Hélène Engel
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"Voyage - Trio Helene Engel"

Published on Oct 21, 2007
In Klezmer podcast
Written by Keith Wolzinger

Review: Voyage

Trio Helene Engel
Voyage is the aptly titled album from Montreal-based Trio Helen Engel. Voyage takes the listener on a journey through the Jewish musical world. The versatile Engel sings in Yiddish, Hebrew, French, Ladino, and English. With the help of Henri Oppenheim, the arrangements have an authentic sound unique to each region visited by these songs. The album touches on the music of Poland, Ukraine, Morocco, Spain, France, Russia, Israel, and North America.
Voyage is the fifth album by Engel, though her first with the current Trio, which was formed in 2005.
The first track, Introduction, starts with the sounds of a noisy club audience, who gradually gets quiet as the band starts to play and Engel appears and begins to sing wordlessly. From there we are along for the ride as Voyage goes on its globetrotting adventure.
The musical styles vary, but the high level of musicianship is steady throughout. The backing by Oppenheim, violinist Marie-Neige Lavigne, and guest guitarist Jean Desrochers, is a perfect match for the voice of Engel. The instrumental solo breaks are well done, and I especially enjoyed the jazz violin work by Lavigne on Bai Mir Bistu Sheyn.
The CD insert is a four-page booklet with French and English bios of the band members and a brief description of the album. The lyrics, translations, and information about each song are available on Engel's website. They are quite extensive, with the lyrics being translated into French and English.
If you like a variety of Jewish song styles, and a classically-trained voice backed by a great ensemble, then have a listen to Trio Helene Engel. Bon Voyage!

- Klezmer Podcast - Keith Wolzinger


"Voyage to the musical world"

Voyage to the musical world


By Julia Gerke, The Suburban
Photo by Quebec.Pop (Michel Parent).
Hélène Engel, left, with Henri Oppenheim and Marie-Neige Lavigne: Trio performs throughout Montreal.

Hélène Engel refuses to be pigeonholed.
A singer since 1982, she got her start in choirs and operas before she discovered international folklore and Jewish music.
Today, she performs in Yiddish, Spanish, Hebrew, French, English, Russian and Hungarian at venues throughout Montreal.
“I don’t speak all those languages fluently, and I won’t say that I don’t have an accent, but I made it [the music] mine,” the Snowdon resident says.
Engel was born in France and moved to Montreal in 1993. She was always interested in music.
“When I was a child, my grandmother was a painter and she toured through the U.S. She brought back this great album from Theodore Bikel,” Engel says.
“I liked it a lot and I started copying it when I was young. [Later], I also started teaching songs in their original language, I loved that.”
But she only found her true calling when she discovered the rich musical heritage of Jewish music.
As the daughter of Hungarian Jews in France, Engel says she had a lot of catching up to do.
“In France, there are two types of Hungarian Jewish families,” she says.
“Either they are very religious or they are very assimilated. My family was very assimilated, so when I started getting interested in it [Jewish heritage and folklore], all that was for me to learn and make it my own.”
Engel recorded some albums before she moved to Canada, and her first CD here, Ay Lulu, was well received in 1995.
She took a break to raise a family, and now the mother of two boys is back with her new album Voyage.
The songs come with short explanations and are about love, peace, history, togetherness and immigration, among others subjects.
Their origins can be traced back to Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, to traditional Yiddish songs and even a text from 17th century France. The album also features a lot of Klezmer music.
“It’s Jewish music, but what we bring to the table is that we visit the entire range of music,” Engel says.
Her music ranges from classical melodies to traditional songs, from children’s tunes and ballads to tango, and from Klezmer music to oriental chant.
“We also introduce new compositions, and our shows are for Jews and non-Jews. I try to include all people that may not know Jewish traditions. It’s just for people to enjoy music.”
Hélène Engel will perform tomorrow, Nov. 15, at Parc des Princes, 5293 Ave. du Parc. Tickets are $7. For more information, call 514-678-5727. 
2007-11-14 12:42:33

- The Suburban


Discography

RECORDINGS

VOYAGE – CD – HE 007
Jewish songs from all over the world and modern compositions

AY LU LU - CD
Songs in Yiddish, French and English. About childhood, times forever gone, and continuity of a tradition from one generation to the next. The booklet includes the lyrics in Yiddish and their translation into French and English as well as a brief note about each song.
With F.A.C.E. school choir

ERRANCES – CD – USA 92
This album draws a parallel between the expulsion of Jews from Spain and the landing of the first Jewish immigrants in North America. A savoury blend of Sephardi and Ashkenazi folklores (Spain, Middle-East, Maghreb, Russia, Poland, Romania...) and of ancient and contemporary repertoire.

LA SERENA – CD – EB 88
Sephardic folklore (ladino). Ancient romances in Jewish-Spanish from Europe and the Middle East.

CHANSONS TRADITIONNELLES JUIVES – CD – EMA 8544
Songs in Hebrew, Yiddish and Jewish-Spanish

Photos

Bio

The Helene Engel Trio began in Montreal in 2005 and has since been performing with their show "VOYAGE."

A native of Paris, France, Hélène Engel is a specialist in Jewish folklore singing in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Judeo-Spanish, English, French and numerous other languages. Singer, musicologist, composer, lyricist and arranger. She is passionate about every aspect of Jewish music, from ethnological field work collecting old songs to new compositions, from traditional folk songs to discovering exceptional and unknown melodies. Her tours include regular appearances at festivals in France and elsewhere in Europe. Now based in Montreal, she occasionally sings as cantorial soloist at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom. Her 5th recording, VOYAGE, was launched in October 2007.

Ex- mathematician, Henri Oppenheim drifted since 1997 into accordion. He directed the Kleztory group for 4 years, performing with the Montreal and the Quebec Symphony Orchestras. He expanded the scope of his musical experience through composition, arrangements, directing, accompaniment, even production. He collaborates with Helene Engel since 2004.

Classically trained violinist Marie-Neige Lavigne now plays different musical styles, from Gypsy Jazz to the contemporary compositions of her trio « Cord’Âmes », while granting ample space to the Jewish and Quebecois folklores. As she said to Helene Engel, when they started their collaboration in 2005, « the music of the world breathes through the strings of my violin » .