Purim song - Yankeleh Geyt in Shul Arayn - Yiddish Song by A. Goldfaden - Purim Music (subtitles)

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*(Please support our recording of vintage Yiddish songs by becoming a member at www.patreon.com/CantorClassics or donating a small amount (or joining) at www.buymeacoffee.com/cantorclassics . Thanks!)* Yiddish music and Purim songs take many forms. Yiddish theater music is one such genre. Abraham Goldfaden, the father of the Yiddish Theatre composed a Purim-themed music drama in the early 1880s called "King Ahasuerus, or Queen Esther." Bass-baritone Marc Berman sings here the most popular piece from that work, "Little Jacob Goes to the Synagogue."

The biblical Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates the deliverance of the Jews from a decree of annihilation issued by the evil tyrant Haman, prime minister to King Ahasuerus of ancient Persia. That same theme pervades Goldfaden's song.

Goldfaden’s songs, and Yiddish songs in general, have been recorded by many of the greatest voices in Jewish music and many outstanding chazzanim (cantors). These artists include tenors Richard Tucker and Jan Peerce. Surprisingly, “Yankeleh Geyt in Shul Arayn” (“Little Jacob Goes To Synagogue”) does not appear to appear have been widely recorded previously.

Jewish music has taken many forms over the centuries. The songs of Abraham Goldfaden certainly rank among the best a best of Jewish music. He often composed in a style that decidedly resembles chazzanut (Hazzanut), or cantorial music, the traditional solo chant of the synagogue.

The first edition of the score of "King Ahasuerus, or Queen Esther "was published in 1899 by Katznelenbogan and Rabinowitz. In 1910, the Hebrew Publishing Company reissued the score, which consisted of 15 solo numbers, duets, choruses, reprises and musical interludes. "Yankele Geyt Arayn in Shul," the song performed in this video has been has been compared to a Purimshpieler, i.e. a song typically performed at a Purim party.

The Hebrew name Ahasuerus has been identified as possibly referring to, among others, either Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I or Artaxerxes II.

Goldfaden himself referred to his dramatic works as "operas" or "operettas." Certainly, the far-ranging vocal demands that his songs (arias?) often require from singers may be appropriately termed "operatic."

Abraham Goldfaden was born at Alkonstantin, Russia, in 1840. Goldfaden graduated from the governmental rabbinical school of Zhitomir. He taught in government schools at Simferopol and Odessa.

Goldfaden wrote a volume of Hebrew poetry, "Ẓiẓim u-Feraḥim," in 1865. Nonetheless, as far as his literary efforts went, he was better known for his Yiddish poetry. He was even called "the most Jewish" of all the Yiddish poets. He also became an early Zionist.

In 1875, Goldfaden relocated to Lemberg and founded "Yisrolik," a comedic Yiddish weekly. The magazine lasted six months. Goldfaden then relocated to Czernowitz. There he started another journal, "Bukowiner Israelitisches Volksblatt," which also endured only for a brief time.

In 1876, Goldfaden's staged his first theatrical production "The Recruits," in Iasi, Romania. He built the stage, painted the decorations, wrote the words, composed the music, and directed. In 1878 Goldfaden established himself in the Maryinski Theater in Odessa (then in Russia). He conducted a number of well-received tours, but in 1883 was prohibited by the czarist regime from performing further . He spent a few years in Rumania and Galicia. Later, he resumed his theatrical career for a short time in Warsaw.

Despite having no formal music education, and his itinerant lifestyle, Goldfaden composed over 25 Yiddish music dramas. These include "Shulamith" "Bar Kochba," "Shmendrik," "Die Kishufmacherin" ("The Sorceress"), "Di Tzvei Kune Lemels," ("The Two Fools"), and "Dr. Almasada." The songs from his popular plays were sung by the Yiddish-speaking Jews world-wide.

In 1887, Goldfaden ventured to the United States. He dwelled in New York. There, he founded a journal, "New Yorker Illustrirte Zeitung," the first the first Yiddish illustrated periodical.

However, from a dramatic perspective, his first American sojourn was not a success. The leaders of the recently established Yiddish theaters in New York did not want competition from Goldfaden. They even dissuaded actors from working with him. Thus, Goldfaden left America in 1889, living thereafter chiefly in Paris.

In 1903, Goldfaden returned to New York. He died there in 1908, a poor man. As with, say, Mozart, composing great music does not always pay the bills.

Many of Abraham Goldfaden's theatrical works were historical dramas that aimed not merely to entertain, but also to edify. He remains known by the soubriquet "father of the Yiddish theater."

Performance Note: In some phrases, the original lyrics were updated to a more modern idiom. Sometimes, word order had to be shifted in places to match syllables to notes.