On the Fifth Night of Chanukah: Meir Stupel and the Vilna State Theater Orchestra

Tonight’s audio gift is a Zonophone recording by the Orchestra of the Vilna State Theater, under the direction of Meir Stupel. Stupel was a member of a very musical family and spent much of his career affiliated with the theater in Vilna. He also recorded prolifically, and I have been fortunate in the past couple of years to acquire 10 of the dozens documented in Aylward’s discography of European Jewish recordings.

The first side of today’s disc brings us a second version of one of yesterday’s tunes, Pasha. This tune seems to have been a favorite of Stupel’s, as he recorded it, according to Aylward, on three separate occasions. In addition to the version presented here, which was recorded in 1910, he recorded another version on Zonophone, date unknown, with a group identified simply as “Orchestra conducted by Stupel.” Then, in 1914, he recorded it on Odeon with “Wind Band under the direction of Stupel.”

Stupel’s performance with the Vilna Theater orchestra differs from the one we heard yesterday in several major ways. First, the tempo is significantly faster. In contrast, the Russian orchestra version is almost stately and rather march-like. More significantly, Stupel’s ensemble is rhythmically much looser, giving the performance much more of a yidishn tam (a Yiddish flavor). Unlike most of the orchestras we have heard this holiday, while the brass section is predominant, there is a very clear clarinet melody present as well as charmingly melodic drumming. And finally, the form of the tune is quite different. The Russian version has four sections, while the Stupel version has only three, and the third section is characterized by a dramatic held note, complete with trills and drum roll, before the final phrase, which is actually the same as the final phrase of the fourth section of the Russian version.

The second side of this recording by the Vilna Theater orchestra is somewhat more mysterious. Entitled Sore Scheindel, it appears to be a theater medley, with three distinct tunes. The first is a stately minor-key freylekhs with two sections. Then there is a melody that sounds very much as though it could be a song, with lots of repeated phrases and a fanfare-like ending. The third tune is a version of a tune recorded in 1920 by Abe Schwartz on Columbia, Aleh in Einem.

The Stupel version of the tune consists of only two parts: the A section, which is played only once each chorus, and the B section, which is also played only once, though the second half of it becomes its own section and is, in fact, repeated each time. In comparison, the Schwartz version is much more elaborate. After the A section, which is nearly identical to the Stupel A section except for being repeated, the B section begins with an instrumental shout chorus announcing the change in tonality from freygish to minor, and then has an actual shout chorus in the second part of the section, where the musicians say the name of the tune in rhythm. It then goes on to a single time through a third section with another instrumental shout and a melody similar to that found in several other tunes, and finally ends with another generic melody that does repeat.

Tomorrow we will be examining the third disc by the ensemble led by P. Grancowa

Khag sameakh.

**Chanukah art from screen shots of the Menorah iPad app by RustyBrick, Inc.

On the Fourth Night of Chanukah: A Favorite Record

Tonight’s record is a disc on the Favorite label. Favorite was a company started in Germany (specifically in Hanover-Linden) around 1904, and for a decade or so was one of the largest record manufacturers in Germany. In later years, Favorite matrices were released by both Odeon and Columbia.

One of the biggest challenges in working with the vast number of recordings in my collection, also a problem for those dealing with written archives of musical material, is that it often feels like a game of Concentration. I am forever hearing a recording and thinking I know I’ve heard that tune before, and then the task is to figure out where. Most of the time I’m successful, but as amount of material available has grown, the task has become harder and harder. The first side of today’s disc represents an epic fail on my part. I know the tune very well, but I have not been able to find the previous version with which I am familiar. If any of you know the name of the tune or where it has appeared apart from this recording, please put the information in the comments and accept my eternal gratitude.

The tune is entitled simply Pasha and is performed by a Russian orchestra recorded in Warsaw. The freylekhs is lively and performed with precision, with a prominent brass section and piccolo similar to the Grancowa ensemble. There are also both a cymbal and a woodblock featured at various points in the melody. One charming detail is that the tuba player has the ending all to himself. I love those moments of imprecision; they make the recordings come alive.

The second side of the disc is even more interesting. The title is Kum, Kum, Kum tzu Mir. When I heard it, it sounded familiar but not from a klezmer context. There was something about the opening phrase that had a theatrical feel to it. I Googled the title and discovered that it was the first line of a Goldfaden song, Kum tsu Mir Aheym, from his play, Di Kishefmakherin (The Sorceress). After considerable searching, I discovered on Russian-Records.com a Soviet recording of that song and confirmed that it was, in fact, the same tune. The Soviet disc, recorded in Moscow in 1939 by an orchestra under the direction of Lev Pulver, is a two-part scene entitled “Meeting the Sorceress” with “The Abduction of Mirele.” It is that second side that includes our tune.

What is fascinating in comparing these two versions is the transformation of a slow, ominous, very dramatic rendering into a lively freylekhs. In the first section of the tune, Bobe Yakhne, the Sorceress, sings the melody only once, while in the instrumental version the section is repeated, as is usual for klezmer tunes. In the second section, sung by Mirele, the melody is repeated, but the underlying harmony is rather unusual: Em - Bm - Em - B - Em. That use of the minor fifth chord emphasizes the lugubriousness of the scene. In the instrumental version, the melody is played over the tonic until the usual cadence at the very end. The dissonance in that harmonic choice helps propel the tune rhythmically and imparts a much more lively feel, even beyond the much faster tempo.

Tomorrow, stay tuned for Meir Stupel’s version of Pasha plus another familiar tune, both from a Zonophone recording.

Khag sameakh.

**Chanukah art from screen shots of the Menorah iPad app by RustyBrick, Inc.

On the Third Night of Chanukah: A Second Recording by Grancowa

Tonight I would like to share a second recording by Grancowa’s orchestra. This disc represents the rare and wonderful find of a record with two previously unheard tunes on it. The first is a straightforward freylekhs entitled Freitag oyf der nacht. The most notable aspect of this performance is the essentially monotonic rhythm figures played by the brass, particularly a trombone.

The reverse side is much more interesting. First, there is the title, Kharbin or Harbin, which has no Yiddish equivalent. The only meaning I found when searching the original cyrillic is Harbin, the name of a town in China, which seems like an unlikely name for an Eastern European Jewish dance tune. Then there is the fact that I found another version of the tune in my collection, this one from a Jewish Wedding Orchestra under a conductor named Bak or Back that recorded a couple dozen sides on the Stella, Gramophone and Zonophone labels.

The Syrena recording is cheerful and upbeat. This is partly due to the presence of very melodic snare drumming, which emphasizes the lilt of the melody, but the chord choices for this arrangement, particularly for the second section, move the tune into a home base of the relative major (G) from the tonic Em of the A section. This also gives rise to a predominantly major ending cadence for the b and c sections: G-D-B-Em.

The Stella version of the tune differs in very small melodic ways, but the main difference is the much more minor feel of the tune. The first section is essentially the same, though there are a few additional B chords. The second section begins on Am rather than the G major found in the Syrena version, though it moves to the G major in the second phrase. In the third section, the fanfare-like opening notes are harmonized with Em and Am rather than the G and D major chords in the Syrena version. And although the final cadence of the tune uses the B major, the melody flats the third from F sharp to F natural, suggesting the most minor cadence of all, that moves either G-Dm-Em or Em-Dm-Em.

There is obviously much more to say about all of these tunes/recordings, but the object of presenting them here this week is to introduce them to the world.

Tomorrow, we will be looking at a 1911 recording of a Russian orchestra on the Favorite label.

khag sameakh.

**Chanukah art from screen shots of the Menorah iPad app by RustyBrick, Inc.