how many jewish mothers does it take?

Here’s the fifth and last in the Yiddish Songs set, and the one that makes all the bubbeles start bawling.

ok. I admit that I’m a bit of a Jewish grandma myself.

V. Rozhinkes mit Mandlen (Abraham Goldfaden 1840-1906)

In dem beys hamikdash
In a vinkl cheyder
Zitst di almone bastsioyn aleyn.

Ir benyochidl idele
Vigt zi keseyder
Un zingt im tsum shlofn a lidele sheyn:

Untern yidele’s vigele
Shteyt a klurvays tsigele
Dos tsigele iz geforn handlen
Dos vet zayn dayn baruf
Rozhinkes mit mandlen
Shlofzhe, yidele, shlof.

V. Raisins and Almonds

In the temple
In a dark room,
Sits the widow, Daughter of Zion, alone.

Her only son, her little one, she rocks
And sings him to sleep with a pretty song:

Under your cradle, little one,
There stands a snow-white baby goat -
The baby goat is a peddler of fruit;
This will be your work too -
Trading in raisins and almonds.
And now sleep, my little one, sleep.

Oy Vey 1+1+1+1

ok, ok, so I”m shelling them out slowly. Only one more to go after this…this one is going to have added a very flourish-y kleyzmer-like clarinet part that isn’t there on the recording (in a sense I feel that the clarinet is more prominent and important in this song than the actual singing…). It’s simple and fun and ridiculous, and I chose it for such because of the contrast with the very last Yiddish song in the set, which is one of my favorite songs of all time. But that’s for the next shell.

IV. Du zolst nit geyn (Chasidic/Folk)

Du zolst nit geyn mit kayn andere, Meydele!
Du zolst nur geyn mit mir.
Du zolst nit geyn tsu der mame in shtubele
Nur kumen zolst du tsu mir.
la-la-la-lay-lay,
la-la-la-lay-lay,
la-la-la-lay-lay-lay-lay-lay!!

IV. You shall go with no other, girl!

You shall go with no other, young maiden!
You must only go about with me.
You shall not go and see your mother in her room,
You must come only to me!
la-la-la-lay-lay,
la-la-la-lay-lay,
la-la-la-lay-lay-lay-lay-lay!!

Seance on a Wet Afternoon

Yesterday morning I spent the major portion of 2.5 hours having makeup, hair and wardrobe done for a photo shoot that lasted, at the most, 20 minutes.

And I had such a BLAST!!

Or as my fabulous 14 year old niece, Colee, very aptly put it “you get to play dress up first thing in the morning. How fun!” 

I even got to put on seriously red nail polish, a color to which I had never in the past even considered a sideways glance…(not that I really ever glance much at nail polish as it were, having quite a non ‘girlie’ disposition, which is, perhaps, unfortunate, ’cause it’s a really pretty color…).

I’m regressing  *-)

The photo shoot was part of an fantastic new opera, by the unbelievable Stephen Schwartz’s (Wicked; Godspell). It is premiering at the Santa Barbara Opera with performances on Sept. 26, Oct. 2 & 4.

Based on a movie by the same name (which came out in 1964, and for which the lead, Kim Stanley, won an Oscar.). The lead for the opera (in the role of Myra Savage) will be played by Lauren Flannigan who is an absolutely phenomenal performer. I’m cast in the role of Mrs. Clayton, a San Francisco socialite and the mother of the little girl which Myra and her husband decide to kidnap – yes, it’s an opera after all…It takes place in 1962.

The photo shoot was for a portrait picture that hangs on the wall in Mr. Clayton’s home office (and we also took the opportunity to do some ‘action’ photos, which I always find to be a pretty weird experience…).

All this blabbering just, really, to show you what I looked like:

One staff member remarked that all I was missing was an apron and a kitchen spoon.

Could I bring you some coffee with that??

over and out.

Oy Vey x3

and to Yiddish song #3 in the group…I’ve added a clarinet part to this one, since the recording. I really love the story told through the words to this song. I feel that with the Yiddish lyrics there’s a kind of sweet funniness associated with situation described that might not be there otherwise, and I think that’s what attracted me to use this song in the first place.

III. Unter A Kleyn Beymele (Zvi Hirsh Margulies 1888-1944)

Unter a kleyn beymele
Zitsen yinglech tsvey,
Zey reydn fun a meydele
Keyn zach kimert zey.

Dertselt eyner di nisimlech
Vos er hot gehat,
Chapt der anderer a roys
Dertselt es akurat.

Unter a kleyn beymele
Zitsen yinglech tsvey,
Zey reydn fun a meydele
Keyn zach kimert zey.

Er fleygt, zogt er, gantse teyg
Umgeyn nit gegesn,
Dort’n vu zi hot gevoynt
Sho’en opgezesn.

Unter a kleyn beymele
Zitsen yinglech tsvey,
Zey reydn fun a meydele
Keyn zach kimert zey.

