Polish-Jewish Music
Polish Jewish Music
Polish
Folk Songs
POLONIA
MUSIC VIDEOS
Recently I have begun to investigate the secular music of the Jews who lived in Poland prior to World War II. I discovered this beautiful tango on Jurek's YouTube Channel and decided to post it on PoloniaMusic.com as a starting point for my research.
Jurek provides this information about the tango, "Rebeka":
Tango "Rebeka": H.Gold - S.Witas
INTRO: Em / B7 Em
Em
Widziałem cię po raz pierwszy w życiu
B7
I serce me w ukryciu
Em Am B7
Cicho szepnęło: to jest on!
Em
I nie wiem skąd, przecież jesteś obcy,
Am
Są w mieście inni chłopcy.
G B7
Ciebie pamiętam z wszystkich stron.
Em
Kupiłeś „Ergo” i w mym sklepiku,
B7
Zwykle tak pełnym krzyku
Em Am B7
Wszystko zamilkło, nawet ja!
Em
Mówiąc „adieu” ty się śmiałeś do mnie,
Am
Ach jak mi żal ogromnie,
G B7
Że cię nie znałam tego dnia...
Em
O mój wymarzony,
O mój wytęskniony,
Am Em
Nie wiesz o tem przecież ty,
Am Em
Że w małem miasteczku za tobą ktoś
B7 Em Am Em B7
Wypłakał z oczu łzy...
Em
Że biedna Rebeka
W zamyśleniu czeka
Am Em
Aż przyjedziesz po nią sam,
Am Em
I zabierzesz ją jako żonę swą,
B7 Em
Hen, do pałacu bram...
G
Ten krzyk, ten gwałt, ten cud,
Am E7 Am
Ja sobie wyobrażam, Boże mój!
D7
Na rynku cały lud,
G Am B7
A na mnie błyszczy biały weselny strój!...
O mój wymarzony,
O mój wytęskniony,
Czy ktoś kocha cię jak ja?
Lecz ja jestem biedna i to mój sen,
Co całe życie trwa...
Pamiętam dzień, było popołudnie,
Szłam umyć się pod studnię...
Tyś samochodem przybył raz,
A koło ciebie siedziała ona,
Żona czy narzeczona,
Przez mgłę widziałam razem was...
Coś zakręciło się w mej głowie...
Mam takie słabe zdrowie...
W sercu ścisnęło coś na dnie
Padłam na bruk, tobie wprost pod nogi...
Cucąc mnie, pełen trwogi,
Co pani jest? spytałeś mnie...
O mój wymarzony,
O mój wytęskniony,
Nie wiesz o tem przecież ty,
Że w małem miasteczku za tobą ktoś
Wypłakał z oczu łzy...
Że biedna Rebeka
W zamyśleniu czeka
Aż przyjedziesz po nią sam,
I zabierzesz ją, jako żonę swą,
Hen, do pałacu bram...
Ten krzyk, ten gwałt, ten cud,
Ja sobie wyobrażam, Boże mój!
Na rynku cały lud,
A na mnie błyszczy biały weselny strój!...
O mój wymarzony,
O mój wytęskniony,
Czy ktoś kocha cię jak ja?
Lecz ja jestem biedna i to mój sen,
Co całe życie trwa...
There were many Jewish songs composed in pre-war Poland meant for Polish speaking audiences and 'Rebeka' was one of the most popular. Basically it's a story of a poor shop girl who falls in love with a handsome and rich gentleman that visits her shop. For her it was love at first sight and his memory would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Before the war, a full text version was recorded only by Zofia Terné (1932). After the war the tango-song became a Polish standard recollecting times "when Jews were among us". Sung by such interpreters as Wanda Warska, Elżbieta Kępińska, Ewa Demarczyk, Sława Przybylska and many, many others.
*****************
Here is another version of the tango "Rebeka" by vocalist Stefan Witas (1908-2006) and instrumentalist, Henryk Gold:
Rebeka - tekst piosenki
Key of F minor
Guitar Capo Position: 1st Fret
Zofia Terné
Zygmunt Białostocki (August 15, 1897-c. 1942) was a Polish Jewish musician, born in Białystok, died in Warsaw, Poland. He was a Jewish composer of many popular songs, a conductor, and a première pianist in Warsaw between the World Wars.
