FEBRUARY 24 • 2022 | 5
essay
Legacy: The Yellow Violin
F
lemington, New
Jersey, was stop
number one on my
three-week August concert
tour some years back. Half
of the buildings in this
Delaware River
town are on
the Register of
Historic Places.
Masterfully
restored
19th-century
Victorians
resplendent
with sumptuous flower
boxes line each side of the
main boulevard. This is
not just another exit on
the turnpike— its claim
to fame is the immense
Greek Revival courthouse
built in 1828, the site of
the Lindbergh “Trial of the
Century.” I was staying in
a quaint bed-and-breakfast
just a block away. All these
niceties have little to do with
what made this event so
special. Here’s the story:
In 1925, Chaskel Frand
and his wife and kids left
Dubiecko, Poland, for the
“Golden Medina,” armed
with his sole source of
income, a violin. He had to
bid farewell to his extended
family of musicians, the
Frand Klezmorim. Packed
in his violin case was the
handwritten music they
performed for weddings
and for visiting dignitaries.
Tragically, after the war,
Chaskel was anguished to
discover that all his relatives
had perished at the hands of
the Nazis.
In 1955, Chaskel decided
to move to Israel so the
imminent arrival of the
Messiah wouldn’t require
that his bones roll all the
way from New York (yes, the
rolling of the bones is a part
of Jewish tradition).
At the airport, he learned
he was only allowed one
carry-on item. His daughter
convinced him to choose
his tallis and tefillin over
the violin — he could buy
another instrument in Israel.
He reluctantly handed it to
her, and she stashed it in
her basement for the next
several years. At one point,
a cousin came to visit from
California. He had just
started playing the violin and
requested his grandfather’s
instrument. Eventually, the
violin floated from house to
house and much of the Frand
sheet music portfolio wound
up framed and hung in the
homes of various relatives.
Fast forward to 1996. My
dear friend Sharon Brooks,
Chaskel’s granddaughter,
had a 5-year-old daughter
who wanted to learn violin.
Sharon tracked down
Chaskel’s instrument and had
it sent to New Jersey. It was
in such a state of disrepair
she had to splurge to have it
restored. When word got out
that the violin was back in
use, relatives sent Sharon the
Frand music so the priceless
pieces could be played
once again on the family
heirloom.
In 2009, Sharon made a
trip to Dubiecko to explore
her roots. Even though
Jews made up over half the
town’s population before
the war, now there was
no sign of their presence.
The Jewish cemetery was
in shambles and the mass
grave unmarked. Nazis
had used ancient Jewish
headstones to pave a road.
In a moment of inspiration,
Sharon realized how to make
“lemonade out of lemons:”
The recovered music of the
Frand Klezmorim would be
the very vehicle to restore
the cemetery and honor the
memories of her ancestors.
MAKING LEMONADE
Upon her return, Sharon
called to ask my opinion
regarding what to do with
this portfolio. She sent me
copies, and I worked my way
through the arrangements,
soon recognizing the
uniqueness of this treasure
trove. I recommended she
have them professionally
transcribed so they could
be performed by a modern
ensemble, and we discussed
the logistics of throwing a
debut concert as a fundraiser.
Before long, she hired
klezmer flutist Adrianne
Greenbaum to create usable
charts out of the Frand
ensemble’s hieroglyphics and
we put a concert date on the
books.
After much preparation,
the big weekend arrived.
The entire community came
out for every aspect of the
special Shabbaton. We found
capable klezmer musicians
to fill out the band for the
Saturday night concert, and
I hired one of my favorite
studio drummers from
New York. After a set of
my songs, we presented the
melodious and quite complex
klezmer from the Frand
catalogue. This Eastern
European folk music is not
intended to be listened to in
a passive manner; Adrianne
enthusiastically led the
audience in various dances,
and we jammed late into the
night while everyone sang
along.
Thousands of dollars
were raised to restore the
Dubiecko Jewish cemetery.
New music was launched
in the klezmer world. The
JCC of Flemington enjoyed
a Shabbaton they would not
Sam Glaser
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