Search - Anonymous, Mordechai Gebirtig, Abraham Goldfaden :: Tradition

Fate is our mate in life

Jacques COULARDEAU | OLLIERGUES France | 11/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those music pieces are definitely Jewish and yet they are at the crossroads of bohemian, gypsy and yiddish styles and they make the violin cry in beauty and weep in enthusiasm. The tears of the bow are dancing and sprinkling all over the place and our smiles are enjoying this voice of paradise on earth some spring Sunday afternoon . And yet deep deep under we can hear and feel some vague and yet perfectly distinct menace surging from the night and looming high over the unconscious people who ignore that danger is in the back of every minute and should be at the back of every mind. And suddenly the racing notes accelerate their flight across the air and the sky as if a whole hive of aggressive wasps were arriving and charging. Get lost, get hidden away from the landing of the charging cavalry of danger, any danger : be ready for it, never forget it may come at any time. This music is the voice of the immense cosmic void that fills our minds when we forget life is a struggle against death. It reminds us of our duty to remember that the future cannot be forgotten as if it did not exist. The future is already here, in our back and pushing us to the days to come and the years that will arrive soon, too soon probably for us to be able to change anything. There is a deep sense of fatality in this music : no matter what may happen, we will live it through, and in a way or another survive it. No need to foresee danger it would not help us to face it.



Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Université Paris Dauphine, Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne

"

Itzhak Perlman at His Best

Susanna King | South Bend, IN | 07/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Violinist Itzhak Perlman has used his formidable talent in expressing the pathos and joy of traditional Yiddish tunes and the result brings the listener to both tears of sadness and tears of delight. Mr. Perlman's deep empathy with the Jewish soul is manifested in every note, every nuanced phrase of his performance. A wonderful listening experience for every "ehrlicher yid" - and those who appreciate the history of a people portrayed in sound."

A beautiful Tradition

Veggiechiliqueen | 03/13/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On Tradition, Israeli violinist Itzhak Perlman explores the traditional Jewish melodies of his childhood, along with the help of the Israeli Philharmonic under the direction of Dov Seltzer. Timeless gems of the Yiddish theater such as A Yiddishe Mamme (A Jewish Mother), As der Rebbe Elimelech is gevoyrn asoi freylach, Oif'n Pripetchik Brennt A Feier'l (At the Fireplace)(featured on the Schindler's List soundtrack), Rozhinkes Mit Mandelen (Raisins and Almonds), and Viahin Soll Ich Geyn? (Where Shall I Go?) are given lush, cinematic backings worthy of a film score, and Perlman takes his cues from the early recordings and stage performances of the likes of Joseph Rosenblatt, Mordechai Hershman, and Jan Peerce (according to Blair Sanderson's All Music Guide review).



Although it only clocks in at nine songs, Perlman's instrumental interpretations of these songs are at once respectful of tradition, yet bring fresh nuances (such as the playful introduction to the As der Rebbe Elimelech freylach, with its dramatic pauses punctuated by triangle and lightning-fast delivery smoothed by klezmer clarinet and slower double-stops (it's one of the few uptempo songs). The overall theme is definitely a melancholy one as the majority of the songs are slow and in minor keys, particularly of Oif'n Pripetchik Brennt A Feier'l, which I will forever associate with Schindler's List. Tradition is the nostalgically wistful, subdued cousin of Perlman's boisterous klezmer album In the Fiddler's House, but there is much to appreciate of Perlman's passionate violin solos and Seltzer's somber string-drenched backing that gives these songs a weight and dignity beyond their theatrical origins. Tradition is perhaps best appreciated next to Perlman's incomparable performance on John Williams' haunting soundtrack to Schindler's List)."