A Letter from the Past: Yiddish Songs
Presented with the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to Canada
October 3, 11:00 am
A Letter from the Past: Yiddish Songs performed by Lithuanian tenor Rafailas Karpis and pianist Darius Mazintas, presents important Lithuanian cultural contexts from both the musical and the microhistorical perspectives. They will be joined by our own Cantor David Rosen who will be presenting musical selections from this rich genre of musical gems.
Jewish songs arranged for piano and voice by various authors reveal the peculiarities of the daily life of people who lived in Lithuania before the Second World War as well as their social connections, experiences and individual personal tragedies caused by the war. The songs reflect the relevancies, feelings of people of the times as well as social problems of the period. The songs in a way send a message that it is not necessary to have your own land in order to retain a strong culture. Most authors of the lyrics are closely linked to the history of Lithuania and Vilnius and they are active cultural figures of the times; therefore, the audience will have an opportunity to hear rare and multi-layered musical compositions of significant, aesthetic and historical value.