Reviews - Brikele - A Concert of Yiddish Songs/Mariejan van Oort, Jacques Verheijen

Renaissance Man Review

Artist:   Mariejan van Oort, Jacques Verheijen
Album:    Brikele - A Concert of Yiddish Songs
Date of
Release: 1997
Label:    SYNCOOP Produkties
Cat. No.: SYNCOOP 5757 CD 207
ASIN:
Country: NL
Genre/s: World/Jewish/Traditional
Sub-
Genre/s: Yiddish
Type:     Studio
Time:     73:38
Date of
Review:   2003/12/29
Web site: http://www.demaatschap.net

Purchasing Info!

Brikele - Building Big Little Bridges

Released in 1997, "Brikele - A Concert of Yiddish Songs" was the first album by Mariejan van Oort, mezzo soprano and voice teacher, and Jacques Verheijen, pianist and composer, who have been working as a duo since 1993 and specialize in Yiddish song. They have a great natural affinity with this material, and a special predilection for poet and composer Mordekhay Gebirtig, whose work accounts for almost half of the selections on this album. "Brikele", little Bridge in Yiddish, aims to be a bridge between the past and present but succeeds at being so much more. It is also a bridge between peoples, and between cultures.
Mariejan van Oort's lyrical mezzo voice floats seemingly effortlessly and is totally unforced, and is perfectly complemented by pianist Jacques Verheijen's sensitive accompaniments on piano, tsimbl (cimbalom or cymbalom) and guitar. Outstanding musicians of the highest calibre, van Oort and Verheijen present an outstanding collection of Yiddish songs on "Brikele".
The album opens with a Gebirtig cradle song, "Kivele", gentle, tender and loving. "Ver der ershter vet lakhn" - Who will be the first to laugh, is another Gebirtig song, light-hearted and humorous, about two boys and a bet between them. The classic "Papirosn" is given a beautifully original interpretation that emphasizes the song's deep pathos without ever getting overly sentimental or descending into melodrama. A third Gebirtig song follows, "Hulyet, hulyet, kinderlekh", providing a good contrast with its lighter, playful mood and shades of longing, even occasional regret, with not a single nuance missed by Mariejan van Oort and underscored most effectively by Jacques Verheijen's wonderfully sensitive, understated tsimbl. "Reyzele", another Gebirtig song, is a love song, light-hearted, joyous, sometimes teasing. Another classic song, "Dos freylekhe shnayderl", sees the mood changing to bitter-sweet. "Farvos veynstu, Sheyndele", the fifth of the Gebirtig songs on "Brikele", tells of a young girl's telling her mother of her love for a poor taylor's apprentice, and thanks to Ms. van Oort's magical skills we're taken straight into their kitchen to witness the exchange between mother and daughter. One hardly dares breathe, lest the pair be alerted to one's presence and the intimacy be destroyed. Based on liturgical chant, "Elli, Elli, lomo azavtoni" is a despairing cry to heaven in the face of persecution, utterly desolate, forsaken, given an intense, painful beauty by Mariejan van Oort. "A zuniker shtral" is a poem by Gebirtig, set to music sensitively by Jacques Verheijen, remaining utterly faithful to Gebirtig's musical idiom. Here, the mood is forward-looking, hopeful even. The mood turns sombre again, utterly despairing even, on "Shlogt der zeyger eyns". Anger comes to the fore on "Khapt im, nemt im", a traditional song about the victim of a thief. "Hirsh Lekert" is a ballad about the first and most courageous martyr of the Jewish workers' movement, the Yidisher Arbeter Bund, set in Vilna (Vilnius), Lithuania, at the beginning of the 20th century (C.E.). Workers in Vilna held an illegal demonstration on 1st May, 1902, that was brutally broken up by the police by order of the governor of Lithuania, one Von Wal. Hirsh Lekert, a member of the Yidisher Arbeter Bund and participant in the demonstration, made an attempt on the life of Von Wal a few weeks later and was subsequently hanged. A story as relevant today as ever. Poetic and lyrical, "Kholemen khaloymes" provides a dreamy contrast. But the mood quickly turns again with "Im droysn iz finster", a bitter tale of exploitation that could as well have been written at the beginning of the 21st century (C.E.). "Dos alte porfolk", the seventh of the Gebirtig songs in this collection, is a touching husband and wife dialogue, beautifully duetted by Jacques Verheijen and Mariejan van Oort, of pain, suffering, regret, and of longing for final release. The last of the Gebirtig songs, "Gehat hob ikh a heym", with music by Gorovets, is another dark and bitter tale of persecution and of lives destroyed. Yet, the mood turns darker still with "Babi Yar", about the infamous Nazi massacre near Kiev in 1941. As beautiful as it is unbearable. Fortunately and in my opinion wisely, van Oort and Verheijen didn't end the album on such an utterly disconsolate note. Instead, they continued with one more song, "Shpil zhe mir a lidele af yidish", with the hope that is embodied in its lyrics. That hope is as sorely needed today as it ever was. Sadly, it is perhaps also as forlorn as it ever was.
Overall, in addition to the excellence of the performance by Mariejan van Oort and Jacques Verheijen, another thing that makes this album so striking is just how thoroughly modern and utterly relevant all these songs still are today. Oy vey! How little things have changed!
The informative liner notes of Mariejan van Oort and Jacques Verheijen's "Brikele" are excellent and include full lyrics for all songs in romanized Yiddish and English translation.
Mariejan van Oort and Jacques Verheijen's first album of Yiddish songs is a wonderful collection and testimony to their world-class musicianship and natural affinity with this material. "Brikele - A Concert of Yiddish Songs" should be essential in any Yiddish song collection. Voice and piano arrangements by Jacques Verheijen of all the songs on "Brikele" (as well as separate volumes for each of Mariejan van Oort and Jacques Verheijen's other albums) are available through their web site.

