"Exile and Return: A Musical Journey"
Songs of Love, Faith, and Longing
October 29th, 2017 at 7 PM
JCC Omaha
333 S 132nd St,
Omaha, Nebraska
This program features two of the world’s most renowned musical polyculturalists, Maria Krupoves and Gerard Edery. Together they uncover the synergistic and haunting dimensions of a broad repertoire of traditional music imaginatively arranged for contemporary audiences.
By weaving together folk songs, chants, and prayers from across centuries and Europe and the Middle East, they show that the human need for a spiritual dimension defies all boundaries of time and place. This ecumenical program uncovers the surprising synergies between Eastern European (Jewish and Christian) and Middle Eastern (Jewish and Arabic) musical faiths. Join them for a unifying experience as their voices blend in devotional and secular songs from the far-reaching Sephardic Diaspora and Eastern Europe.
Maria Krupoves (Vocals/Guitar) is internationally acclaimed as a singer and interpreter of the folksongs of Central and Eastern Europe, especially those of her native Vilnius. She has traveled extensively to find and sing such songs, many of them now dying out, which are in Yiddish, Polish, Lithuanian, Belorussian, Gypsy (Roma), Karaim, and Tatar, to name a few. Maria speaks seven languages and sings in just as many. She has performed in Lithuania, Poland, Germany, France, Israel, Japan, Canada, and the US, often in collaboration with the BBC, the WDR (West- Deutscher Rundfunk), Lithuanian, and Polish radio and TV.
Gerard Edery (Vocals/Guitar) has at his command a remarkable range of ethnic folk styles and traditions. He regularly uncovers and preserves songs, stories, and melodies from Europe and the Middle East, and energizes these repertoires by interpreting them for contemporary audiences. One of the world’s foremost experts in the wide-ranging music of the Sephardic Diaspora, he is a recipient of the Sephardic Musical Heritage Award and a Meet the Composer grant for his original songs. A performer in great demand throughout the US, Canada, and Europe, he has performed at prestigious venues and festivals throughout the world. In addition to his busy concert schedule, he has released 17 CDs on the Sefarad Records label as well as a much-acclaimed Sephardic Songbook.
Reviews:
"An ecumenical celebration that honors both Christianity and Judaism!" The editors, MANN ABOUT TOWN (5/08)
"'Two Faiths, One Voice' just might be the most culturally eclectic item in Edery's already diverse catalog." Alexander Gelfand, THE FORWARD (6/6/08)
"A very exciting recording… remarkable material!" Irene Backalenick, ALL ABOUT JEWISH THEATRE, JEWISH POST & OPINION (6/01/08)
"The music was haunting, always in a minor key, and indeed it was difficult to determine whether the melodies came from Jewish or Christian sources. Both Edery and Krupoves are compelling performers and accomplished musicians." Irene Backalenick, ALL ABOUT JEWISH THEATRE, JEWISH POST & OPINION (6/01/08)
"With the great Lithuanian ethnomusicologist, Yiddishist, and singer Maria Krupoves, Edery embarked on a global series of concerts. (…) If audience reaction is any indicator, the musical collaborators have succeeded in this endeavor, with huge ovations after every song." George Robinson, JEWISH WEEK (6/20/08)
