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Re: Can I Play?

Author: powdermilk
Date: 2010-04-20 21:57

(I know - it's an old thread, but...)
It's pretty common for members of various ethnic groups to claim origin of tunes and musical styles, as well as other traditions and inventions even when they didn't (Americans do it, too), so be careful about repeating this kind of thing. They may sincerely believe what they're saying - and it could even be true - but one should not take such claims on faith, and certainly one should not repeat it as if it were well-established fact without doing a little investigation.

I know for sure some klezmer tunes originated in Jewish liturgical music (because I hear the tunes on Saturdays and holidays). I doubt that Jewish liturgical tunes would have been introduced to European Jews by Roma, but I guess it's possible. There are klezmer modes which are called by names of particular Jewish prayers, like "ahava raba," "misheberach," "adonoi molokh."

These modes themselves are not Western modes (not even "altered" ones as some claim), but derive from the maqam of Turkish and Middle Eastern music; for example, "ahava raba" is exactly hijaz (or hicaz in Turkish, same pronunciation). Someone on another website claims the "Biblical origin" of the ahava raba mode is "unquestionable," without even giving a source, but IMO calling something "unquestionable" is absurd anyway.

To my ear and based on my (admittedly small) knowledge of Indian music, klezmer is not very much like it at all; to me, klezmer has far more in common with Middle Eastern music than North Indian music, even Muslim light classical stuff. I would also venture to guess that what we recognize as "klezmer" does not have any recognizable existence before the 19th, maybe 18th century.

Since klezmer and most folk music in general has traditionally been transmitted orally, there is no real way of telling origins except by analyzing the tunes, and even then there is a lot of speculation involved.

Some of the Roma population in Eastern Europe ended up there after leaving Turkey, and there is also speculation about some of this music being a result of Jewish immigation to Eastern Europe from Turkey. From what I can tell, there isn't a good way to distinguish who brought these tunes into klezmer first. I suspect it's probably a combination of sources. It also would be foolish to assume that transmission of tunes and styles were one way.

References:
http://www.maqamworld.com/maqamat/hijaz.html
http://www.manchesterklezmer.org/pages_history_musicology/what_is_klezmer_scales.html

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