Klezmer Music

Klezmer Music – guest lecture by Erin Sharp

Klezmer music is eastern European Jewish dance music

Kle- zmer means vessels (people) of songs

A klezmer is a person

Uses the natural minor scale a lot with a sharpened 4^th note known as Fregyish

Klezmer musicians play for

Gentile (non Jewish) audiences

Jewish weddings and other functions

Nigunum – wordless melodies

Clarinet is a popular instrument in Klezmer but it didn’t come into fashion until the 20^th c.

Debate around the roots of klezmer music but its now thought that it has many roots

- Jewish Romanian

gypsy/Roma other dance musics

Ukranian

Shetel – is a small Eastern European village

Klezmer music is from the shetels

Klezmer is viewed in Israel as European music, played by grandparents who grew up in Europe before moving to Israel.

Standard instrumentation is

Violin bass flute tsimbl/cymbal (hammered dulcimer)

In Europe they added accordion and cornet

Between 1880-1924 many Jewish people moved to US including klezmer musicians

In US klezmer mixed with vaudeville circuit

Klezmer is often used as a symbol of Jewish cultural identity with out the religious aspects