YIVO hosts album launch, and all the days were purple

A fresh, contemporary classical take on secular Jewish poetry

(New York, NY) – The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is excited to celebrate the album launch of and all the days were purple on Tuesday, April 9 at 7:00pm.

The new album from Cantaloupe Music, created by YIVO’s Director of Public Programs Alex Weiser, is comprised of contemporary classical songs that set Yiddish and English poems to music. The music, which finds inspiration from secular Jewish poetry, chronicles a search for the divine while reflecting on life’s tumultuous journey of longing and its fleeting moments of joy.

The launch will feature music from the new album, as well as arrangements of five Yiddish and Hebrew songs from the YIVO Archives by composers Joel Engel, Moses Milner, Lazare Saminsky, and Alexander Veprik. These songs, which have been created by Weiser for the occasion, showcase the little known but great tradition of Jewish art songs.

Weiser’s work on and all the days were purple reflects his encounters with Jewish culture from his work at YIVO. “As I began learning Yiddish at YIVO and becoming acquainted with the wider world of Jewish studies, it felt like a homecoming to a Jewish world that I never quite knew existed,” said Weiser about the deep connection he felt upon learning Yiddish. “A world in which the language I was told my grandparents’ parents used to tell their secrets is also a language of erotic poetry. A world in which history, language, and culture can unite Jews across time, space, and religious and political divisions.”

Performances will feature Eliza Bagg (voice), Daniel Schlosberg (piano), Maya Bennardo (violin), Hannah Levinson (viola), Hannah Collins (cello), and Mike Compitello (percussion).

The album, which will be released by Cantaloupe Music on April 12, 2019, will be available for pre-release purchase and signing at the launch. A special reception will follow the concert which will serve food inspired by the poetry on the album.

Program: and all the days were purple
When: Tuesday, April 9, 2019, 7:00pm
Where: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in the Center for Jewish History Building (15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011)
Admission: Free
Reservations: yivo.org/And-All-The-Days-Were-Purple

For any media inquiries please contact:

Alex Weiser
Director of Public Programs
(212) 294-6152

About YIVO

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide. For nearly a century, YIVO has pioneered new forms of Jewish scholarship, research, education, and cultural expression. Our public programs and exhibitions, as well as online and on-site courses, extend our outreach to a global community. The YIVO Archives contains 24 million unique items and YIVO’s Library has over 400,000 volumes—the single largest resource for the study of East European Jewish life in the world. yivo.org / yivo.org/the-whole-story

Alex Weiser

Alex Weiser is the Director of Public Programs of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York City, and a composer of music with broad gestures, rich textures, and narrative sweep, which has been called “compelling” (New York Times), and “shapely, melody-rich” (Wall Street Journal). Born and raised in New York City, Weiser creates acutely cosmopolitan music combining a deeply felt historical perspective with a vibrant forward-looking creativity. Weiser has been praised for writing “insightful” music “of great poetic depth” (Feast of Music), and for having a “sophisticated ear and knack for evoking luscious textures and imaginative yet approachable harmonies” (I Care If You Listen). An energetic advocate for contemporary classical music and for the work of his peers, Weiser co-founded and directs Kettle Corn New Music, an “ever-enjoyable,” and “engaging” concert series which “creates that ideal listening environment that so many institutions aim for: relaxed, yet allowing for concentration” (New York Times), and was for nearly five years a director of the MATA Festival, “the city’s leading showcase for vital new music by emerging composers” (The New Yorker). At YIVO, Weiser curates and produces programs that combine a fascination with and curiosity for historical context, with an eye toward influential Jewish contributions to the culture of today and tomorrow.