Hélène Engel / Souvenirs d'avant ma naissance
Hélène Engel / Souvenirs d'avant ma naissance, 2023
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Hélène Engel is a revered Jewish folk-singer, long resident in Montreal. In her latest recording, she presents French-Jewish repertoire, including some of her own compositions. Of particular note during this season are three songs that I recognize from Hebrew: "Ani Purim," "Likhvod ha'Khanouka,"" "Khanouka, khag yaffe," and from my own limited French repertoire (at least the melody) in the case of "Il était une fois 3 Juifs" (which Engel notes is almost unique in being a French folksong about Jews: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).
There are some fascinating translations: Chava Rosenfarb's "Randevu" sung partly in the original Yiddish, and translated into French (with music by a third Montrealler, Henri Oppenheim). Then, there is the jazzy, cabaret French version of the Klezmatics' anthem, "I ain't afraid" (written by Holly Near and translated into Yiddish by the Klezmatics).
This is a rich album, from the album opener, "Souvenirs d'avant ma naissance," composed by Danielle Messia, a high school classmate and friend of Engel's, evoking a traditional Eastern European world that has past; Messia's jazz-jive chant "Cucurbitistan," or Engel's setting of "Le Badge," words by Albert Pesse, of a response to antisemitism. There are also her own thoughtful compositions, including "Confinée" about being locked down during the recent pandemic. There is also her "Yossele", not the more familiar Yiddish song, but a gentle French song themed similar to the '60s "Flying on the ground is wrong." There is also a full-bodied "I love Montreal" (with a shout-out to the vanished Twin Towers of New York), and response to the rude male jerks of her youth, "Les p’tites queues" (Little dicks).
There is one Yiddish song on the album sung in Yiddish, "Bay dem stav", which was apparently sung originally on Jewish holidays prior to the Holocaust. The lyrics were then adapted to the realities of life in the Rivesaltes concentration camp. Engel tracked down the lyrics and created a whole song of the patchwork of memories that survivors shared with her. In her lovely voice, it forms a perfect ending to a souvenir of French Jewish music, in all of its breadth. This album is a work of love, and Engel's voice, the arrangements, the whole, reflect that.
Reviewed by Ari Davidow, 15 Dec, 2024.
Song Titles
- Souvenirs d’avant ma naissance (Danielle Messia) 6:19
- Le Badge (words: Albert Pesse; music: H. Engel) 2:49
- Ani Purim (words: Levin Kipnis; music: Nahum Nardi) 1:54
- Likhvod ha’Khanouka (words: Chaim Nachman Bialik; music: trad hassidic) 2:50
- Il était une fois 3 Juifs—Once Upon a Time, There Were Three Jews (trad French from Lorraine) 2:08
- Confinée—Locked down (Hélène Engel) 3:39
- Yossele (words: H. Engel; music: Jean-Pierre Stora) 2:14
- Shmile (Georges Ulmer) 3:36
- Randevu (words: Chava Rosenfarb; Music: Henri Oppenheim; French trans: H. Engel) 2:58
- Cucurbitistan (Danielle Messia) 3:39
- I ain’t afraid (Holly Near; French: H. Engel) 4:08
- Rivesaltes (trad?) 3:59
- Khanouka, khag yaffe (words: Levin Kipnis; music: trad) 1:33
- Je t’aime a Montreal (Hélène Engel) 3:24
- Les p’tites queues—Little dicks (Hélène Engel) 1:55
