The Denver Jewish news., 1923-09-06
A REMARKABLE COLLEC-
TION OF YIDDISH Felix
SONGS.
DIR. ABRAM GIDEON
National Director of publicit,


A remarkable collection of Yiddish
folk-songs, entitled From the Cradle to
the Cruppe" by Constance and Henry
Gideon, has just appeared, remarkable
both because of its intrinsic value, and
especially because of its origin. The
musicians who gathered these songs,
furnish them with Accomplishments.
and made the English translation did
not hear the melodies in. their childhood
or in their parental home; nor did
they speak Yiddish as mother ton
que.
Constance Gideon, of English birth
and rearing, who became a convert to
Judaism after her marriage with Henry
Gideon, an American jew of South
German parentage, in collaboration
with her husband found joy in gather,
ing these expressions of the Yiddish
folk-soul and In, singing them throuout
the United States, ms well as on the
other side. while our boys were fighting
on foreign soil. The songs represent
the best part of the repertoire of the
Gideons, who have been touring the
country for the past ten years as ex-
ponents of Jewish secular and religious
music.
Mr.. Gideon has won recognition as II
composer. He is an NJ. A. of Harvard,
where he won the John ThortOn Kirk
lnnd Fellowship for Music Study
Ia Lao nj <.f y, irlp 1Sa rvs q
enabled to specialize In the history Of
worship music. For the past fifteen
years he has been. chOirmaster and or
ganist of Temple Israel, Boston, md
holds. the chair of University Extension
lecturer on Music .Appreciat ton for the
State Of Massachusetts. In addition to
his .Hymnal for Jewish Sabbath
schools, he has written n number Of
four part songs and a mass in Greg0r-
ian Chant for the Catholic Church.
Thru his lecture-recital ''The Jew In
Music" was early acclaimed ms an orig
inal thinker and profound musician.
This is the first collection of Jewish
fclk-songs published in America, In
fact the only collection OF Jewish folk
songs that will challenge comparison
with the published folk songs of other
peoples. Other collections are only text
and melody without any artistic value
whatever, or propagandist songs.
The Yiddish text, in clear and sim
Pile phonetic transcription appeals to
public performers who prefer the orig
| inal texts whenever practicable, and
will find hearty welcome In Jewish
families whose. traditional life Is bound
up with the use of the "mama loshon.'
The English translation delicately re-
fleets the spirit of the original, and
when rymed reads no smoothly and
naturally that the verses seem TO have
been created in the vernacular. This
version will be hailed by Jews who
have no musical tradition, but have
great desire to know the secular music
Of their people.
Is "Eili. Eli" the only non-religious
song that represents the Jewish peo-
pie? "Raisins and Almonds is just
as enthusiastically Jewish as MY
God. my God, why hast Thou for
saken me?"
| Abraham Cahan found In these
songs, when lie heard them sung by
the Gideons. II vivid reminder of his
boyhood, more life-like than he thought
would ever come to him again. An ex-
perence not to be wondered at, since
the songs have not been tampered with,
but have been left in their original
form, as the melody fell from the lips
of the singer and was caught and fixed
by the trained ear of the collector
! "From the Cradle to the Chuppe" ap-
pears in two volumes, covering IL range
of four classes of songs: 5(a) Child
hood; (b) Meditation (c) Love songs !;
(d) Weddings and Festivals; arranged
for voice and piano. 1t is published
by the Arthur +. Schmidt Company,
Boston and New York.