© 2003, 2004 Renaissance Man/Rainlore. All rights reserved.

Track List:
1. Kivele (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 3:13
2. Ver der ershter vet lakhn (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 4:26
3. Papirosn (Herman Yablokoff / Russian Trad.) - 5:37
4. Hulyet, hulyet, kinderlekh (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 2:39
5. Reyzele (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 3:40
6. Dos freylekhe Shnayderl (Yosef Kerler/Trad.) - 5:14
7. Farvos veynstu, Sheyndele (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 3:46
8. Elli, Elli, lomo azavtoni (Boris Tomashevski / Kopel Sandler) - 3:17
9. A zuniker shtral (Mordekhay Gebirtig / Jacques Verheijen) - 2:35
10. Shlogt der zeyger eyns (Trad.) - 7:13
11. Khapt im, nemt im (Trad.) - 1:35
12. Hirsh Lekert (unknown) - 4:23
13. Kholemen khaloymes (Aliza Greenblatt / Solomon Golub) - 2:44
14. Im droysn iz finster (Trad.) - 4:15
15. Dos alte porfolk (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 4:48
16. Gehat hob ikh a heym (Mordekhay Gebirtig / Emil Gorovets) - 4:16
17. Babi Yar (Shike Driz / Riva Boyarski, ad. Jacques Verheijen) - 5:17
18. Shpil zhe mir a lidele af yidish (I. Kotliar / unknown) - 4:40

Credits:
Mariejan van Oort - vocals
Jacques Verheijen - piano, tsimbl, guitar, arranger, composer
Guest musicians:
Willem van der Kar - English horn (track 13)
Jannis Saoulis - bouzouki (tracks 9, 13)

PURCHASING INFO:
Brikele - A Concert Of Yiddish Songs can be purchased:
Direct from the artist
From Jewish Music Distribution UK
From Hatikvah Music International (US)

All images used on review pages and artists pages kindly supplied by the artists and/or their record companies, unless otherwise stated. All such images are copyright their respective owners, and all such copyrights and/or other intellectual rights hereby acknowledged.

