Podcast
in a dark blue night: two song cycles on Yiddish/Jewish New York
Alex Weiser visits with The Shmooze to talk about his latest work, in a dark blue night, consisting of two connected song cycles. The first, “in a dark blue night,” sets to music modernist Yiddish poetry about New York City at night, all written by Jewish immigrant poets at the turn of the 20th century. The second, “Coney Island Days,” transforms an oral history with his late grandmother, Irene Weiser, into a musical exploration of the time when Jews became Americans and the way that humble, individual stories can capture the sweeping breadth of history.