אײביק װעלן מיר פֿאַרבינדן אונדזער נעכט מינט הײַנט

[sovay]

So I spent my afternoon with the community chorus of the Boston Workmen's Circle and it now appears I belong to a Yiddish chorus. They're called A Besere Velt—A Better World. I have not sung with a chorus in at least fourteen years and I have not performed professionally in two or three. I had a wonderful time. People said nice things about my voice and my musicianship, which was good for shutting up Tiny Wittgenstein. Songs almost everyone around me knew better than I did included "Hulyet, hulyet, beyze vintn," "Bella ciao," "Tsindt on a likhtl" (a modern Yiddish translation of "Light One Candle"), "Vilne," and Shmerke Kaczerginski's "Yugnt himn." There is a strong partizaner anti-fascist vibe to the current season's repertoire and I am fine with it. We will be performing in December as part of Yiddish New York. There's also some kind of smaller ensemble I have been invited, and plan, to audition into. More details as I gather them. There go my Saturdays. As you may be able to discern from the hours-lingering adrenaline, I am really happy.

Comments

[sovay]

I only ever hear "Hulyet, Hulyet" deeply ironically/curmudgeonly, because of what I otherwise know about Gebirtig.

Hey, if you people travel around the holidays, you could come up to New York and hear what it sounds like when the collective we which I am just now able to count myself part of performs it. Today was mostly THROW YOURSELF ON THE HAND GRENADE OF SIGHT-READING, INTERPRETATION WILL COME.

(My sight-reading has unsurprisingly deteriorated since 2004, but it has not actually died and right now I feel pretty good about that. My ability to learn anything by ear if I hear it a couple of times has not gone anywhere and served me in good stead.)

I am intrigued, and also more happiness and more anti-fascism wins.

It makes me physically happy to be singing and it makes the rest of me happy to be singing this music. I'm glad to be part of it.