Film embraces Yiddish past in song
The songs reached out and there was a fascinating re-engagement with both the language and the genre
THE South African premiere of Leah, Teddy and the Mandolin – Cape Town Embraces Yiddish Song will take place on
Sunday at 8.30pm sharp at the Labia Theatre, Orange Street, Cape Town. It will be followed by a question and answer session moderated by award-winning film-maker Jessie Zinn.
Leah, Teddy and the Mandolin showcases the many highlights of the annual Yiddish Song Festival, which ran from 2001 to 2011, and features the people involved in this celebration of Yiddish song.
From four soloists in 2001, the Leah Todres Yiddish Song Festival featured 10 soloists and 120 voices singing in Yiddish on the stage of the Baxter Theatre in 2011.
Originally conceived as a fundraiser for the Cape Jewish Seniors Association, the festival took on a life of its own.
The songs reached out and there was a fascinating re-engagement with both the language and the genre.
Unpacking the music of a bygone era revealed there was more than a dusty and fragile relic hidden away in the cupboard. Given air and a little nurturing, that seemingly long-dead genre flourished and bloomed in Cape Town.
It highlighted the fact that although Yiddish is still alive at the tip of the African continent, it remains a fragile language at risk.
The studio photograph of Leah Todres (née Kriger) and her cousin Teddy Ruch holding a mandolin, taken circa 1918 in Rokiškis, Lithuania, is not only a charming scene of yesteryear, but it evolved into the logo for this contemporary revival of Yiddish song.
The photo evoked a reconnection to the Eastern European roots that most South African Jewry share.
“Taking roots” has been a strong theme, providing the audience an opportunity to reflect on their families’ history and the broader context of that time.
Nostalgia was effectively translated into a contemporary cultural celebration that was emotionally nuanced and meaningful.
The revival of Yiddish song opened up a space for memories and recollections that bridged many years of repressed pain and loss.
The festival allowed the older generation, including some Holocaust survivors, to speak about the traumas of the past, and it introduced the younger generation to a proud cultural heritage and an understanding of its sad demise.
This is a story told through the 10 years of footage of the shows that reflects the professionalism of the singers, and the joy, pathos and wit that suffused their performances.
The stage performances are supplemented by the enthusiastic responses, interspersed with many poignant revelations, in the subsequently conducted interviews that include the performers, participants and audience.
It’s a story that is as much about song as about the emotional associations with the language and with Yiddishkeit – that is, giving the language a powerful and palpable cultural presence.
Leah, Teddy & the Mandolin records this achievement and honours the singers and musicians who have contributed to reviving Yiddish song in Cape Town.
Hopefully this celebration confirms Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer’s prediction that the Yiddish language will survive, because it will continue to surprise with its wealth of hidden treasures.
The cast of the film includes Aviva Pelham, Ivor Joffe, Beverley Chiat, Dragana Jevtovic, Richard Gire and Erez Shajed, as well as the Herzlia Ensemble and Herzlia Yiddish Festival Choir, and the Green and Sea Point Hebrew Congregation Choir.
The Fire Klezmer Band under Matthew Reid performs and the film is directed by Heather Blumenthal and Philip Todres, who will be at the screening.
Seyma Lederman and Shosh Lederman are the producers.
Tickets at R180 through Quicket – in aid of the Cape Jewish Seniors Association (CJSA).