"Ikh bin a kleyner dreydl" (Original Yiddish Version of "I Have a Little Dreidel")

Details

Description

Words: Ben Aaron (pseudonym of Mikhl Gelbart)
Melody: Mikhl Gelbart
Choral arrangement: Mark Zuckerman

Yiddish Philharmonic Chorus
דער ייִדישער פֿילהאַרמאָנישער כאָר
Binyumen Schaechter, Conductor
בנימין שעכטער, דיריגענט

Filmed live in performance
June 1, 2014 • Symphony Space, NYC

Post-production and "Liner notes" (below): Samantha Zerin

The Yiddish Philharmonic Chorus was formerly named the Jewish People's Philharmonic Chorus / JPPC (1948-2001), and before that, the Freiheit Gezang Farein (1923-1948).

Website: http://www.YiddishChorus.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YiddishPhilharmonicChorus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/YiddishPhilharmonic
Contact: info@YiddishChorus.org

"The Dreidel Song," as it's often affectionately (or dismissively) nicknamed, is one of the most famous American Chanukah songs. The simple, 1-line lyric describes our youthful excitement and anticipation of celebrating the holiday with a traditional Chanukah toy: "I have a little dreidel! I made it out of clay. And when it's dry and ready — oh! Dreidel I shall play!"

What many don't know, however, is that this popular Chanukah song was also written (probably originally) in *Yiddish*. While the English version is sung from the perspective of a person, the Yiddish version is sung from the perspective of the toy: "I am a little dreidel! I'm fashioned out of lead. Come quickly, everybody. Let's play dreidel!"

It's unclear which came first, the Yiddish or the English, and it's equally unclear who actually wrote the tune. The English version is attributed to two Samuels: the lyricist Samuel Grossman and the composer Samuel Goldfarb. (The latter was a Conservative rabbi, whose brother, Israel Goldfarb, also composed a very famous melody for the Shabbat song, "Shalom Aleichem.") The Yiddish version -- both the lyrics and the melody -- are attributed to Mikhl Gelbart (the lyrics via his pen name for this song only, "Ben Aaron"). Yet, the Yiddish melody and the English melody are exactly the same. So, did Goldfarb write it, or did Gelbart? One source claims that they *both* wrote it, in 1930, but if that's the case, then it's unclear whether they wrote it together, or whether one wrote the melody and the other arranged it, or how else confusion might have arisen.

Mark Zuckerman published his choral arrangement in 1998, and it has since been performed many times by various Jewish and non-Jewish choral groups. While the original children's song is intentionally simple, Zuckerman's delightfully creative arrangement takes it to a whole new artistic level. Not only is the music itself complex, but the fact that the different parts of the chorus (sopranos, altos, tenors, basses) rarely sing the same words at the same time, and even switch between two different languages, adds an attractive linguistic complexity as well.

#Chanukah #satb #Dreidel