Yiddish Curiosities: a library of wonderful but forgotten Yiddish songs from the late 1920s and after (includes Polish Jewish Cabaret). Have a listen!

I'm proud to have Michael Aylward, discographer and collector of old Yiddish music, as my penpal. He and Julian Futter pooled their resources and put out this amazing collection of songs recorded before the first world war in Lemberg (now Lvov) at the longest-lived Yiddish theater in the world! It comes with a 40-page booklet of information about the birth of Yiddish theater, the establishment of the Gimpel dynasty, the history of its rise and fall, bios of the performers, and brief descriptions of the songs, some of which I'm now desperate to learn! But the words are hard to understand.

You can buy the cd at Honest Jon's online store. Amazon sometimes has a few copies.

Here, the contents:

Pepi Littmann - Judl Mit Sein Fiedl
Pepi Littmann - Harbe Schale
I. Reissmnn - Der Badchen
Norbert Glimer - Jent Di Roti (Jent di roiti)
Thur And Karlik - Ohne Ein Kind
Helene Gespass - Die Woch Von Pesach
Helene Gespass - Hot A Jud A Wabale
Helene Gespass - Oj Manner, Manner
G.Z. Weismann - Freitag Auf Der Nacht
L. Rosenstein - Pripichok
Julius Guttmann - Kale Besingen
Julius Guttmann - Hei Ti Di Di
Julius Guttmann - Simchas Torah Scene
Julius Guttmann - Hatikvah
Leon Kalisch - Lechaim Bruder
Leon Kalisch - Dort Wo Die Zewder
Leon Kalisch - Blumele Duett
Leon Kalisch - Lemberger Naschmarkt
Leon Kalisch - Druschegeschank
Jacob Fuchs - Der Bucher
Komisches Terzett - Ein Ueberkerenisch
Salcia Weinberg - Die Fiedel
Sam Schilling - Chave
Zweibel-Goldstein - Sukos Lied
S. Zuckerberg - Sedernacht
Sholem Aleichem - A Joyful Holiday