His tango Rebeka, built on Chasidic motifs and sung by Chasidic Jews as zmiros was popular in nightclubs, coffee houses and restaurants across Warsaw between the wars. The words are by Andrzej Włast; the song was first recorded by Zofia Terne (1932) and premiered at the Morskie Oko cabaret by Dora Kalinówna.
******
.. and yet another version by Tadeusz Faliszewski (1932) from Grzegorz 240252 YouTube channel. This video includes some interesting images of Jewish life in the town of Kazimierz Dolny located on the banks of the Vistula River,
Tadeusz Faliszewski i Orkiestra Syrena Rekord pod dyr. Henryka Warsa - Rebeka (Zygmunt Białostocki /Andrzej Włast) Tango z rewii "Yo-yo" teatru Morskie Oko (Tango from theatre Morskie Oko show "Yo-yo"), Syrena-Electro 1932
According to Grzegorz : "This tango was first sung by actress Dora Kalinówna in Morskie Oko revue "Yo-yo" in November 1932, in Warsaw. The stage setting was the Market Place in Kazimierz Dolny nad Wisłą (Kazimierz /on Vistula River) a lovely renaissance little town located on the riverside cliffs on the bank of Vistula. Before 1939 a large part of that town's population was Jewish, therefore in Polish collective memory Kazimierz has become a kind of a model for a Jewish shtetl in prewar Poland.
Dora Kalinówna was an actress and singer in Warsaw cabarets of 1920s and 1930s. She was a favourite of the Warsaw theatre frequenters in her special repertoire of the "schmonces" songs and humoristic scenes, based upon the Polish/Jiddish urban jargon of prewar Warsaw. Dora Kalinówna survived the Holocaust, some say that after 1945 she was seen in the USA, the others claim they read her name in postwar communist Polish newspapers, announcing arrival to Gdańsk and Gdynia in year 1949 "the trouppe of Russian actors" from Moscow with Dora Kalinówna as "fine performer of prewar Polish songs of Julian Tuwim". So, perhaps
she survived the war in the USSR and then she stayed there.
Composer Zygmunt Białostocki wrote many hits e.g. tango "Szczęście trzeba rwać jak świeże wiśnie" (Good Luck Has To Be Grabbed Like Fresh Cherries). During the 2nd World War, he was murdered by Germans in the nazi Ghetto in Warsaw, in 1943.
Please compare this version with Adam Aston singing "Rebeka" in my early uploading at http://youtu.be/uYrRxJzNHJ8"
E7
Kazimierz Dolny is an art center in Poland. Many painters retreat to this small town to paint and sell their work. Galleries can be found in almost every street, offering for sale sculptures, stained-glass, and fine-art paintings. In the market, folk art is for sale at unbeatable prices
Kazimierz Dolny
Sir Gilbert Levine, author of The Pope's Maestro, discusses his 17-year friendship with Pope John Paul II and
how it impacted his art and life.
Sir Gilbert Levine, Concert of Reconciliation conductor, returns to Pittsburgh Read more: The Jewish Chronicle - Sir Gilbert Levine Concert of Reconciliation conductor returns to Pittsburgh
BELOW: Author Sir Gilbert Levine with his friend, Pope John Paul II
The story of the friendship between a Jewish-American conductor and Pope John Paul II. This book offers the inspirational story of an unlikely friendship and the two men who collaborated in an extraordinary way to begin to help heal centuries-old wounds. For two decades Sir Gilbert Levine and Pope John Paul II collaborated on symbolic acts of reconciliation: a series of internationally broadcast concerts designed to bring together people from all religious backgrounds under the auspices of the Vatican. These concerts broke new ground and demonstrated the Vatican's desire for rapprochement and even atonement in its relationships with Jews around the world. And it resulted in Sir Gilbert recovering his own Jewish faith in a deeper and more meaningful way. Details the extraordinary collaboration between a world-renowned musical maestro and an innovative Pope. Shows how music can act as a bridge between people of different faiths A moving, inspirational, and personal story that appeals to music lovers and to people of all faith traditions. This is a compelling tale of faith, friendship, and the healing power of music to bring people together.
Polonia Music
RIP
Also, according to an article in the Polish American Journal (February 2012, p.6), "Jerzy Kluger, the Polish Jewish boyhood friend of the late Pope John Paul, who had a large influence on the pontiff's revolutionary relations with Jews died age 92 in a Rome hospital and was buried January 2, 2012 in Rome's Jewish cemetery. He had been living in a home for the elderly east fo the Italian capital."
