Klarinet Archive - Posting 000459.txt from 1995/05

From: Lee Callet <LCallet@-----.COM>
Subj: Klezmer
Date: Fri, 19 May 1995 06:40:09 -0400

In response to Ed Browning's question, Klezmer musicians ("Klezmorim") were
nineteenth and early twentieth century Eastern European and Russian folk
musicians who played in, for lack of a better term, a very soulful manner.
They were itinerant (meaning they were on the road a lot), and primarily
featured the clarinet, as well as violin and accordion. Again to generalize,
these groups were composed of Jewish musicians and many of the themes they
played were familiar to the eastern european Jewish populace. They played at
weddings and other celebrations, and were really street musicians. The style
has been carried into the present time, and there are now some groups of
young players in the States carrying on the style. (There was a PBS special
on the music about two years ago which was very comprehensive.) One of the
best known clarinetists in the Klezmer style is Giora Feidman, an artist of
the style. He played for a while in the Israel Philharmonic, but now
concertizes as a Klezmer soloist. He has several recordings available, any
of which would give a good idea of what Klezmer clarinet playing is. There
are also several published collections of Klezmer tunes "as played by Giora
Feidman". I don't know the publisher. Seeing the printed music doesn't
really help a lot, because the inflection is the characteristic that makes
Klezmer clarinet so distinctive. You really have to hear it. Lee Callet