Papirosn, sometimes colloquially referred to as "Cigaretten", was composed by Herman Yablokoff in 1922. Starting his Jewish journey as a young chorister from Grodno in the choir of Cantor Yoshe Slonimer and proceeding to make his home in the realm of Yiddish theater and radio, Yablokoff wrote this song after seeing children peddling cigarettes during the pogroms in Grodno after the First World War. The song narrates the plea of an orphaned cigarette peddler freezing in the rain on a street corner, and has since become a staple of Yiddish, Russian, and Jewish folk tradition. Renditions vary from vibrant tangos to sorrowful ballads. This version is meant to fall somewhere in between, capturing the energy of the cigarette peddler's streets while connecting with the inner yearnings of a displaced youth.

Voice: Lara Traum
Harmonica: Alex Greenleaf
Violin: Ljova Zhurbin
Piano: Dmitri Zisl Slepovitch
Bass: Jordan Morton

Papirosn

Yip Harburg, born Isidore Hochberg on the Lower East Side of New York City, was the child of Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jews who had emigrated from Russia. He attended Townsend Harris High School (as did I, many years later), so I have always felt a particular connection to this fabulous lyricist. Harold Arlen, the composer, was also the son of a cantor and joined Yip Harburg in digging into his Jewish roots to compose "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" - a silent song of yearning for the promised land of their forefathers - Israel. We all know the Wizard of Oz, but I challenge you to close your eyes and absorb the lyrics through their original intention.

Voice: Lara Traum
Harmonica: Alex Greenleaf
Violin: Ljova Zhurbin
Piano: Dmitri Zisl Slepovitch
Bass: Jordan Morton

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

While many know the Soviet standard Tyomnaya Noch (Dark is the Night) as a wartime ballad, composed by Nikita Bogoslovsky, few know the secret identity of the famous lyricist, Vladimir Agatov. Agatov was originally born "Velvel Isidarovich Gurevich" to a Jewish family in Kiev. A famous lyricist and poet with a significantly secularized identity, the poetic yearning revealed in his lyrics about home and country draw upon themes found in the story of Jewish diaspora - evidence of silent and subversive Yiddishkeit.

Voice: Lara Traum
Harmonica: Alex Greenleaf
Violin: Ljova Zhurbin
Piano: Dmitri Zisl Slepovitch
Bass: Jordan Morton

Lara Traum

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