Setting of the folk song “Her nor, sheyn meydele”

Izrael Fajwiszys (1887-1943) was an important figure in the amateur choral movement that took root by the end of the 19th century, with organizations such as “Lira,” “Hazomir” and “Szir” sprouting in small towns and big cities. In Łódź, “Hazomir” and the affiliated symphonic orchestra performed an ambitious repertory of oratorios by Handel, Haydn, and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and other monumental works, including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Mozart’s Requiem. Among “Hazomir’s” conductors were Józef Rumszyński (yes, the legendary Rumshinsky, who in 1904 settled in New York and became a celebrated composer for Yiddish theater) and Izrael Fajwiszys.  During World War II, Fajwiszys led children's choirs in the Warsaw Ghetto.  He is mostly remembered for his 1935 setting of Yitskhok Lamden's "M'khol Masada" (Oh, Masada).

Fajwiszys's arrangement of the well-known folk song “Her nor, sheyn meydele” comes from a rare copy of a two-volume collection published in Wilno (Yid. Vilne) on the eve of World War II. Billed as the repertory of a chorus led by Jakub Gersztajn (who perished in the Vilne Ghetto in 1943), and assembled by him, the collection demonstrates trends typical of Wilno’s artistic circles: the interest in Jewish folk culture and the penchant for performing mainstream musical compositions in Yiddish translation (there, one could hear Verdi’s and Puccini’s operas in Yiddish).

Izrael Fajwiszys (1887-1943)

arr. 1939

Rutgers Kirkpatrick Choir
Patrick Gardner, Conductor
Paul Conrad, Accompanist