By Eric George Tauber
SAN DIEGO — Continuing the 2015 Jewish Arts Festival, the 14th Annual Klezmer Summit: “L’Dor V’Dor” (“From Generation to Generation”) took place Monday, June 8th at the Lyceum Space. It’s a good thing I had a press pass because tickets were sold out. Not too shabby for a Monday.
The San Diego Jewish Men’s Choir got the ball rolling. Under the deft guiding hand of their director, Ruth Weber, we were treated to some Yiddish standards. “Didi Gelt” -a song about paying rent on sweatshop wages- was punctuated with famisht, campy theatrics. Cantor Larry Kornit of B’nei Tikvah in Carlsbad added some old country liturgy with soul-stirring vocals.
We also got a taste of their next CD, Kochi, a blend of Jewish choral music with some Indian spice. Kochi (or Cochin) is a town in India to which many Jewish refugees migrated and has a rich history. I’m not sure I heard the “Indian spice” from a choir of white guys. Some sitar and tabla would go a long way to give it that curried flavor.
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine was the star of the evening. She has played with Zubin Mehta and Placido Domingo, but is best known for her string arrangements of Metallica. For this evening, she played Ernst Bloch’s “Ba’al Shem Suite” and Joseph Achron’s “Hebrew Melody.” Capturing an old-world Jewish soul, the wail of her strings spoke of dark nights and the soul’s relentless longing for hope.
After she meet Yale Strom at a violinists’ retreat, he composed a piece particularly for her. “Bessarabia Suite” is a multi-movement piece reflecting the different cultural influences on this part of the world. Each movement is based on a different drink that one might imbibe at a wedding. By turns maudlin and frantic, one could get buzzed just by listening.
Fluffy yet hearty k’nishes were served up at intermission compliments of Shmoozer’s Kosher Catering.
Giving the second half more of an informal jam-session feel, Rachel played with Yale Strom and Hot P’strom’i. Klezmer violins, a jazzy sax and Spanish guitar swirled together in a potent cocktail that made our heads swim. One piece was a grateful tribute to the Roma (aka Gypsies) who –after the Holocaust- preserved some of the old Klezmer melodies that would have otherwise gone up in smoke.
The violin nig’n had a “heterophonic” discordance reflecting Chasidic style of prayer. Every man is on his own page, praying at his own pace, yet all are striving together for that ineffable elevation of the spirit. The effect was mesmerizing.
The yiddishe mommelè vocals of Elizabeth Schwartz brought us back to down to Earth. Specifically, back to the shtetl where life was a daily struggle and we savored every drop of humor and joy that we could get.
Finally, it just wouldn’t be a Jewish festival without Hava Nagila setting our toes tapping, hands clapping and voices singing along. The late Monday night made for a difficult Tuesday morning, but it was well worth it.
The 2015 Jewish Arts Festival continues through July 26th with events at the Lyceum Theatre in Horton Plaza and venues throughout North County. For a complete list, go to https://www.sdjewishworld.com/2015/04/07/2015-jewish-arts-festival-schedule-announced/
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Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. You may comment to him at eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com or post your comment on this website provided that the rules below are observed.
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