Yiddish poetry finds new audience through Bashevis Singers

“What would Sutzkever say? What would Sutzkever do?” became catchphrases for band members of The Bashevis Singers while producing their latest album, “Moon’s Milk”, based on the poems of Yiddish poet Avrom Sutzkever, some of which have been translated for the first time by scholar of the Jewish mystical tradition, Dr Nathan Wolski.

“Sutzkever and his words certainly entered our hearts, and I think we did everything for this album with all of that in our hearts and souls,” says Husky Gawenda.

The band, which includes siblings Husky and Evie Gawenda and cousin Gideon Preiss, have recently returned from Canada where they performed songs from “Moon’s Milk” to sold out audiences in Montreal and Toronto.

“Our aim is to just make great Yiddish music,” says Husky. “We love Yiddish, and want to make songs in Yiddish, but we hope that through doing that, it brings people in who otherwise wouldn't have access to it at all, and perhaps it makes them interested in exploring Yiddish further.”

The Gawendas and Preiss all grew up in Yiddish speaking homes, AKA ‘Yiddishland’, listening to and singing the Yiddish musical greats with their grandparents and parents.

“I didn't realize that these songs were written by the greats at that time,” says Preiss. “They were deeply ingrained in us, just as folk songs, not necessarily as songs written by the great Yiddish writers.”

After performing Yiddish greats for family, friends and the community, the band first performed publicly at Mullumbimby Music Festival in 2014, singing only in Yiddish. “It was an awesome gig,” says Evie. “No one understood anything,” remembers Husky, “but they loved it and we had a great time.” The band then recorded their first album of these beloved songs in 2015.