Yikhes
Klezmer Recordings from 1907 - 1939
from the collection of Prof. Martin Schwartz Trikont, LC4270, 1991

Over the last few years, the ubiquitous Rita Ottens and Joel Rubin have released several compilations documenting Jewish and Klezmer music. This volume is the first in a series of three now available in the United States. It contains one of my favorite selections of original klezmer recordings, reasonably cleaned up and listenable. Among other notables, this is the largest collection of Brandwein recordings available to date. Generous helpings of tzimbalom also make this special. This series is vital for anyone who wants a sense of what klezmer is and where it is going. This album covers the recent past (the beginning of this century). I have the original Trikont version with the German liner notes, and my German is less than perfect, so if there are mistakes in the translations, below, please correct me nicely. It's too bad, because these recordings are wonderfully and extensively documented, from personnel, when and where the recordings were made, to much information about the musicians. (If you get the Harmonia Mundi USA versions, generally available in the United States and Canada, this wonderful documentation is in English.)

In a quick overview, written in mid-1992, I wrote: "With no fanfare, and quaintly translated liner notes (English, German, French) we have a new compilation of klez recordings from the first half of this century called Yikhes. Quite tasty--includes some Brandwein and Tarras, as well as some bands and tunes that are unfamiliar." It's five years later and I'm still enjoying this, although on my version I can find no trace of the French and German I noted five years ago. Did I lose something? Oh, and the cymbalom player used as an icon for these klezmer pages was scanned from the liner notes to this collection.

1. Rumänische doina (Naftule Brandwein, 1922) 3:01
2. Yoshke furt avek / Yoshke goes away (Max Yenkovitz, 1913) 3:18
3. Vi tsvey iz Naftule der driter / Where there are two, Naftule is always the third (Brandwein, 1923) 3:13
4. Rumänische Fantasien / Rumanian Fantasy (Josef Solinski) 3:13
5. Naftule shpilt far dem rebn / Naftuli plays for the Rebbe (Brandwein) 2:47
6. Yiddish Hora--a heymish freylekhs (Max Leibowitz) 3:22
7. Jüdischer Tanz (National Jewish Folkmusic Ensemble) 2:35
8. Yikhes / Inheritance (Belfs Rumanian Orchestra ~1910) 2:52
9. Heyser bulgar (Brandwein) 3:05
10. A rumenisher nign / A Rumanian melody (Dave Tarras, 1927) 3:05
11. Doina (Leon Ahl) 2:58
12. Buhusher khusid (Joseph Moskowitz) 2:52
13. Galitsyaner khusid (Mishka Ziganoff, 1921) 3:10
14. Nationale hora, Teil 1 (Abe Schwartz, 1920) 3:46
15. An europeyishe kolomeyke (Raderman's and Beckerman's Orchestra, 1924) 2:49
16. Der ziser bulgar (Brandwein, 1923) 3:10
17. Simkhas toyre (Belf's Rumanian Orchestra, 1910) 2:30
18. Naftule, shpil es nokh amol / Play it again, Naftuli (Brandwein, 1925) 3:15

Reviewed by Ari Davidow 5/11/96