Information about klezmer music

Klezmer music is the traditional secular music of the Jewish people from Northern Europe, the Ashkenazim. It was played at weddings, holidays and other celebratory events. It has developed a reputation for being primarily fast dance music. It was not always so. For example there is music for every stage of a wedding – sometimes processional, sometimes thoughtful and even sad; some is for dancing and some for listening. And as with most music it has an eye for a good tune, and has absorbed tunes from other genres.

Forces of modernisation started to whittle away the place of klezmer in Jewish Communities, especially within communities that emigrated, and this process was hugely multiplied by the catastrophe of the Holocaust. In the latter part of the 20th century there has been a significant amount of revival in interest and performance of Klezmer music, and it is now a thriving genre, ranging from bands that seek to recreate historic sounds to more modern interpretations.

Yiddish Song is simply songs written in Yiddish, the everyday language of the Askhkenazim. The songs are primarily secular, though there are songs in Yiddish for Festivals and other religious occasions that were sung primarily in the home. On the whole, Yiddish songs and Klezmer music ran separate routes, but it is now common practice to bring them together in performance. Most songs were probably sung in the home or at work. The range of songs includes art songs, folk songs, work songs, love songs, political songs, songs of poverty, religious songs, songs of hope and resistance, Holocaust songs, Theatre and film songs. Many have been lost, but there are huge numbers in circulation, and they are still being written today.

Text provided by Phil Tomlinson.