A remarkable group that is
at the forefront of Jewish a capella singing.
Frank London

Breathtaking vocals
Musician, winter 2007

Vocal quartet Ashkenazim sings Jewish music a cappella and also performs with ensembles and orchestras. Their repertoire mostly consists of their original compositions for Yiddish poems, folk songs in Yiddish, klezmer music, niggunim (tunes). Their sideline (a separate programme) is Russian folk songs.

Although classical in its composition, the quartet are aiming for a folk sound. A special manner of performing, traditional instrumental styles copied by the voices, form the unique Ashkenazim style. A style which is recognisable from the first few bars.

Since their beginning in 2001 they"ve performed in dozens of cities of the Former Soviet Union, USA, Canada and Europe, and recorded 3 CDs.

The group:

Polina Shepherd (Brighton, UK) – leader, composer; vocals/ soprano, piano, accordion.

Yana Ovrutskaya (Moscow, Russia) – vocals/ alto

Evgenia Slavina (Moscow, Russia), also Alina Ivakh (Moscow, Russia) – vocals/ alto

Merlin Shepherd (Brighton, UK) – vocals/ baritone, clarinets.

Reviews:

Merlin Shepherd in 2004:

From the opening phrase, no from the opening note of Polina"s compositions comes a sound so unique, so clear and so identifyably hers.....

I first heard Polina"s quartet on CD after returning from St Petersburg in 2001. Later the same Summer I heard the quartet live in Evpatoria. I was spellbound. Here coming from the Former Soviet Union, were original settings of Yiddish poetry, settings that were for me the proof not of emulation, not generic, but of newness, freshness, and taking Yiddishkeit in a new direction. How refreshing not to hear the same tunes rehashed and repackaged! Here is an original writer giving voice to a wealth of ideas, with vigour, and with originality.

The selection of songs cover many themes and are settings of wonderful Yiddish poems, a variety as diverse and as intricate as can be expected from the canon. Songs mourning the decling of Yiddish in Soviet Russia, where a poet tells how a young pioneer cannot understand the strange writing that goes from right to left. Songs celebrating the joys of wine, songs of the possessed drummer and wordless new niggunim. All is there from the pen and heart of the composer, and wonderfully performed by the quartet of four passionate and talented singers.

Ranging from beautiful unison to skilfully executed four part harmony, often within the space of a single bar, the members all both strong soloists and wonderful ensemble singers, draw the listener into a musical world that is both unknown and yet strangely familiar. The traditional ornamentation and modes of the songs are known and yet the melodies, new and unheard suggest to me that the tradition has never been broken. Arkady Gendler, a native Yiddish speaker, singer and song writer from Moldova tells how under Soviet rule Yiddish culture stopped like a clock.

I can say that with the talent of Polina Shepherd and her exceptional quartet, The Quartet Ashkenazim, the clock is ticking again. I cannot urge anyone strongly enough to take the time to listen to this extraordinary and beautiful ensemble. Ashkenazim zol zayn!

Adrienne Cooper for the coming CD "Di Yidishe Gas" 2002:

As a Yiddish singer myself, and a teacher of singers, these four are a gift to me as well - first students, then, grown into colleagues that I never dreamed I would discover, half a world away, and as close as my own thoughts, my own breath. I remember hearing Polina for the first time, a number of years ago, in St. Petersburg, where I had gone to teach musicians from the former Soviet Union - and I can still conjure the shock of recognition. This is what Yiddishland sounded like - what I imagine it sounded like. That was before Polina and her colleagues created their Yidishe gas / Jewish street. But, of course, this CD is not what Yiddishland sounded like at all - instead it is the dreamt of, the struggled with, the pushed away and then drawn close soul of Yiddish, wedded to impatient, sensual, joyous young sensibilities. Welcome to a new Yidishe gas.

Zalmen Mlotek in 2002:

This ensemble (The Quartet Ashkenazim), comprised of four young singers, performs largely a cappella vocal arrangements of classic and newly composed Yiddish songs. Bringing extraordinary musicianship, cultural authenticity and creativity to the new Jewish song movement, the ensemble Ashkenazim, is a rare thrill to hear. The leader of the group, Polina Achkinazi (Shepherd) is among this generation"s most talented composers and arrangers of new Yiddish music. The ensemble"s level of musical artistry is very high and the attention to detail and to the Yiddish text is extraordinary.The group also represents a new and exciting phenomenon in world Jewish culture, the rebirth of cultural creativity in the communities of the former Soviet Union. The Ensemble Ashkenazim are among the finest fruits of that investment in nurturing Jewish creativity in what was the heartland of Yiddish culture.