Hello! How are you in this very last day of July? Maybe just about to start holidays! In my case I am planning to stay and continue sending this little musical jewels to you every week.

The old recordings are charming and we love them. And we have also contemporary artists that are very inspiring too. Our artist of this edition was with us already in this occasion. Why are they back? Because I really appreciate their work, that I have experienced live twice. Michal Pal’ko, singer and cimbalonist of the band has kindly answered some questions and he also sent me a piece, Niezhuryca khlopcy, from their latest album, to share it with you!

Download it here ⬇️ and watch them in video at the bottom. And if you like it, you can order the full album, here.

ARACELI: About the song: where is it from, where did you find or learn it. What does it talk about?

MICHAL: It’s a traditional nigun (song without the words, or with some kind of citation). In this case nign “Niezhuryca khlopcy” has in three sections (A, B, C), three typical kinds of texture:

All kinds of text has own mystical meaning. But generaly both Rusyn and Yiddish texts versions have very simply meanings: “Don’t be affraid, guy, of what will happen to us, we will go to the pub and dring a few snaps…”. But is is a kind of metaphora. Pub is the house of great tzadik, snaps-vodka is knowledge, meaning the holy Tora. And if you receive Tora to yourself, you definitelly won’t be afraid whethever, whenever…

It’s a typical Chabad nign famous and well known around the world. We have included it in an album by my band, in the second album from collection Musica Iudaica Monarchiae – SAROSI- SARISSKI, Jewish music from Saris region. It is deeply connected to Kurima village, where Rav Michael is buried, who was the grandson of the great rabbi from Zlochyw, one of the founders of Chabad-Lubawich dynasty.

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ARACELI: About you: year and place of birth, place where you are settled. Did you receive lessons for liturgic singing or anything like that? I think you can conduct religious services and I know it requires a lot of time for studying. What made you interested in that?

MICHAL: I was born in 1988, in the middle of Slovakia, in a town without Jewish community, without any Jewish cultural or liturgical background, so as I grew up I needed to learn everything… I studied classical music (composition, cimbalom and conducting) and at same time, during my studies in Krakow, I studied Jeshiva pardes Lauder and some private lessons from Tora and Kabala, and cantorial chanting as well. In cantorial chanting, I am the most interested in different ways of how to do service, how to be still in touch with all kehila and G-d. and on the other side with the present and the past. Huge tradition behind you. I used feel like in library, you can choose and create in same time. Still perfectly “on-line”.

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