Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2019-09-07 15:07
A friend just gave me two Klezmer recordings from un-named European country. I actually listened to 75% of the tunes, but had to stop.
I suppose that imitation is the greatest form of compliment. It took a lot of effort to put together two full CD's. They are all highly skilled musicians.
My strongest feelings are about the apparent lack of any Jews involved in this effort. Especially, all the Jews in their country were driven out and killed in the 1940's. In this context, given current musical tastes, no distinction can be made between a genuine liking for the music and the desire to make money.
The glissandi and other effects are over-done and do not especially add to the music. This was personal music when it was initially performed - the tunes were more important than the ornaments. It is especially sad to me when this relationship is reversed, and the ornaments become more important.
They sing in Yiddish, and it is professionally done, but pretty dry. These are trained concert singers, and their pronunciation is good, but it is not their music nor language, and something is missing. Some of the singing, though, was intentionally "hick", which is borderline offensive to me.
Having said this, a couple of tunes on these recordings were pretty clever and catchy. But the overall effect, for me, was depressing, and I had to stop listening.
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The Ethnic Clarinet
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