Karsten Troyke (born ''Karsten Bertolt Sellhorn'' on 14 August 1960 in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
) is a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
singer of Jewish songs, as well as an actor and speaker.
Early life
Troyke was born to a non-Jewish family, though his father Werner "Josh" Sellhorn had a Jewish father, who hid the family tree from officials by buying then-illegal "Aryan papers“.
Troyke worked in various jobs: as a gardener and with cognitively challenged children. He studied singing (with Leonore Gendries) as well as drama and speaking, performing on stage since 1982.
Career
In 1990 he gave up work to dedicate himself full-time to musical performance and theater. Troyke participated in radio plays, worked as a voice actor (dubbing), and appeared in various stage plays.
As a singer, his album ''Yiddish Anders'' (1992) received the praise of German record critics. ''Jidische Vergessene Lieder'' (1997) contained previously unpublished songs of Sara Bialas Tenenberg, who became his mentor for the Yiddish language.
In his performances, Troyke worked with
Bettina Wegner
Bettina Wegner (born 4 November 1947 in West-Berlin) is a German singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "Sind so kleine Hände", written as "Kinder (Children)", also sung by Joan Baez, Dean Reed and others.
Biography
Wegner was born ...
, Suzanna and the
Trio Scho. His interpretations of the songs of
Georg Kreisler received mention in the writer-musician's 2005 biography. In 2006, two documentaries, ''Yiddish Soul'' and ''Concert Yiddish Soul'', featured Troyke, Shura Lipovsky, Myriam Fuks, and The KlezRoym.
Troyke holds workshops on interpreting Yiddish songs and teaches rare songs from his collection. He was a guest professor at the Jewish Music Institute of
School of Oriental and African Studies
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...
(SOAS), London, at
Carleton College Northfield (Minnesota) and at the summer school of
Centre Medem, Paris.
Work
Books
*
Fritz Mordechai Kaufmann ''Die schoensten Lieder der Ostjuden'', reprint from Berlin 1920 (2001), with translations by Karsten Troyke
Recordings
* 1991 ''Shuloym Alaykhem'' (1991)
* 1992 ''Yiddish Anders'' (
Hermann Anders - Band)
* 1994 ''Leg den Kopf auf meine Knie'', with writings of
Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger,
Itzik Manger
Itzik Manger (30 May 1901, Czernowitz, then Austrian-Hungarian Empire – 21 February 1969, Gedera, Israel; yi, איציק מאַנגער) was a prominent Yiddish poet and playwright, a self-proclaimed folk bard, visionary, and 'master tailo ...
und
Abraham Sutzkever
* 1996 ''Grüne Blätter''
* 1997 ''Jidische Vergessene Lieder''
* 1999 ''Shuloym Alaykhem - The Old Yiddish Songs''
* 1998 ''Troyke singt Kreisler''
* 2001 ''Chanson Total'' with Suzanna
* 2005 ''Grüne Blätter'' (remastered)
* 2006 ''Tango Oyf Yiddish''
* 2011: ''Unser war die Nacht'' (Troyke, Suzanna &
Trio Scho),
iTunes edition only
* 2012: ''Live - Klezmer Konzert'' (Troyke,
Trio Scho),
iTunes edition only
* 2012 ''Tango Oyf Yiddish Vol.2'', Oriente Musik
* 2014 ''Yiddish Troubadour'', Raumer Records
* 2015 ''Zol Zayn - Yiddish Songs'', (Troyke &
Daniel Weltlinger), Rectify Records
* 2015 ''Ich kann tanzen'', (Troyke &
Daniel Weltlinger), Rectify Records
In collaboration:
* 1993 ''Tu Balval'', Suzanna
* 1994 ''Váci Utca'', Peter M. Haas, Martin Frisch
* 1995 ''T&FF Rudolstadt '94''
* 1997 ''Diadromes'', Alec Kopyt & Poza (
klezmer and
Gypsy music)
* 1998 ''Dui Dui'', Suzanna
* 1999 ''Jazz Lyrik Prosa II''
* 1999 ''Old Russian Popsongs'',
Trio Scho
* 1999 ''Wege'', Bettina Wegner
* 2000 ''Mit Josh um halb acht'', reading of
Josh Sellhorn
* 2000 ''Lachen und lachen lassen''
* 2001 ''Schlaf schneller, Genosse'',
Ursula Karusseit, Günther Junghans, Trio Scho
* 2001 ''Alles, was ich wünsche'', Bettina Wegner
* 2002 ''Schweineparadies'', Die Bösen Mädchen
* 2003 ''Mein Bruder'', Bettina Wegner
* 2004 ''Liebeslieder'', Bettina Wegner
* 2005 ''Jazz Lyrik Prosa III''
* 2005 ''Der Entenkönig'', a radio play
* 2008: ''a Spil af Yiddish'', Mark Aizikovitch
* 2008: ''Abschiedstournee'', Bettina Wegner
* 2009: ''Sol Sajn: Jiddische Musik in Deutschland und ihre Einflüsse'' (Yiddish Music in Germany and Its Influences) (Troyke Vol.2 and Vol.4), Bear Family
* 2015 ''Lauter Liebeslieder'', Suzanna & friends
External links
Karsten Troyke homepageKarsten Troyke on Myspace
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troyke, Karsten
1960 births
Living people
Singers from Berlin
Yiddish-language singers
German male singers