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Michael Alpert & Craig Judelman

In Der Heym / Down Home : music of the Jewish-Ukrainian heartland.

Drawing on years of experience in klezmer, American 'Old Time', Eastern European and Anglo-Celtic music, these leaders of the international klezmer scene present music is as rooted in tradition as it is personal, intimate and imaginative - inviting listeners into a musical space unlike any other.

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In this intimate duo format, Michael Alpert and Craig Judelman present their personal take on Jewish fiddle tunes collected in Ukraine in the early 20th century, songs learned directly from native born Yiddish culture bearers, as well their own original tunes and songs. Allowing decades of immersion in Eastern European, American and Celtic folk music to percolate through their own highly developed musical voices has produced a contribution to the Yiddish music and American folk cannon unlike anything before it. From blazing fiddle tunes to plaintive airs, a Capella ballads to songs of workers’ rights, migration and broken hearts, this dynamic program embodies the American Jewish experience while connecting it across to the Ukrainian heartland which over centuries of cohabitation contributed deeply to the music we now call ‘Klezmer’.

The two musicians were about to embark on a tour in Scotland in spring of 2020 when the pandemic quickly cancelled all their gigs (and flights). After a couple of months locked down in Michael’s home on the Scottish coast, they decided to record their late night musical explorations. With the help of a couple 1950’s British broadcast microphones they recorded the album ‘In Der Heym / Down Home’ over the course of a few long evenings, capturing this intimate music without really knowing what would come out, though it was clear that tunes collected by celebrated Jewish-Ukrainian ethnomusicologist Moishe Beregovski would form the core of the material. The result is a captivating and heartfelt collection of music and stories, with a sound as familiar to fans of old time fiddle tunes as it is to klezmer aficionados, rooted in the the intercultural exchange of early 20th century Ukraine and yet completely fresh and with a unique identity in the acoustic/klezmer music scene today.