On Friday, July 25th at 3:00 PM, the choir will perform a concert of Yiddish, Hebrew, and Ladino songs in the Holocaust Museum of Porto. The concert will include ‘Oyfn Pripichok’ (‘By the Hearth’), a classic of Yiddish folk music, written in the 19th century by Mark Warshawsky. The modern arrangement is by Aryeh Levanon. The song tells the story of a Hebrew teacher, seated with his pupils around a warm wooden stove, learning the Hebrew alphabet. The teacher warns the students that when they are older, they will learn how many tears are hidden in the letters. He also reassures them that they will gain strength from the same letters. The lyrics say: “Those who have learned Torah do not need more”.
The program will also include a performance of ‘Rozhinkes Mit Mandlen’ (‘Raisins and Almonds’). This song was written in 1880 as an aria for the Yiddish opera ‘Shulamis’ by Abraham Goldfaden. It became popular on its own as a folk song and has been recorded by many artists since its publication. The song is a lullaby of a mother to her son. She tells him that when he is older, he will travel the world selling raisins and almonds. These two foods combine the bitter and the sweet, just like our lives.
Other songs in the program will include a Ladino melody with words in both Ladino (‘Mama Yo No Tengo Visto’) and Hebrew (‘Hitrag’ut’ – ‘Contentment’) and a performance of ‘Ma Tovu’ by Luis Lewandowski.
All are welcome and admission is free. Please contact yonahyaphe@hotmail.com for more information on the concert or about joining the choir.
