Siniy Platochek - Синий платочек

Duet by Hazzan Natasha J. Hirschhorn & Hazzan Ramón Tasat Arrangement by Ramón Tasat Siniy Platochek is a beloved Russian song originally composed in 1939 as an instrumental waltz by Ezhe (Jerzy) Petersbursky, a famous Polish-Jewish composer. It tells the story of a soldier reminiscing about his lover and her blue scarf. The song was popular in the pre-war dance halls. But it was not until 1942, when the rising star of Soviet popular music Klavdia Shulzhenko first performed it that it really hit the right emotional tone with audiences. It became an instant classic, putting a personal, human face on the collective suffering that was unfolding for the entire nation. After the war, Avraham Shlonsky, an Israeli poet born to a Hasidic family in Kryukovo, Ukraine, adapted the song and called it Tkhol haMitpahat. While the Hebrew version kept the song's romantic elements, it did away with the World War II context of the original.