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Klezmer Music & Its Cultural Background
by Linda D'Imperio, Librarian
“A wedding without klezmer is like a funeral without tears.”
This Yiddish saying, mentioned in The Book of Klezmer by Yale Strom, illustrates how deep feelings were about this Eastern European Jewish ceremonial music.
The word “klezmer” is derived from the Hebrew words “calai” meaning tools and “zemer” which means song. Since its inception centuries ago it has fused with various musical styles and its popularity has spread to many parts of the world. This pathfinder lists major sources of information on the history and characteristics of the genre. Product information, associations, and programs are also included.
Please Choose from the Following:
Encyclopedias
Books & Music
Databases
Websites
Programs & Events
Local Resources
Associations
Related Sources
Encyclopedias
World Music: The Rough Guide
Broughton, Simon.
“Rhythm and Jews.” Vol. 2, edited by Simon Broughton
Rough Guides Ltd, 2000, p. 581-592.
Note: This
book is available only at the Central
Library, in-library
use.
General overview of klezmer music.
World Music: The Basics
Nidel, Richard O.
"Klezmer."
Routledge, 2005, p. 299-303.
Highlights recent developments, and lists key klezmer recordings.
Books & Music
To find books on klezmer music, you can “browse” the OCPL catalog for titles. Select the search option BROWSE, then choose SUBJECT and type Klezmer Music.
Browse the pages of subject headings for those that most closely match your interest. Click on headings to see titles of individual items, the branch where they are located, and their availability. “See Also” indicates headings for related and more specific topics.
Here are some useful Subject Headings to try:
Klezmer Music
Songs, Yiddish
Jews -- Music
Related subject headings are “Judaica” and “Judism.”
You can also browse individual performers of klezmer music. Select the search option BROWSE, then choose AUTHOR.
Tarras, Dave
Call Numbers
Books: 781.629
Recordings: Q YIDD
KLEZMER NOTE OF INTEREST
Yiddish is the culture and language of Klezmer music. Thus, materials about Klezmer music can be found under the subject heading "Songs -- Yiddish." However, not all of the works under this heading are Klezmer.
Books
The Absolutely Complete Klezmer Songbook
edited by Yale Strom
Transcontinental Music Publications, 2006
Scores, a CD, history, and archival photographs collected by a noted ethnomusicologist.
The Book of Klezmer: The History, the Music, the Folklore from the 14th century to the 21st
by Yale Strom
A Cappella Books, 2002
Many personal accounts from Eastern Europe, from pre-WW I to the present.
Classic Yiddish Stories of S. Y. Abramovitsh, Sholem Aleichem, and I. L. Peretz
edited by Ken Frieden
Syracuse University Press, 2004
Short fiction about Jewish Shtetl life by Yiddish writing's three early masters.
“A Musician’s Death” in The I.L. Peretz Reader
by Issac Leib Peretz
Pantheon Books, 1990
Portrays the lifestyle of an old world klezmer musician.
The Old Country: The Lost World of the Eastern European Jews
by Abraham Schulman
Scribner, 1974
Essay and photographs illustrate the daily life of Eastern European Jews, 1850-1900.
Stardust Lost: The Triumph, Tragedy, and Mishugas of the Yiddish Theater in America
by Stefan Kanfer
Knopf, 2006
Explores the yiddish theater scene that thrived on the Lower East Side during the first half of the twentieth century.
Words on Fire: The Unfinished Story of Yiddish
by David Katz
Basic Books, 2004
Challenges widespread opinion that yiddish is relatively recent, restricted and academic.
Musical Recordings
Old world klezmer bands were small groups who played on homemade stringed instruments. In the late 1800’s horns became the predominate instruments.
Immigrants to the U.S. added elements of their new homeland’s Sousa marches, Dixieland, and swing.
The 1970s and 1980s revival included touches of jazz, rock,
and Yiddish theater vocals.
The Klezmer Renaissance created a new type of Klezmer, assimilating jazz, classical, and contemporary trends.
Old World Europe Period -- before 1920
Jewish Klezmer Music
by Zev Feldman and Andy Statman
Compact disc
Shanachie, 2000
Although the original recording was in 1979, it has an old world sound.