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	`Artist: Mariejan van Oort, Jacques Verheijen` `Album: Brikele - A Concert of Yiddish Songs` `Date of` `Release: 1997` `Label: SYNCOOP Produkties` `Cat. No.: SYNCOOP 5757 CD 207` `ASIN:` `Country: NL` `Genre/s: World/Jewish/Traditional` `Sub-` `Genre/s: Yiddish` `Type: Studio` `Time: 73:38` `Date of` `Review: 2003/12/29` `Web site: http://www.demaatschap.net` `Purchasing Info!`
	Brikele - Building Big Little Bridges Released in 1997, "*Brikele - A Concert of Yiddish Songs" was the first album by Mariejan van Oort, mezzo soprano and voice teacher, and Jacques Verheijen, pianist and composer, who have been working as a duo since 1993 and specialize in Yiddish song. They have a great natural affinity with this material, and a special predilection for poet and composer Mordekhay Gebirtig, whose work accounts for almost half of the selections on this album. "Brikele", little Bridge in Yiddish, aims to be a bridge between the past and present but succeeds at being so much more. It is also a bridge between peoples, and between cultures. Mariejan van Oort's lyrical mezzo voice floats seemingly effortlessly and is totally unforced, and is perfectly complemented by pianist Jacques Verheijen's sensitive accompaniments on piano, tsimbl (cimbalom or cymbalom) and guitar. Outstanding musicians of the highest calibre, van Oort and Verheijen present an outstanding collection of Yiddish songs on "Brikele". The album opens with a Gebirtig cradle song, "Kivele", gentle, tender and loving. "Ver der ershter vet lakhn" - Who will be the first to laugh, is another Gebirtig song, light-hearted and humorous, about two boys and a bet between them. The classic "Papirosn" is given a beautifully original interpretation that emphasizes the song's deep pathos without ever getting overly sentimental or descending into melodrama. A third Gebirtig song follows, "Hulyet, hulyet, kinderlekh", providing a good contrast with its lighter, playful mood and shades of longing, even occasional regret, with not a single nuance missed by Mariejan van Oort and underscored most effectively by Jacques Verheijen's wonderfully sensitive, understated tsimbl. "Reyzele", another Gebirtig song, is a love song, light-hearted, joyous, sometimes teasing. Another classic song, "Dos freylekhe shnayderl", sees the mood changing to bitter-sweet. "Farvos veynstu, Sheyndele", the fifth of the Gebirtig songs on "Brikele", tells of a young girl's telling her mother of her love for a poor taylor's apprentice, and thanks to Ms. van Oort's magical skills we're taken straight into their kitchen to witness the exchange between mother and daughter. One hardly dares breathe, lest the pair be alerted to one's presence and the intimacy be destroyed. Based on liturgical chant, "Elli, Elli, lomo azavtoni" is a despairing cry to heaven in the face of persecution, utterly desolate, forsaken, given an intense, painful beauty by Mariejan van Oort. "A zuniker shtral" is a poem by Gebirtig, set to music sensitively by Jacques Verheijen, remaining utterly faithful to Gebirtig's musical idiom. Here, the mood is forward-looking, hopeful even. The mood turns sombre again, utterly despairing even, on "Shlogt der zeyger eyns". Anger comes to the fore on "Khapt im, nemt im", a traditional song about the victim of a thief. "Hirsh Lekert" is a ballad about the first and most courageous martyr of the Jewish workers' movement, the Yidisher Arbeter Bund, set in Vilna (Vilnius), Lithuania, at the beginning of the 20th century (C.E.). Workers in Vilna held an illegal demonstration on 1st May, 1902, that was brutally broken up by the police by order of the governor of Lithuania, one Von Wal. Hirsh Lekert, a member of the Yidisher Arbeter Bund and participant in the demonstration, made an attempt on the life of Von Wal a few weeks later and was subsequently hanged. A story as relevant today as ever. Poetic and