Klezmer? What's a klezmer? Microsoft sure doesn't know because it keeps telling me I've misspelled it and doesn't offer me any alternatives. For starters klezmer is not an object it's a subject. So the question should be; what is Klezmer?
Simply put, klezmer is Jewish secular music. That of course tells you absolutely nothing at all about it, but it's a good start. The literal translation from the Yiddish is "vessel of song." The word was derived from a similar sounding Hebrew word, k'li zemer of the same meaning.
Although the tradition of the klezmorim (non-liturgical musicians) dates back to biblical times, it wasn't until the 15th century that klezmer music was developed. Taking its name from the word for the instruments played by klezmorim, the musical style is connected with the development and growth of Hassidic and Ashkenazic Judaism.
As these peoples were primarily to be found in Eastern and Central Europe, klezmer music has many similarities to the folk music of those regions. Czradas from Hungary, polkas and mazurkas from Poland and Czechoslovakia, waltzes and tangos, all found their way into the klezmer stew. Much like the Yiddish the songs were sung in, the music would reflect an ensemble's country of origin.
Keeping true to its roots in Jewish liturgical music while incorporating these elements allowed klezmer to develop the unique sound we associate with it today. The other factor was the instruments.
Either by choice or necessity, many of these performers needed to be mobile, so naturally they would be attracted to instruments that were easily transported. Banjos, piccolos, clarinets, violins and, later, accordions have all been key elements of the klezmer sound.
With the mass immigration to North America in the mid to late 19th century emptying the shtetls (Jewish peasant farming villages of Eastern Europe), klezmer music was exposed to even more influences. In turn it lent its colour to work being produced in North America.
Clarinets were brought out of the bands and made into lead instruments by musicians like Benny Goodman, who would have grown up listening to klezmer. Even the sound of swing and jazz clarinet is comparable to the way it sounds in klezmer.
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