United States Immigrant Period -- 1920-1945
King of the Klezmer Clarinet
by Naftule Brandwein
Compact disc
Rounder Records, 1997
Klezmer!
by various artists
Compact disc
Yazoo, 2000
KLEZMER NOTE OF INTEREST
The
violin and the clarinet have been the two predominant klezmer
instruments because they are able to most closely imitate
the sound of human weeping and human laughter.
Revival Period -- 1970s and
1980s
The Magic of the Klezmer
by Giora Feidman
Compact disc
Delos, 1985
A Touch of Klez
by the Klezmer Conservatory Band
Cassette
Vanguard, 1985
You Should Be So Lucky
by the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band
Compact disc
Shanachie, 1996
KLEZMER NOTE OF INTEREST
In
the late 19th century the lead instrument changed from
violin to clarinet, a development from the Jewish experience
of playing horns in the czar’s army. Also, as Jewish
weddings began to be held in banquet halls rather than
private homes, louder instruments were needed.
Renaissance Period -- mid-1990s --
In the Fiddler’s House
by Itzhak Perlman
Compact disc
Angel, 1995
Jews with Horns
by the Klezmatics
Compact disc
Xenophile Records, 1994
Klezmer Concertos and Encores
by Various Artists
downloadable from OCPL digital catalog
Milken Family Foundation, 2006
Naches
by Jonathan Dinkin
Compact disc
J. Dinkin, 1999
Online Databases
For an index to articles on klezmer music, see OCPL’s Online Databases. Here you can access magazine and journal articles, newspapers, and reference books 24 hours a day using your OCPL library card and PIN.
For in-library use of the online databases, please see librarian.
Gale Academic ASAP
Gale Custom Newspapers
Use Subject Guide -- klezmer music
Limit to full text.
If you do not find what you want, expand to a keyword search, and remove full text limit.
Websites
Allmusic.com
Detailed information on recordings and performers. Music samples. Song search. See “Site Guide” first. Note: “klezmer” is under genre “world.”
Ari Davidow's Klezmershack
The most often cited klezmer music website. Comprehensive information on today’s klezmer world.
Programs & Events
Jewish Music and Cultural Festival
Held annually on a Sunday in June in Clinton Square, Syracuse, New York.
Check the Jewish Observer of Central New York newspaper for listings of local klezmer performances. Published bi-weekly, it is available at most local libraries.
KlezKamp
Held the last week in December in downstate New York. A Yiddish folk arts program for adults and children.
Klezkanada
Held annually in August in the Montreal vicinity. A festival of Yiddish/Jewish culture and arts in North America for adults and children.
Local Resources
Musical Ensembles
Jonathan Dinkin & Klezmercuse
Phone: 315-637-4751
E-mail: Jonathan Dinkin & Klezmercuse
Keyna Hora Klezmer Band
Phone: 315-682-8489 (Sid Lipton)
E-mail: Keyna Hora Klezmer Band ( Mimi Weiner )
Wandering Klezmorim
Phone: 315-443-1894 (Ken Frieden)
E-mail: Wandering Klezmorim ( Ken Frieden)
Other Organizations
Hickey's Music Center Ithaca, New York.
Sheet music source. Visit in person or online.
Syracuse Jewish Federation
Provides support for Jewish service organizations and cultural programs. Publishes a monthly calendar of local Jewish related events.
Syracuse University Press
See “Jewish Studies” section. Note: Books not owned by the Onondaga County Public library are available through interlibrary loan.
Associations
Living Traditions
Dedicated to the preservation of Yiddish culture. Among its projects are KlezKamp and the Yiddish Radio Project.
Yivo Institute for Jewish Research
Pre-eminent resource for Eastern European Jewish studies.
Related Sources
ipl2: Information You Can Trust
Search "klezmer" to find resources in the now merged collections of the Internet Public Library (IPL) and the Librarians' Internet Index (LII).
“Klezmer music is a music that dances, sings, expressing the joy and the mourning of life."
-The German Klezmer Page
Last updated: September 1, 2010