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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Where are the recordings by Shlomo Lindenfeld?

FOUR songs by Shlomo Lindenfeld are in my lost song list and all four of them are mentioned in the article below. In fact, one of my sources is the collection referenced in the last paragraph, 35 letste teatr lider, of which I found a copy in the National Library in Jerusalem and a second copy at the Chabad library in Brooklyn, NY.

I have not been able to find a single surviving recording of anything by Shlomo Lindenfeld except (at russian-records.com) this one: Di Mlave-Malke (Die Mlawe-Malke) and Opgeforn (Abgefahren) performed by Die Idische Bim-Boms (The Jewish Bim-Boms) (Feinstein and Lindenfeld) mit Mandoline akomp G. Bajgord

The songs I'm looking for are
Nerven, nerven
Gevald, vu nemt men a direh OR Di velt hot zikh ibergekert (both same melody)
Yom-tov in der vokhn (Yontif in der vokhn)

If you know anything about Lindenfeld, please let me know!


Zalman Zylbercweig's Leksikon fun Yidishn Teater, Book Two, column 1090-1092, my loose translation below:

Shlomo Lindenfeld was born October 30, 1878 in Warsaw, Poland. He studied in kheyder and in a Russian trade school. He sang under prayer leader Ariye-Leyb Shtraykher and later, in Shedlets, was drawn into the chorus of an acting troupe (Zhelaza, Gelade, Slutsker, Struleska etc.). He soon was given small roles to play. Afterwords he joined Rabinovitsh's troupe and due to the ban on performing in Yiddish, he was forced (in Bialystok) to work as a singer (with Rabinovitsh, Zhelaza and Moshe Shpiro) at weddings and other events.

Coming into Warsaw, he was, again with Zhelaza etc., a badkhn at weddings. It was with Bernstein's troupe that he first began acting in character roles. Afterwards he and his friends Bernstein and Beker had their own troupe. Coming back to Warsaw, he acted and was assistant theatrical director with the Rapel troupe.

From there he went to Paris, where he played in a Yiddish variety show. Going back to Warsaw, he recorded many couplet songs, often with Herman Feinstein. He went to Lodz, where he played in the Arkadia vaudeville (Pietrikover 22), directing his own adaptations and reworkings of Polish and German farces and comedies. Afterwards he worked as a coupletist in Bendin. From there he traveled to Antwerp, where he played with Spivakovski.

In 1913 he played in Lodz variety houses. In 1914 he appeared in concerts in Warsaw. 1915-1917 he played vaudeville at "Venus" and other venues in Warsaw, then in Bialystok. He toured with Heyman and Anna Yakubovitsh and traveled to Poltava, where he played in the Kanyeski-Breytman troupe and later in Beker's troupe. He also was a copyist for telephonograms* and spent a year playing with Adolf Segal in Berditchev.

Coming back to Poland, he no longer appeared on stage, becoming a badkhn and entertainer at celebrations.

Under his full name and also under the initials "Sh. L." Lindenfeld published many songs and couplets set to popular tunes. He also published:

The Geferlikh lokator (dangerous tenant), a farce in one act, [a free adaptation of the Polish farce "The quiet tenant'], published by L. Goldfarb, Warsaw 1927."

Der feter fun provints (the uncle from the provinces), or, Pst! Pst!, a farce in one act, published by L. Goldfarb, Warsaw 1927

A kale oyf probe (a bride on assessment)  a comedy in one act, and Khantshe-Bnendil baym doktor, a humoresque in one act, both published in "Three New One-act Plays", Warsaw 1927

Der shver als eydem (the father-in-law as son-in-law), a comedic farce in one act, translated and adapted by Sh. Lindenfeld, published by L. Goldfarb, Warsaw 1928

Lindenfeld had the following songs published by "Melodie", some written by him and some translated and adapted:

1909 Di lustike minut (The happy minute), Dos shpayze-tsetl (The food-ticket, ration-stamp)

1910 Hits, Hats, Hots

1912 Ikh hob a kale (I Have a Wife), Ikh borg nisht keynem (I don't lend to anyone)

1916 Di Havdole, Di Lodkelekh, (the little boat) Ven ikh tref dik aleyn baynakht, (when I meet you at night) Meshiakh oyf dem oytomobil (Messiah on the automobile)

1918 Dudl iz popular, Dos yingl mit a pas (the boy with a pass)

1924 Gevald, vu nemt men a direh? (Yikes, where does one find an apartment?)

1926 Tsum dashek, Vos zogt ir oyf mayn mazel? (What do you say about my luck?), Donki, Monki Biznes, (Donkey Monkey Business), Yontiv in der vokhn (Sabbath mid-week), Nerven, nerven (Nerves, Nerves), Di velt hot zikh ibergekert (The world turned itself upside down)

and Gevald, vu nemt men koyln? (Argh, where can one find coal?) published in "35 letste teatr lider," Varshe, 1930.

* A device that recorded and could reproduce music or speech transmitted through a telephone.

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Try to contact with Hebrew University Sound Archive stuff. They holds a lot of Lindenfeld - Feinstein records. A git shobes!

February 15, 2013 at 12:21 PM  
Blogger melinama said...

Thank you! I have written to the Archive to see if they have what I seek.

February 15, 2013 at 4:08 PM  

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