Polesye: Jewish Folksongs from the Shtetl

Polesye was the ancient cradle of the Slavic peoples and a center of Hasidism. This unique project is inspired by the repertoire of Mariam Nirenberg, a pre-War Jewish folksinger born in this multicultural region. It was first recorded in the 1970s by eminent folklorist Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett. Vocalist Olga Mieleszczuk provides modern arrangements to Nirenberg's repertoire, accompanied by Israeli clarinetist and guitarist Ittai Bunnun, violinist Cookie Segelstein and accordionist Josh Horowitz.… Show more
"The multilingual and multicultural nature of Nirenberg's repertoire is typical of the eclecticism of traditional Jewish singers in Eastern Europe. Her repertoire is a result of a delicate balance between intercultural contact and cultural independence, factors that played so important a role in East European Jewish culture as a whole." (Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett)
Co-presented with the Polish Cultural Institute New York. Co-sponsored by the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture, in association with the Israel Center (SF), the Consulate of Israel (SF) and the Consulate of Poland (LA).

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