Veretski Pass with Joel Rubin. Poyln: A Gilgul (Poland: A Metamorphosis), 2015 (Golden Horn GHP 040-2)
Venturing beyond the known Horas, Freylekhs, Bulgars and Shers of Moldova, Ukraine and Russia, Veretski Pass and their guest, Joel Rubin, mine the obereks, kujawiaks, krakowiaks and polkas of Poland, the land that was once home to three million Jews.
Inspired by the 1901 story, A Gilgul Fun a Nign (Metamorphosis of a Melody), written by Polish Jewish author I.L. Peretz, the repertoire draws from previously unknown Hassidic tunes, country dances, contemporary and 19th century ethnographic collections as well as from field research of the musicians and their colleagues.
Drawing on these sources, Veretski Pass and Joel Rubin have re-imagined, re-composed and re-arranged old urban and rural music to enrich the genre currently known as klezmer music.
This recording is the meeting of Jewish and Polish music – a missing link of the klezmer revival.
✶✶✶✶✶ “sometimes wistful, sometimes exuberant, but always expertly played… One of the most beautiful tunes is ‘Gedankn’ (Thanks)… It’s played by Rubin on the clarinet with subtle flourishes, but drawing out the emotion with every note. This is a memorable and important album from true masters of the klezmer repertoire” (Simon Broughton, Songlines)
“‘Poyln: A Gilgul’ ist das wohl schönste neue Klezmeralbum der letzten Zeit, was sicherlich auch damit zu tun hat, dass Veretski Pass … eine veritable All-Star-Band ist. Und als wäre das nicht schon genug, hat das Trio noch den Meisterklarinettisten Joel Rubin als Gast geladen” (Georg Modestin, Jazz ‘n‘ More)