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Description
Mixed media Yiddish performance of a story by Y.-L. Peretz.
With Sharon Bar-Kochva (direction, narration and film),
Reyze Turner (vocal composition and singing),
Cécile Neeser Hever (instrumental composition and harp).
"Reb Nakhmenke’s Tales," a short story-cycle from the collection Hasidic by Y.-L. Peretz, was published in 1904 for the first time in Yiddish (after appearing in Hebrew in 1903).
In these stories, Peretz draws on the figure of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (1772-1810), the great-grandson of the Ba’al Shem-Tov and the founder of Bratslav Hasidism. His own allegorical, mystical stories, written both in Hebrew and in Yiddish, are often considered to be the first modern literary texts written in Yiddish.
Like the tales of his model, Peretz’s story-cycle is allegorical and enigmatic, but his intention is consciously literary. "Wandering in the desert" begins with a depiction of Rabbi Nachman himself (Reb Nakhmenke, in Peretz’s affectionate wording), recounting to his Hasidim his experience of getting lost in the desert, with nothing in sight but sand. When he encounters an army of wingless birds led by their King to wage war against what they call "The Old House", Reb Nakhmenke decides to go to the house himself in order to warn its inhabitants...
This tale can be interpreted in many ways: as a representation of the conflict between Hasidim and Misnagdim, of the overall situation facing Jews in Europe at the time Peretz was writing, or as a broader reflection on the human condition...
In this mixed-media performance, the narrative voice meets a capella songs inspired by Jewish liturgical music as well as contemporary harp compositions, accompanied by a silent film.
The performance is part of the 3-weeks Program "Yiddish in Berlin II".
Entrance: 7 EUR (free for registered participants of "Yiddish in Berlin II")
With Sharon Bar-Kochva (direction, narration and film),
Reyze Turner (vocal composition and singing),
Cécile Neeser Hever (instrumental composition and harp).
"Reb Nakhmenke’s Tales," a short story-cycle from the collection Hasidic by Y.-L. Peretz, was published in 1904 for the first time in Yiddish (after appearing in Hebrew in 1903).
In these stories, Peretz draws on the figure of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (1772-1810), the great-grandson of the Ba’al Shem-Tov and the founder of Bratslav Hasidism. His own allegorical, mystical stories, written both in Hebrew and in Yiddish, are often considered to be the first modern literary texts written in Yiddish.
Like the tales of his model, Peretz’s story-cycle is allegorical and enigmatic, but his intention is consciously literary. "Wandering in the desert" begins with a depiction of Rabbi Nachman himself (Reb Nakhmenke, in Peretz’s affectionate wording), recounting to his Hasidim his experience of getting lost in the desert, with nothing in sight but sand. When he encounters an army of wingless birds led by their King to wage war against what they call "The Old House", Reb Nakhmenke decides to go to the house himself in order to warn its inhabitants...
This tale can be interpreted in many ways: as a representation of the conflict between Hasidim and Misnagdim, of the overall situation facing Jews in Europe at the time Peretz was writing, or as a broader reflection on the human condition...
In this mixed-media performance, the narrative voice meets a capella songs inspired by Jewish liturgical music as well as contemporary harp compositions, accompanied by a silent film.
The performance is part of the 3-weeks Program "Yiddish in Berlin II".
Entrance: 7 EUR (free for registered participants of "Yiddish in Berlin II")
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Event
Concert: Wandering in the Desert (18/08, 24/08, 25/08, 19:00)
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