klezmer

The tradition & historical record

Klezmer (Yiddish: כּלי־זמר or,קלעזמער, romanized: klezmer) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these would have been played at weddings and other social functions. The musical genre incorporated elements of many other musical genres including Ottoman (especially Greek and Romanian) music, Baroque music, German and Slavic folk dances, and religious Jewish music. As the music arrived in the United States, it lost some of its traditional ritual elements and adopted elements of American big band and popular music. Among the European-born klezmers who popularized the genre in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s were Dave Tarras and Naftule Brandwein; they were followed by American-born musicians such as Max Epstein, Sid Beckerman and Ray Musiker. After the destruction of Jewish life in Eastern Europe during the Holocaust, and a general fall in the popularity of klezmer music in the United States, the music began to be popularized again in the late 1970s in the so-called Klezmer Revival. During the 1980s and onwards, musicians experimented with traditional and experimental forms of the genre, releasing fusion albums combining the genre with jazz, punk, and other styles. ¹

The term klezmer, as used in the Yiddish language, has a Hebrew etymology: klei, meaning "tools, utensils or instruments of" and zemer, "melody"; leading to k'lei zemer כְּלֵי זֶמֶר, meaning "musical instruments". Over time the usage of "klezmer" in a Yiddish context evolved to describe musicians instead of their instruments, first in Bohemia in the second half of the sixteenth century and then in Poland, possibly as a response to the new status of the musicians who were at that time forming professional guilds. Previously the musician may have been referred to as a lets (לץ) or other terms. After the term klezmer became the preferred term for these professional musicians in Yiddish-speaking Eastern Europe, other types of musicians were more commonly known as muziker or muzikant. Twentieth-century Russian scholars sometimes used the term "klezmer"; Ivan Lipaev did not use it, but Moisei Beregovsky did when publishing in Yiddish or Ukrainian. It was not until the late 20th century that the word "klezmer" became a commonly known English-language term. During that time, through metonymy it came to refer not only to the musician but to the musical genre they played, a meaning which it had not had in Yiddish. Early 20th century recording industry materials and other writings had referred to it as Hebrew, Jewish, or Yiddish dance music, or sometimes using the Yiddish term Freilech music ("Cheerful music"). The term 'klezmer' to refer to a genre of music was popularized as a marketing term in the late 1970s by Revival bands; Walter Zev Feldman, whose 1979 LP with Andy Statman used the term, claims credit for this shift in usage. ¹

The traditional style of playing klezmer music, including tone, typical cadences, and ornamentation, sets it apart from other genres. Although klezmer music emerged from a larger Eastern European Jewish musical culture that included Jewish cantorial music, Hasidic Niguns, and later Yiddish theatre music, it also borrowed from the non-Jewish folk musics of Central and Eastern Europe and from cosmopolitan European musical forms. Therefore it evolved into an overall style which has recognizable elements from all of those other genres. Few klezmer musicians before the late nineteenth century had conservatory musical training, but they generally learned through apprenticeship and inherited a rich tradition with its own advanced musical techniques. Each musician had their understanding of how the style should be "correctly" performed. The usage of these ornaments was not random; the matters of "taste", self-expression, variation and restraint were and remain important elements of how to interpret the music. Klezmer musicians apply the overall style to available specific techniques on each melodic instrument. They incorporate and elaborate the vocal melodies of Jewish religious practice, including the vocal style of the Hazzan, Jewish prayer, and paraliturgical song, extending the range of human voice into the musical expression possible on instruments. Among those stylistic elements that are considered typically "Jewish" in klezmer music are those which are shared with cantorial or Hasidic vocal ornaments, including imitations of sighing or laughing. Various Yiddish terms were used for these vocal-like ornaments such as קרעכץ (Krekhts, "groan" or "moan"), קנײטש (kneytsh, "wrinkle" or "fold"), and קװעטש (kvetsh, "pressure" or "stress"). ¹

The repertoire of klezmer musicians was very diverse and tied to specific social functions and dances, especially of the traditional wedding. These melodies might have a non-Jewish origin, or have been composed by a klezmer, but only rarely are they attributed to a specific composer. Generally klezmer music can be divided into two broad categories: music for specific dances, and music for listening (at the table, in processions, ceremonial, etc.). ¹

Given that Ashkenazic Jewish weddings have taken place in many countries and historical contexts, the dances preserved in klezmer music show a variety of ritual and cultural origins: ¹

A Freylekhs is the simplest and most widespread type of klezmer dance tunes are those played in 24 and intended for group circle dances. Depending on the location this basic dance may also have been called a Redl (circle), Hopke, Khosid, Karahod (round dance, literally the Belarusian translation of the Russian khorovod), Dreydl, Rikudl, etc. A bulgar, bulgarish or bolgar is a circle dance originating in Moldavia dance with a recognizable syncopated rhythm in 24 or 44. It became the most popular klezmer dance form in the United States in the early twentieth century. Sher is a contra dance in 24, typically arranged for four couples who move together and trade places during the dance. Musically, it sounds like a Freylekhs, but the total number of sections allows the particular dance to be performed. Beregovsky, writing in the 1930s, noted that despite the dance being very commonly played across a wide area, he suspected that it had its roots in an older German dance. This dance continued to be known in the United States even after other complex European klezmer dances had been forgotten. Kosher-tants (kosher dance) or mitsve-tants (mitzvah dance) are ritual dances dating back hundreds of years, often in 34 and borrowing the form and melodies of a polonaise or a gavotte. Incorporating themes of purity, piety or commitment, the dance sees the bride dancing with the groom or other community members separated by a handkerchief or belt. ¹

Historically, klezmer musicians also performed a variety of ritual and listening music which may have been rhythmic or freeform dependin… ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Klezmer”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

klezmer is instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 32 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²