Klarinet Archive - Posting 000215.txt from 2009/03

From: Michael Nichols <mrn.clarinet@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Glissando vs. portamento (was: Rhapsody in Blue)
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 03:05:23 -0400

On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 7:37 PM, Fred Jacobowitz <fbjacobo@-----.net> w=
rote:
> Michael,
> =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0Please give us some factual documentation about your asser=
tions of
> Klezmer influence on either Gershwin or Copland. As far as I know, neithe=
r
> had anything to do with Klezmer (Nor, for that matter, did Benny Goodman,
> who was fully assimilated, but probably had heard Klezmer as a kid).

I should clarify--I wasn't making an assertion of fact, just an
observation (although in the case of Gershwin, I know I'm not the
first one to notice this). The opening clarinet solo in the original
Paul Whiteman recording of Rhapsody in Blue (which you can listen to
here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DB-fRnKHsBHs) is unmistakably
flavored with little touches of the klezmer style, such as the
laughing sound the clarinet makes, as well as the little "turn" the
clarinetist adds to the fourth bar (which is not part of score). This
is quite different from the "straighter" renditions of this solo you
often hear today where the only relation the solo has to the klezmer
style is the gliss itself.

Do I know for sure that there was a conscious intent to make it sound
like klezmer? No. But when I hear Russ Gorman play that solo, I hear
klezmer. Apparently, other people do, too. According to "Fascinating
Rhythm" by Deena Rosenberg (p. 56), Dick Hyman notes that Gorman's
sound was "very much in the Eastern-European Jewish klezmer
tradition."

Incidentally, another clarinetist who played with Paul Whiteman in the
1920s was Shloimke Beckermann, who was well known as a klezmer guy, so
clearly some of these folks ran in the same circles.

Gershwin was undoubtedly at least *somewhat* familiar with klezmer, if
just from hearing it. For instance, listen to this radio broadcast,
which specifically talks about Gershwin's relationship to klezmer
(including an amusing story about how Sholem Secunda "saved" him from
the Yiddish Theatre).
(http://americanroutes.publicradio.org/archives/show/565/fascinatin-rhythm-=
a-tribute-to-george-gershwin-with-patti-austin-dwight-bowers-jeffrey-melnic=
k-henry-sapoznik-marcus-roberts)
And as I mentioned, the "train theme" from Rhapsody in Blue, with its
periodic clarinet glisses on top is very much suggestive of klezmer.
Since Gershwin's mother worked in the Yiddish Theatre, it's a good bet
that Gershwin had heard klezmer in his youth and that had some
influence on him in one way or another (I mean, how can it not have?
It's great music.)

And while it's true that Benny Goodman's own musical training (which
began in the synagogue) was classical--not klezmer--one of Goodman's
best known hits was "And the Angels Sing," which is actually a klezmer
tune, "Der Shtiler Bulgar." There's even a famous trumpet solo in the
number that is played in the original bulgar rhythm. I knew it as a
Benny Goodman tune long before I ever realized it was really a klezmer
tune adapted for a mainstream audience of the time. "Bei Mir Bist Du
Schoen" is another Goodman number with Yiddish roots (and written by
Sholem Secunda). So Benny Goodman was "fully assimilated"....big
deal. It doesn't mean he wasn't at least familiar with traditional
music.

Copland's early experiences growing up with Jewish music are well
documented, including "the dance music at traditional Jewish
weddings," which interested him (see "Aaron Copland" by Howard
Pollack, p. 26). His family spoke Yiddish at home and was quite
active in the synagogue (Congregation Baith Israel). I'd find it
really hard to believe that Copland had no familiarity with klezmer at
all or that Copland would not recognize any Jewish (and specifically
klezmer) influence in the jazz of that era, including such Goodman
tunes as I mentioned. Since we know that Copland studied recordings
of Goodman prior to writing his Concerto, it would not surprise me if
Copland listened to one or more of these klezmer-inspired tunes during
that time.

Does that mean that I can say with any certainty that Copland
*intended* to suggest klezmer when he wrote the ending to the Clarinet
Concerto? No. I can't. I don't know. Perhaps nobody does. But the
fact remains that all the ingredients for that familiar klezmer ending
formula are there, albeit in reverse order. I am perhaps the first
person to have noticed this--I certainly can't cite to anyone else as
having recognized this. But in any event, it helps me to find some
musical meaning behind the ending to that piece, because it's really
quite a peculiar ending. I think, as a listener as well as a
performer, I'm entitled to be able to hear a pattern or structure in
the music that hasn't been documented by somebody else. And just
because Copland didn't intentionally write it as a kind of veiled
reference to klezmer music, doesn't mean that there isn't some logical
connection there for the listener. After all, it was Copland himself
who called it an "unconscious fusion" of musical styles.

So, you see, I'm not claiming as a fact that these
composers/performers were trying to suggest a klezmer style. I'm
merely making an observation that the music they wrote/performed
appears to suggest that style and that it is not necessarily an
accident that these pieces share some characteristics with the klezmer
style, because all of these men were likely familiar with klezmer
music to some degree for the reasons I mentioned above (not just
because they happened to be Jewish).

Perhaps I am, as you appear to suggest, a bit too eager to see the
klezmer influence in these pieces, but if so, it's only because I have
a love for the style. There's a little bit of klez in all good music,
I think.

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