Shturem, vint’n, regen, shney,
Keyn zach apgeshroken,
Un di mame in der heym
Gevart hot mit a floken.

III. Under a Little Tree

Under a little tree
Sit two young boys,
They talk about a girl,
and nothing else bothers them.

The first one tells of the miracles
That had befallen him.
The other boy interrupts
And finishes the tale.

Under a little tree
Sit two young boys,
They talk about a girl,
and nothing else bothers them.

He’s spend, says he, entire days
walking beneath her house.
And where she lived the other would stay,
Completely forgetting to eat.

Under a little tree
Sit two young boys,
They talk about a girl,
and nothing else bothers them.

Storms, winds, rain, snow
Nothing frigtened them,
Not even mother who waited at home
With a stick for a beating.

oy vey #2

Here’s the second song in the Yiddish set. This one actually made my dad laugh out loud during the first performance of it, which is a rare occurrence indeed. oh, to be a funny Jew…

II. A Fidler (Shmuel Tsesler -  lyrics; Wolowitz Hersh – music)

S’hot der tate fun yaridl
Mir gebracht a naye fidl,
Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, si
Shpil  ich didl, di, di.

Ch’halt dos kepl angeboygen
Un farglotst di beyde oygn
Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, si
Shpil  ich didl, di, di.

Rechtn fus faroys a bisl
Klap dem takt tsu mitn fisl
Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, si
Shpil  ich didl, di, di.

Kvelt un vundert zich di mame
Kenst doch azoy gut di game.
Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, si
Shpil  ich didl, di, di.

II. The Fiddler

My father went to market
And brought me a new fiddle.
Do re mi fa sol la si;
Play I: didl di di.

I hold my head bent to the side,
And both my eyes glaze over
Do re mi fa sol la si;
Play I: didl di di.

Right foot forward just a little
Pound the beat out with my foot,
Do re mi fa sol la si;
Play I: didl di di.

Mother marvels and wonders to herself
How very well I know the instrument.
Do re mi fa sol la si;
Play I: didl di di.

Oy Vey

For my Master’s degree graduation recital at Juilliard I took a group of 5 traditional Yiddish songs and arranged them for Soprano, Piano and Clarinet.

This was, per usual, spurred by Herr Whitacre – to explain: I wanted the 2nd half of the recital to consist of musical material that somehow reflected on my life. I had a group in Russian, all by Rimsky-Korsakov (My maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather – yech- try saying that 7 times fast – were both from Russia); I had Eric’s ‘Five Hebrew Love Songs’ (he actually played the piano for it. heh.); and I wanted a Yiddish group, but all I could find were these old (and I mean OLD) compilations of basically just melodies and lyrics of a ton of Yiddish songs.

Hence the next logical step in a creative mind “why don’t you just take the one’s you like and arrange them?”. Say what??

I used to have a tape (remember those things?) of that recital, with that original version of the songs, and I’ve searched high and low but cannot seem to locate it (which means I should record it again someday!!). ok,  so I won’t be able to play that here for you…

I did however make an arrangement of those songs for SATB choir, Piano and Clarinet, which was premiered by Rob Istad and his fantastic choir at Cal. State Fullerton. In a couple of weeks the wonderful Rob will present them at a reading session for the ACDA (American Choral Director’s Association) fall conference, and I have also FINALLY finished them for publication, and the sheet music will hopefully come out sometime this fall/winter under Eric’s publication.

Since that first performance I’ve added a bit more clarinet to each song (it was there in the solo version but I wasn’t sure how it would sound with a choir, took it out and then, after hearing it a few times realized it could use a little more…).

It was incredibly rewarding arranging them the first time around. The 2nd time, for choir, was more of a challenge for me, because I truly am NOT a composer and don’t have an ear for 1. hearing things in my mind, and 2. hearing them ‘orchestrally’. (my brain’s musical geometry seems to be within the realm of single lines, simple ideas. I cannot wrap my head around constructing complex structures).

There are five songs. Here is the recording of the first one (from the premiere concert) – a very rough recording and very first-draft version:

I. Di Alte Kashe (Chasidic/Folk)

Fregt di velt an alte kashe,
Tra-la tra-di-ri-di-rom?
Enfert men tra-di-ri-di-rei-lom,
Oy, oy, tra-di-ri-di-rom.
In az men vil, ken men oich zugen tra-i-dim
Blabt doch vater di alte kasche,
Tra-la tra-di-ri-di-rom?

I. The Ancient Question
The world asks the ancient question,
Tra-la tra-di-ri-di-rom?
One can answer tra-di-ri-di-rei-lom,
Oy, oy, tra-di-ri-di-rom.
And if one wants he may also say tra-i-dim.
Still remains the ancient question,
Tra-la tra-di-ri-di-rom?

chaos

If “I will not stop” was a rough demo, this one’s a porcupine…

The third in the group that I recorded with Tali.

