Slepovitch and Lurje: Songs from Testimonies

Tonight's show is an interview with Sasha Lurje and Zisl
Slepovitch, who discuss the Songs From
Testimonies project, which collects and records
songs and poems discovered in the testimonies of the
Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust
Testimonies at Yale University. The
songs are sung in a variety of languages, including Yiddish,
Polish, and French, from both the prewar period as well as
from the ghettos and camps during the war. All were found
among individual testimonies recorded by survivors for the
Fortunoff Archive. The Archive's musician-in-residence, Zisl
Slepovitch, took the songs, conducted research about their
origins, and then arranged and recorded versions with his
ensemble, featuring singer Sasha Lurje. The project has
resulted in two albums, Where Is Our Homeland? Songs From
Testimonies in the Fortunoff Video Archive, Vol. 1, released
in 2019, and שרײַ, הערצעלע, שרײַ! Cry, My Heart, Cry!, Songs
from Testimonies, Volume 2, which was just released in 2021
for streaming and download and is soon to be available on CD
and vinyl.




This past week, on Jan 27, Slepovitch and Lurje streamed live
to debut and introduce the most recently recorded songs,
along with video recordings of the musicians performing,
COVID-style in video boxes. The live-stream replay is
available now on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/101650124837284/videos/530750214557627/




For additional information and to hear the music from the
Songs From Testimonies project, visit:
https://fortunoff.library.yale.edu/education/songs-from-testimonies/




Zisl Slepovitch, producer and artistic
director of the recordings, arranged all the tracks and also
contributed as composer, lyrics translator, additional
vocalist, and musical instrumentalist on most of the tracks.
A native of Minsk, Belarus, he is a musicologist (Ph.D.,
Belarusian State Academy of Music); a multi-instrumental
klezmer, classical, and improvisational musician; a composer
and poet; and a music and Yiddish educator. He is a founding
member of the critically acclaimed bands Litvakus, Minsker
Kapelye, and Zisl Slepovitch Trio. Additional info at his web
site: http://dmitrislepovitch.com




Sasha Lurje, the main vocalist of the
recordings, is an internationally renowned Yiddish singer,
born in Riga, Latvia, and now based in Berlin, Germany. She
is the featured singer of several Yiddish music bands and
projects, including Forshpil, Litvakus, STRANGELOVESONGS with
Daniel Kahn, Semer Ensemble, and You Shouldn’t Know from It.
Additional info at her web site: https://sashalurje.com




Music:


Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble featuring Sasha Lurje: In
Dinaverke

Lily M. (Fortunoff interviewee/survivor): In Dinaverke

Liubov K. (Fortunoff interviewee/survivor): In Dem
Kleinem Dorf Von Smiltschenz

Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble feat. Sasha Lurje: In Dem
Kleinem Dorf Von Smiltschenz

Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble feat. Sasha Lurje: Walc
François

Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble feat. Sasha Lurje: W Pociągu
Jest Tłok

Peretz H. (Fortunoff interviewee/survivor): W Pociągu
Jest Tłok

Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble feat. Sasha Lurje: Shtubuneltsto

Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an
instrumental track from the CD Je...