Voices of Ashkenaz

This is a fascinating recording that evolved out of the Yiddish Summer Weimar festival, which unites serious Jewish music research and top performers. When we talk of Yiddish or Ashkenazi culture these days, it's Eastern Europe (Poland, Romania, Ukraine) we think of. But the language was born in what is now Germany, which is why it sounds so German. Many of the German Jews migrated East during the time of the Crusades (in the 11th and 12th centuries) when religious differences became more acute. What this album does is explore Western Yiddish and Eastern Yiddish versions of the same repertoire plus similar songs from Western Europe – like matching ‘Strawberry Fair’ with its Yiddish equivalent. It means that most of the tunes are more European-sounding, without the ‘Oriental’ modes of Eastern Europe. The ballad song about King Harald, ‘Fort a Yidele – Der Grausame Bruder’, which alternates the Yiddish and German versions, is a perfect example.

The idea came from singer and guitarist Andreas Schmitges, who sings a song for the Purim holiday that sounds totally Western European. Lead vocalist is Ukraine-born Svetlana Kundish whose voice is versatile, but with too much vibrato. Other top klezmer names here include Alan Bern (who organises Yiddish Summer Weimar), singer and violinist Michael Alpert and violinist and singer Deborah Strauss. Voices of Ashkenaz shows a whole new side to klezmer.