lyrical, "Kholemen khaloymes" provides a dreamy contrast. But the mood quickly turns again with "Im droysn iz finster", a bitter tale of exploitation that could as well have been written at the beginning of the 21st century (C.E.). "Dos alte porfolk", the seventh of the Gebirtig songs in this collection, is a touching husband and wife dialogue, beautifully duetted by Jacques Verheijen and Mariejan van Oort, of pain, suffering, regret, and of longing for final release. The last of the Gebirtig songs, "Gehat hob ikh a heym", with music by Gorovets, is another dark and bitter tale of persecution and of lives destroyed. Yet, the mood turns darker still with "Babi Yar", about the infamous Nazi massacre near Kiev in 1941. As beautiful as it is unbearable. Fortunately and in my opinion wisely, van Oort and Verheijen didn't end the album on such an utterly disconsolate note. Instead, they continued with one more song, "Shpil zhe mir a lidele af yidish", with the hope that is embodied in its lyrics. That hope is as sorely needed today as it ever was. Sadly, it is perhaps also as forlorn as it ever was. Overall, in addition to the excellence of the performance by Mariejan van Oort and Jacques Verheijen, another thing that makes this album so striking is just how thoroughly modern and utterly relevant all these songs still are today. Oy vey! How little things have changed! The informative liner notes of Mariejan van Oort and Jacques Verheijen's "Brikele" are excellent and include full lyrics for all songs in romanized Yiddish and English translation. Mariejan van Oort and Jacques Verheijen's first album of Yiddish songs is a wonderful collection and testimony to their world-class musicianship and natural affinity with this material. "Brikele - A Concert of Yiddish Songs" should be essential in any Yiddish song collection. Voice and piano arrangements by Jacques Verheijen of all the songs on "Brikele" (as well as separate volumes for each of Mariejan van Oort and Jacques Verheijen's other albums) are available through their web site. © 2003, 2004 Renaissance Man/Rainlore. All rights reserved.*
	Track List: `1. Kivele (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 3:13` `2. Ver der ershter vet lakhn (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 4:26` `3. Papirosn (Herman Yablokoff / Russian Trad.) - 5:37` `4. Hulyet, hulyet, kinderlekh (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 2:39` `5. Reyzele (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 3:40` `6. Dos freylekhe Shnayderl (Yosef Kerler/Trad.) - 5:14` `7. Farvos veynstu, Sheyndele (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 3:46` `8. Elli, Elli, lomo azavtoni (Boris Tomashevski / Kopel Sandler) - 3:17` `9. A zuniker shtral (Mordekhay Gebirtig / Jacques Verheijen) - 2:35` `10. Shlogt der zeyger eyns (Trad.) - 7:13` `11. Khapt im, nemt im (Trad.) - 1:35` `12. Hirsh Lekert (unknown) - 4:23` `13. Kholemen khaloymes (Aliza Greenblatt / Solomon Golub) - 2:44` `14. Im droysn iz finster (Trad.) - 4:15` `15. Dos alte porfolk (Mordekhay Gebirtig) - 4:48` `16. Gehat hob ikh a heym (Mordekhay Gebirtig / Emil Gorovets) - 4:16` `17. Babi Yar (Shike Driz / Riva Boyarski, ad. Jacques Verheijen) - 5:17` `18. Shpil zhe mir a lidele af yidish (I. Kotliar / unknown) - 4:40`
	Credits: `Mariejan van Oort - vocals` `Jacques Verheijen - piano, tsimbl, guitar, arranger, composer` `Guest musicians:` `Willem van der Kar - English horn (track 13)` `Jannis Saoulis - bouzouki (tracks 9, 13)`
	PURCHASING INFO: Brikele - A Concert Of Yiddish Songs can be purchased: Direct from the artist From Jewish Music Distribution UK From Hatikvah Music International (US)
	All images used on review pages and artists pages kindly supplied by the artists and/or their record companies, unless otherwise stated. All such images are copyright their respective owners, and all such copyrights and/or other intellectual rights hereby acknowledged.