Monday, February 5, 2007

Tumbalalaika in Angels in America


My wife and I recently watched the HBO film adaptation of Tony Kushner play 'Angels in America.' It's an amazing movie on many levels, one of which is listening to Meryl Streep sing "Tumbalalaika." Tumbalalaika (Play the Balalaika) is a Yiddish folktune often used as a lullabye. Streep's performance is haunting.

If you haven't heard Tumbalalika, there are a number of audio/video clips on line here, here and here that will give you a feel. Fortunately, while Streep version wasn't includes on the Angels in America soundtrack, Hatikva Music can set you up with an excellent Theodore Bikel version.

1 comment:

David French said...

Tumbalalaika is presented here with 1. Backing track, basic tune, English translation 2. A Cappella - Pop, Klezmer, Jazz, Yiddish 3. QKT - Traditional Klezmer 4. Gevolt - Yiddish Metal
http://www.webng.com/tanbur/page18.html