No order without chaos. No harmony without cachophony. No ‘rest’ without ‘unrest.’ Umru is Yiddish for unrest, for turmoil. It is not as negative as it seems: haste, tension, obsession. But umru can also bring positive tension, usher in the start of a creative process. Expressive words bubbling up from the poet. A new melody welling up inside a musician. Pangs of birth. Umru is part of creating something new. Like the fluttering unrest and shattering eggshell entailed with the hatching of the newborn chick.

Mazzeltov and Rolinha Kross underwent the same kind of creative process in the making of this album. Unrest and passion. Something new had to be made. New music had to be born. For instance, original compositions set to the words of Yiddish poets. More than ever before Mazzeltov went in search of new inspiration. Further than the Yiddish smash hits from the classic repertoire. And even further than Yiddish adaptations of well-known English, Dutch and French songs on their next-to-last album ‘Amsterdam’ from 2008.

The new album ‘Mayn umru’ is already Mazzeltov’s sixth baby. It can legitimately be regarded as a new chapter in the 15 year history of one of the best klezmer bands in the Netherlands. Never before have so many brandnew original works emerged from the eggshell. Fortunately, a few classic traditional and contemporary pearls by other composers have not been overlooked. Let this beautiful unrest get under your skin!

For Willy Brill

Without her exceptional anthologies of Yiddish poetry and her brilliant translations, this album would never have been made. Moreover she has been a source of great inspiration to singer Rolinha Kross for many many years.