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any jewish music buffs here know who produced those records? who composed the songs? i think r. baruch chait comp. some of them, like the most famous ‘kol haolam kulo …”. but what about the rest? theres the famous “ma ahavti torahsecha” etc.
Yes, R’ Baruch Chait produced the Kol Salonika albums and composed many of the songs.
Ma Ahavti is credited on the album back as an “Israeli Chassidic Song”.
The sound is supposed to be Greek. Salonika is a Greek city with a rich Jewish history.
Some Google searches on; I think it’s because Avram Pengas was the lead guitarist. He was born in Athens. The series are titled ‘the new chassidic Greek sound’.
There is something written about Salonika on the vinel jacket but resolution is too low to read.There is a YouTube channel by the name of “Al Neustadter.” This channel has a # of old Jewish LP’s uploaded with the record labels. You will find Kol Salonika there with far more details within the video.
I don’t know why greek- but I do know that a Rosh yeshiva (I don’t remember his name) asked R Baruch Chait to produce Kol Salonika so that the bochurim would have something else to listen to besides the Beatles which were very popular at the time of Kol Salonika’s production
Beatles were disbanded by the time KS was recorded and released. As great as a record it was, I don’t know why anyone seriously into the Beatles would be persuaded.
At one time the Jews were so dominant in Solonika that the port was closed on Shabbat. It was also the temporary home of Rav Yosef Caro before he made aliya. Almost the entire community was murdered in Auschwitz.
The song Ma Ahavti is a Skulener one,
& not all of the songs were composed by Reb Boruch Chait,
But all in all the KOL salonika albums are still a pleasure to listen to, unlike today’s music (which is not to MACH AVEK) you can listen to them again & again and……… AgainThe song Ma Ahavti is a Skulener one
Nafshenu is a Skulener Nigun.
Actually, the composer of Ma Ahavti wrote into Mishpacha magazine, and Reb Chait responded! Here’s their interaction:
That’s My Song [EndNote / Issue 878]
In your Mega Succos edition, Rabbi Baruch Chait is quoted saying, “Not that long ago someone recorded ‘Kol Ha’olam Kulo’ and listed it on the jacket as a folk song. My immediate response was — ‘Wait, this is a mistake, I composed it.’ ”
How ironic! While learning in Slabodka Yeshivah (Bnei Brak) in the year 1970, I composed the well-known niggun “Mah Ahavti.” A year or two later the Kol Salonika band recorded “Mah Ahavti” and listed it on the jacket as a popular Israeli chassidic niggun.
My reaction then was probably the same as Reb Baruch’s: “Wait, this is a mistake — I composed it.”
However, I was and still am proud that my musical hero, Reb Baruch of the Rabbis’ Sons, felt my niggun was good enough to be recorded on his record.
Moishe Friedman, Toronto, Canada
Rabbi Baruch Chait responds:
Thank you for writing. Please accept a belated apology and request for forgiveness. Back when we were working on the album, we did a serious search, and at that time there was no easy way to find the composer of the niggun.
Incidentally, the same thing happened when I was helping organize New York Pirchei’s recording of “Eilecha.” Nobody knew who wrote that niggun. Years later, Sheya Mendlowitz found an original recording of Shlomo Carlebach composing the song. (Shlomo often didn’t remember his own niggunim because they were recorded on personal tape recorders and totally forgotten until someone recovered them.)
https://mishpacha. com/inbox-issue-881/
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