I wanted to write something a bit lighter, sexier, fun-er. I don’t know what I was thinking.

The idea for the vocals in the hook is that they really shouldn’t be sang as written – but manipulated electronically. so apologies in advance…

sparkling sand tickles underneath;
smoke shadows lifting from a warm teacup;
nations tearing at war;
big bang echoes;
me and you
entangled

ancient ferns devour ancient cities;
euclidean angles going absolutely haywire;
traffic jammed clouds weeping into a gulf stream;
you and I
entangled

it’s chaos
chaos (organized)
chaos
such perfect chaos

we’re seeking control, trying to find a path  for handling meaning;
the cage is so small, obscuring the all;
time only exists in our counting it.

it’s chaos
chaos (organized)
chaos
such perfect chaos

baldness patterns;
the wind takes a leaf on an innocent journey;
markets crashing – boom! -
in modern cities;
the rhythm of your  sighs to my sweet surrender;
little magic openings
chemically intertwined -

it’s chaos
chaos (don’t clean it up)
chaos
such perfect chaos

Jesca Hoop

One of my favorite girls these days…heard a song on KCRW a few months ago:

‘Seed of Wonder’ & ‘Out the back door’ are AWESOME (the produced, non-acoustic versions from ‘Kismet’ – actually many songs on that album…) and ‘Murder of Birds’ (from Kismet – Acoustic).

so cool, beautiful and different.

over and out,

hila

i will not stop

ok.

Putting this up seems a bit frivolous and a lot scary. The quality of the demo has much to be desired (when they say ROUGH demo they are referring to what you are about to hear…). The overall sound is pretty flat and my vocals are far less than ideal. But, heck, I want to put this out there.

A few years back Eric succeeded in yet another one of his crusades to get the people around him to create something. This time the person was myself and it was in the form of a song, and then more songs which I have been trying to write ever since. We were in this tiny little Bavarian town (where he was invited to lecture), he was working, I was on my own, and this first song just came blurting out.

A little while ago we decided we might want to make some rough demos of songs that I have written since then (rough like a porcupine), and so with the collaboration of my best friend and superb pianist Tali Tadmor, we went into Firehouse Studios in Pasadena and did what we could with a couple of hours…(we recorded three songs “The Reckoning”, “Chaos” & “i will not stop”, about all of which I will find the chutspah to blog – at some point).

My intention with this song, when it will finally be realized, is that it will be very orchestral in scope and that the voice will fluctuate between sections of gentleness and sections of grittiness or grinding-ness  (if that make any sense at all in made up words, on a computer).

But enough with the lame excuses.

Even though all things may seem so lost for time;
Even though your eyes would kiss me once and last;
Even though our moments run so fast and melt with past, and past, and past
I will not stop
I will not stop
I will not stop
I will not stop and look on frightened
I will not stop
I will not stop

Even though the hint of autumn creeps through lashes;
Even though my hips are wider than before;
Even though sweet childhood sheds unto the floor -
the kids’ still listening
every minute -
ears glued to your backyard door
so I will not stop
I will not stop
not stop
I will not stop
until god’s wave pulls me under
I will not stop
how could I stop

Even though attachment
is so unforgiving;
Even though each breath
ponders the next;
And although I truly know
the heaviness of living
I’ll rip open my soul,
force it though
and make it confess
that I cannot stop
I cannot stop
yet my heart be drowned
in beauty’s ocean
that will not stop
It will not stop
it will not stop.

vampire music

ok, so, an admission. I had an evening alone a few days ago and I finally downloaded and watched the movie ‘Twilight’…

not exactly a fine film in most ways, but I’m obsessed with science fiction and fantasy and I love vampire stories (to a degree), and I figured, since I’ve watched seasons 1-7 of Buffy four times through already (an entirely separate confession, for another entry), it’s time to move on (and grow up? Heh.)

My wonderful 13 year old niece, Colee, has been telling me about the series for quite a while. I tried, truly I tried, no really, to start reading them – I must have gone to the bookstore on eight different occasions and put genuine effort into finding a place in my brain that will be interested in continuing to read these books, because I am always craving a world that will transport me, and for some reason fantastical stories seem to have that effect.

But I just simply could not get past the writing (and this is in no way assuming, for one second, that I am a qualified  judge of whether literature is poorly or well written. It’s just that some things either work or don’t work for my particular capacity, and this style of prose, for me, is too much like the postings in a blog…).

What I did find extremely cool was the soundtrack.

My most-loved song-soundtracks are usually ones that come attached to a Wes Anderson movie (Royal Tenenbaums; The Life Aquatic; Rushmore), and I found this one to be nearly as mood setting and compelling, and I feel it really added an aura to the film that otherwise would be lacking…

My favorite track was “Eyes on Fire” by the ‘Blue Foundations’:

And I was also really fond of “Full Moon” by ‘The Black Ghosts’ and “Supermassive Black Hole” by ‘Muse’.

have a safe and bloodless night.