Mark Olf - Jewish Folksongs, Vol. 1 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Remastered import pressing of their 1981 album. Includes four bonus tracks. Universal. 2001.

Mark Olf (1905-1987) was a composer and singer of Yiddish and Hebrew songs who emigrated to the U.S. from Russia with his family when he was young. He performed around the country and taught music at the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side, Queens College (CUNY), and the University of Rhode Island. On this recording-one of four he made for Folkways Records-he sings songs of the modern reestablishment of the State of Israel, reflecting a sense of discovery and the enthusiastic development and defense of the new nation, born just nine years prior to this recording. Liner notes provide English translations, English transliterations of the Hebrew, and the original Hebrew texts.

Mark Olf (1905-1987) was a composer and singer of Yiddish and Hebrew songs. Olf emigrated to the U.S. from Russia when he was young; he later recorded some of the songs he had heard as a child, toured the country performing, and taught music at the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side, Queens College (CUNY), and the University of Rhode Island. On this recording-one of four he made for Folkways Records-he sings fanciful Yiddish songs for children. Some have known authors, including two songs with lyrics by Aliza Greenblatt, the mother-in-law of Woody Guthrie and grandmother of Arlo. Yiddish, which incorporates elements of German, Hebrew, and Slavic languages, was the primary secular language of the Jews in Eastern Europe. Liner notes provide English translations, English transliterations of the Yiddish, and the original Yiddish texts.