The following programme notes were written for Judaica at the University of Huddersfield, 17 September 2015.
Judaica 2: research in song-action
This performance is composed of pure song and action as well as fragments of narrative. You may receive more from it if you do not try to follow a single story, but instead remain present to the work as a dynamic flow that unfolds from each moment to the next.
Directed by
Ben Spatz
Performers
Sióbhán Harrison
Jennifer Parkin
Ben Spatz
Centre for Psychophysical Performance Research
Huddersfield | September 2015
Sources (in order of performance):
‘Ale Brider’. Traditional Yiddish song. See: Abigail Wood (2013) And We’re All Brothers: Singing in Yiddish in Contemporary North America. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing.
‘Joshke Joshke’. Traditional Yiddish song. See: Mighty Squirrel (2010) Sqworld Record. Seattle: Seasqwrl.
Excerpt from The Dybbuk. Text by S. Ansky (1919). Melody after a recording by Noyekh Nachbush, who originated the role of Messenger in The Dybbuk, Vilna Troupe (1920). Special thanks to Debra Caplan, Baruch College, CUNY. See also: Joachim Neugroschel, ed. (2000) The Dybbuk and the Yiddish Imagination: A Haunted Reader. New York: Syracuse University press.
‘Nigun Simcha’. Traditional Hasidic wordless melody or nigun. See: Avraham Fried (2010) The Baal Shem Tov’s Song. New York: Sameach Music Inc.
Excerpt from the Zohar. Medieval Kabbalistic text. See: Gershom Scholem, ed. (1949) Zohar: The Book of Splendor. New York: Schocken Books.
‘One Day’. Traditional Yiddish song ‘Papir Iz Doch Vays’. Ruth Rubin, ed. and trans. (1965) Jewish Folk Songs in Yiddish and English. New York: Oak Publications.
‘El Adon’. Hebrew piyut. Lynn Monte (n.d) ‘Algeria-Melody’. Jerusalem: Invitation to Piyut <www.piyut.org.il> (accessed 03.09.15).
‘Haben Yakir’ Chassidic song. Herbert Rothgarber (n.d.) Treasury of Hassidic Song. Velvel Pasternak Chorus. Collector’s Guild Records. Available online from Recorded Sound Archives <rsa.fau.edu> (accessed 03.09.15).
‘Dror Yikra’. Hebrew piyut. Levi Yitzchak Horowitz ben Pinchas David (n.d.) ‘Bostoner Hassidic Tradition’. Jerusalem: Invitation to Piyut <www.piyut.org.il> (accessed 03.09.15).
Excerpt from Água Viva. Clarice Lispector (2012 [1973]). Trans. Stefan Tobler. New York: New Directions Books.