Sofias Reisen: A musical festival in honor of Jewish culture!

Sofias Reisen: A musical festival in honor of Jewish culture!

On Sunday, February 2, 2025, an extraordinary concert takes place in the “Landjewen der Sieg” memorial. Under the title "Sofias Reisen", the ensemble WAKS presents its musical interpretation of the trips of the Soviet-Jewish music ethnologist Sofia Magid. The event, which lasts from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., promises a deep insight into Yiddish music culture and its preservation by Magid. Entry costs 15 euros, 13 euros for members of the association, and the tickets can be purchased in advance or at the box office in the Siegburg city museum. A pre-order is also possible directly to the Rhein-Sieg district archive, available on 02241 13 2928 or via email to memorialstette@rhein-sieg-kreis.de.

Sofia Magid, born in 1892 and died in 1954, dedicated her life to the collection and archiving of Yiddish music. With the help of phonographers and wax rollers, she traveled through Ukraine to preserve songs from SHTTELS that were badly affected by civil war, pogroms and hunger. Your work is an important part of the heritage of Jewish music, which is kept alive to this day. The pieces that Magid collected are not only songs, but also certificates of a culture that is characterized by severe fates.

artistic occupation and program

The ensemble WAKS, which is made up of the singer and recitator Inge Mandos, the pianist and accordionist Klemens Kaatz and the violinist Hans-Christian Jaenicke, is performed in their new program as well as modern arrangements and original phonograph shots. Mandos, touched by the power of the wax roller votes, wanted to “sing along” this musical wealth and found the ideal colleagues in Kaatz and Jaenicke. Together they reconstruct Magids and interweave multimedia elements such as video projections and noises in their program.

insight into the Jewish music culture

Jewish music culture has a long and eventful story. Until the modern era, it was primarily an oral tradition in which the voice played a central role. Musical instruments were excluded in the service for a long time, a practice that gradually changed with the reform movement in the 19th century. In this phase it began to reinterpret Jewish music, which was also visible through the influences of Protestant church singing. Many important reform composers such as Salomon Sulzer and Louis Lewandowski contributed to the renewal of synagogal music.

In the post -war period, interest in Jewish music experienced a resuscitation. Festivals and courses, such as the first course for Jewish cantors at the University of Potsdam, testify to the growing need to keep the cultural heritage of Jewish music in Germany. Current Jewish musicians and composers are also increasingly integrating Jewish influences into their works, which leads to an exciting connection between tradition and modernity.

The “Sofias Reisen” concert not only sets a music -historical accent, but also promotes exchange about the importance and influence of the Jewish music tradition in today's world. Due to the commitment of the ensemble WAKS, a piece of this precious culture is made accessible to a broad audience and brought into a new life.

Interest in the event is great and preparations are already in full swing. You can find more information on the sides of the memorial Landjuden an der Sieg as well as about the initiatives of the ensembles on Ingemandos.de and further explanations of the Jewish music culture on bpb.de .