Zionist Songs. Techezakna.

Cantor Israel Bakon with chorus and orchestra directed by W. Weintraub

Techezakna (Words by Chaim Nachman Bialik)

Semer HL.114/113 mx. HL 114 recorded Berlin circa 1936

Reissued on Bear Family cd BCD 16030-01, Vorbei... Beyond Recall, Hamberg 2001

'Techezakna' was the Labor Zionist hymn or anthem. It is based on Hayyim Nachman Bialik's poem 'Birkat Ha-am' and ends with the phrase: "Come shoulder to shoulder to the Aid of the People"  The song subsequently became popular among many Zionist groups.

Israel Bakon was a cantor and the son of the well known cantor and composer Hirsh Leib Bakon of Chrzanow. He lived first in Poland and then moved to Berlin. After Kristalnacht Cantor Bakon and his family returned to Poland. During World War II they were in the Kolbuszowa ghetto and then later in the Belzec concentration camp where they were all killed. Cantor Bakon produced a number of recordings in Berlin during the 1930s.  This selection is one of them.