About the project.

Monash University's Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation and beloved Melbourne Yiddish band The Bashevis Singers are thrilled to announce the release of a collaborative Yiddish album, Soul Joy • 1727. A unique collaboration with Dr. Nathan Wolski and the Bashevis Singers' Evie Gawenda, Husky Gawenda and Gideon Preiss, Soul Joy • 1727 is a contemporary reimagining of the oldest Yiddish song book, Simkhes ha-Nefesh part 2 by Elkhonen Henele son of Rabbi Binyomin Wolf Kirkhhan, first published in Fürth in 1727. The project marks an innovative joining of research into Old Yiddish texts with contemporary Yiddish music for twenty-first century audiences, accompanied by annotated lyrics and a scholarly commentary.

Although not a household name today, in the 18th and 19th centuries, Elkhonen Kirkhhan’s Simkhes ha-Nefesh שמחת הנפש (Joy of the Soul, part 1) was a best-seller. His Yiddish classic (first published in 1707 in Frankfurt) was printed nearly twenty times throughout Europe, and of all the musar works (morality-guides) of the time attained a special place in the hearts of the Yiddish-reading masses. Part anthology, part moral guide, part inspirational, Simkhes ha-Nefesh comprises Yiddish paraphrases and folkloristic retellings of stories from the Talmud and medieval sources informed by his core message—niks zorgen zol / don’t worry; instead serve God with the simple joy of your divine soul. Despite the great popularity of his work, Kirkhhan felt that his Yiddish tales weren’t accomplishing their goal, and so in 1727 he published a second volume—this time comprising “songs” about Shabbat, the Festivals, Weddings, and even death. He also included a simple line of melody to go with each one. It is here that we find what may well be the oldest extant Yiddish musical notation. It isn’t clear what Kirkhan intended exactly, because the accompanying text is neither pure poetry nor song lyrics as we understand them today, but is instead, long and dense, sometimes with rhyme and sometimes without, with irregular rhythm and line lengths. Presumably the idea was to read his “songs” to the tune he provided, like a prayer or a niggun.  

Fast forward almost 300 years, and Nathan Wolski, Husky Gawenda and Gideon Preiss set out to write a collection of songs, using the original simple melody lines and text as inspiration. Creating contemporary songs that might appeal to modern sensibilities while simultaneously integrating the original line of melody and some part of the original text was not always straightforward. First, Nathan created something that “looked” like a modern song from Kirkhhan’s long lyrics—omitting sections, re-ordering, finding a refrain etc. Gideon would then play the single line of melody from the 1727 edition. A discussion between Nathan, Gideon and Husky would follow: what genre might best fit the lyrics and melodic line? Clearly Purim would be joyous and cheeky and Yom Kippur would be sombre and contemplative, but what genre suits Shavuot and the account of revelation at Sinai? What style should one employ for a song about our inevitable death? Once agreement on the desired “vibe” and “feel” was reached, Husky and Gideon then worked their magic, creating a contemporary alt-nay/new-old sound (here Leonard Cohen, there Pink Floyd, here Nirvana, there Beastie Boys), making sure to integrate the original melodic line. Then Gideon, Husky and Evie disappeared into studio land for a couple of months, and emerged with something ripped straight from the bowels of the 18th century, that sounds at once familiar and like nothing you've ever heard before.

Three hundred years in the making, we hope Henele approves!

This project is supported by generous funding from the the Jacob Kronhill Fund and the Krystal Fund.