Soulful: Lockwood and Ziegler reinterpreted ?Melodies I Have Seen.? Image by Courtesy of Jeremiah Lockwood

While doing my research for the third installment of The Nigun Project, I discovered a melody in a Yiddish chapbook that was published in New York City in 1947. The book bears the striking title “Yiddish Nigunim I Have Heard…and Seen.” This magical little book, compiled by Moshe Gutman, constitutes a kind of testimonial and tribute to the author’s village in Europe, newly relegated to the rubble of memory by the devastation of the war. The soulful and rich melodies transcribed by Gutman from the memories of his youth bespeak a rich and complex world. The melodies communicate both the workaday melancholy and commonplace pleasures of life.

For this piece I had the great privilege of working with Itamar Ziegler, an incredibly talented musician whose work will be familiar to readers from his recordings as bass player with Balkan Beat Box. I first encountered Itamar through his work with the Brooklyn-based avant-garde rock band Pink Noise and later fell in love with his accomplished and extremely funky solo albums. His third solo effort is about to be released in Israel and Europe, and will also be available online stateside.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

On this track, entitled “Melodies I Have Seen,” Itamar is on bass moog synthesizer and drum programming, and we both weigh in with guitars and vocals.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount