Search - Benjy Fox-Rosen :: Two Worlds

Combining traditional and new music, Yiddish folk, theatre and cabaret music, Fox-Rosen interprets Gebirtig's poetry and searing depictions of Poland before and during World War II with striking insight and brilliance. Describing the ambition of the Two Worlds project, pioneering Yiddish singer and composer, Joshua Waletsky says: 'Imagine that the preeminent songwriter Stephen Foster left behind dozens of texts with no melodies. Then imagine that some 70 years after his death - and 70 years after a great war that forever changed the world that Foster wrote about - a young musician set a dozen of these texts in a style that both honored Foster's music and also participated fully in the musical world of 70 years beyond Foster's. That thought experiment will give you a sense of the ambition of Two Worlds/Tsvey Veltn..' Mordechai Gebirtig's (1877-1942) work captures the dynamic life of Polish Jewry before World War II. For Fox-Rosen, Gebirtig's poems offer a coveted window into a lost Jewish way of life, and convey 'the fresh scent of baked breads mixed with the salty-sour aroma of pickles and herring, the commotion of children running through courtyards...At the same time, Gebirtig captures the isolation and powerlessness experienced by the lone individual caught within the undiscerning tumult of that world.' Fox-Rosen's ensemble includes a lineup of internationally accomplished, genre-transcending musicians, who have performed with such noted musicians as Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Frank London, Anthony Braxton, Alicia Svigals and others: Avi Fox-Rosen (guitar, banjo), Patrick Farrell (accordion), Tyshawn Sorey (drums), and Michael Winograd (clarinet).