Our physical "Yiddish Silver Screen" CD comes in a beautiful six-panel illustrated gate-fold case, with cover art by Anya Ulinich and disc design by Lisa M. Kelsey. The eminently legible twenty-page booklet fits smoothly into notched tube insert, complete with detailed descriptions as well as full lyrics for all vocal tracks including original Yiddish plus both transliteration and complete English translations. Booklet and artwork layouts by Yiddish publications expert Yankl Salant, graphic designer for "Yiddish Silver Screen" (aka "zilberner kino" / זילבערנער קינאָ ). Illustrations include band photos as well as archival frame stills from numerous Yiddish cinematic works.
Includes unlimited streaming of Yiddish Silver Screen
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
From the 1923 musical melodrama, "Shtarker fun libe" (Stronger Than Love)—staged in NYC’s Second Avenue theater district, this brooding song’s haunting melody compels the listener with spooky “tri-tone” musical intervals in its repeated opening phrase. Ever since releasing our 1997 all-instrumental version on Metropolitan Klezmer's debut album "Yiddish For Travelers," a gravitational force kept luring us back to record the full vocal piece complete with its heart-wrenching lyrics -- despite their touch of menace.
lyrics
Dos lebn loyft gants shnel avek.
Ales, yo ales, iz azoy leydik,
Nor di libe, zi hot nit keyn breg.
Di libe blaybt, zi blaybt af eybik.
Keynig un betler, ales vos lebt,
Tsu libe, tsu libe shtrebt – akh...
Libes-shmertsn rayst in hertsn.
S’iz a gefil, oy a tayer.
Es brent in hertsn a fayer.
Ale taymim filt men tsuzamen.
Es brent un es brit un in hertsn es tsit.
Dos iz libe, libes-shmerts.
Dos ershte mol hob ikh dikh derzen,
Hob ikh gefilt, kh’ken on dir nit zayn.
Ikh hob genumen tsu dir oft arayngeyn.
Hob ikh bashlosn az du must zayn mayn.
On dir tsu zayn ken ikh nit mer
Bay got in himl, ikh shver – akh...
TRANSLATION:
Life runs away so quickly.
Everything, yes, everything is so empty
Only love has no boundary [end].
Love remains, it is eternal.
King and beggar, all that’s alive
Aspires to love, to love—akh!
CHORUS: The pain of love tears at the heart.
It’s a precious feeling.
A fire burns in the heart.
You feel all sensations together at once.
It burns and it blazes and pulls at the heart.
This is Love, Love’s Pain.
The first time time I saw you,
I felt I cannot go on without you.
I started going to see you often.
I decided that you must be mine.
I can’t bear to be without you,
By God in heaven I swear—akh!...
credits
from Yiddish Silver Screen,
released December 8, 2023
music & lyrics by Joseph M. Rumshinsky: Ethnic Music c/o Music Sales Corp | ASCAP, arranged by Eve Sicular & Pam Fleming
NYC-based ISLE of KLEZBOS approaches tradition with irreverence and respect. The soulful, fun-loving powerhouse all-women’s
klezmer sextet has toured from Vienna to Vancouver since 1998. Repertoire ranges from rambunctious to entrancing: neo-traditional folk dance, mystical melodies,Yiddish swing & retro tango, late Soviet-era Jewish drinking song, re-grooved standards, & genre-defying originals....more
Featuring several Isle of Klezbos performers plus virtuosi of Yiddish and interlocking genres, with both traditional and original music. "Mazel Means Good Luck" is our particular favorite! Isle of Klezbos
supported by 12 fans who also own “Libes Shmertsn”
One of the best new albums of Yiddish and Klezmer music on Bandcamp in my opinion. The collaboration of two sensitive artists of different generations who know a lot about Yiddish and American music.
dcarkner
One of my favourite musical discoveries in a while. These musicians are seriously talented. I can’t help imagining that there would have been a whole significant subculture of Yiddish psych rock like this in a different, kinder universe. For now, this is a window into that world that might have been. And I love every second of it. Audrey
Raw black metal that brooks no compromises, this has all the ferocious guitars, lo-fi aesthetics and infernal howling you crave. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 30, 2023
Originally sung by Holocaust survivors in Yiddish, Polish and French, this moving album is now available in a gorgeous LP package. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 11, 2022