Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Tumbalalaika in Brindisi, Italy

Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of southern Italy. It is a major port on the Adriatic Sea, serving as a gateway to Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. Brindisi is known for its historic sites, including the Roman Column marking the end of the Appian Way. 

On the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, fifth-grade elementary school students and middle school students at the Casale Comprehensive Institute in Brindisi, attended a performance of "Tumbalalaika," a traditional Russian-Jewish song sung in Yiddish by Nadja Martina, music teacher at Kennedy Middle School. 

The song was taken from the CD of her Jewish music group, Shanah Tovah. The song tells the story of a love story, about a shy boy who can't bring himself to declare his feelings for the girl he loves. To hide his passion, he asks her riddles. 

Enjoy! 

Tumbalalaika Around the World - As Sung by Singer/Actress Julie Benko

The Yiddish folk love song Tumbalalaika originated in Eastern Europe in the 19th century, but its exact origin is hard to pinpoint. That hasn't prevented it from being sung and played over and over, not only in places where Yiddish songs are sung, but just about everywhere in the world, in vocal and instrumental versions, in cabarets and in the movies.

Just as we have followed the songs Hava Nagila, Adon Olam, Hevenu Shalom Aleichem, and Abanibi as they took different forms as interpreted by a wide variety of singers, musicians, and dancers, we're continuing the series today that we started back in 2012, sharing our 25th version of this universal courting and love song.

The version of Tumbalalaika that we're sharing today is by singer/actress Julie Benko. Julie portrayed Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl (2022) and originated the role of Ruth Stern in the Broadway musical Harmony (2023). Julie sings the song in Yiddish and English.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

 

 

Tumbalalaika Around the World: As Sung by The San Francisco Yiddish Combo at East Bay Jewish Music Festival

The Yiddish folk love song Tumbalalaika originated in Eastern Europe in the 19th century, but its exact origin is hard to pinpoint. That hasn't prevented it from being sung and played over and over, not only in places where Yiddish songs are sung, but just about everywhere in the world, in vocal and instrumental versions, in cabarets and in the movies.

Just as we have followed the songs Hava Nagila, Adon Olam, Hevenu Shalom Aleichem, and Abanibi as they took different forms as interpreted by a wide variety of singers, musicians, and dancers, we're continuing the series today that we started back in 2012, sharing our 24th version of this universal courting and love song.

The San Francisco Yiddish Combo was formed by accident when a love of Klezmer music collided with their collective backgrounds in every genre except Klezmer. Now they have embarked on a journey around the world to present their own unique blend of everything that is Klezmer, mixed with years of experience in the jazz, blues, folk, and even hip hop world. This group performs Klezmer for the 21st century! Made up of classically trained musicians who enjoy stretching musical boundaries, the SFYC is led by cellist Rebecca Roudman who has fronted groups all over the world bringing her virtuosic and fiery playing to stages from China to Italy and beyond.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

  

 

English Translation: 

A young lad stands, and he thinks 

Thinks and thinks the whole night through 

Whom to take and not to shame 

Whom to take and not to shame

 

Tumbala, Tumbala, Tumbalalaika 

Tumbala, Tumbala, Tumbalalaika 

Tumbalalaika, strum balalaika 

Tumbalalaika, may we be happy

 

Girl, girl, I want to ask of you 

What can grow, grow without rain? 

What can burn and never end? 

What can yearn, cry without tears? 

 

Foolish lad, why do you have to ask? 

A stone can grow, grow without rain 

Love can burn and never end 

A heart can yearn, cry without tears

Great Songs of the Yiddish American Theatre: From the Milken Archive of Jewish Music

Between the 1880s and the early 1950s New York City's unique and vibrant Yiddish theater produced a wealth of great songs for three generations of Eastern European immigrants.

A musical adventure of historic proportions, the Milken Archive of Jewish Music is an exploration of the rich variety of musical expression born of, inspired by, associated with, or reflecting the full spectrum of Jewish life in the United States—the collective American Jewish experience.

The Milken Archive took three years of meticulous research to recreate the original orchestrations of dozens of these songs. In the coming months we will be sharing some of them, with English subtitles, as parts of a series. 

Here is an introduction to the collection. Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.