of whom a third were Jewish. The Lemberg theatre was the first permanent and most important Yiddish theatre in Europe.
Sholem Aleichem visited in 1905 and based his novel "Wandering Stars" on his experiences there.
In 1910 Franz Kafka was profoundly affected when he saw members of the troupe perform in Prague , Joseph Roth and Mark Chagall were also hugely influenced by what they saw.
The theatre gave birth to a unique form of musical drama that to a significant extent shaped popular American culture.
Thanks to the efforts of a small band of record collectors and discographers operating worldwide, many of these records have been documented and copies located and it is now possible for the first time in over 100 years to give a voice to this silenced civilization whose destruction has been rigorously documented, but whose achievements have so far been largely unexplored. Listen to songs about weddings, wild women, drinking, the original Yidl mit sein Fidl, a Hatikvah recorded in 1909, an out of control Simchas Torah and, of course, Sex.
The recordings are accompanied by a richly illustrated, full colour, 40 page booklet which places the theatre in its historical context, provides full biographies of the artists and detailed information on all the recordings.
CD available online: www.honestjons.com/shop.php?pid=43514&CatID=124