Re: Klezmer

[Solidarity Foundation <svzandt...>]

The sense in which Dr. Goldfein intended his comment to relate to
Sherry Mayrent's explanation of klezmer music is not entirely clear to
me. If he means that the word "klezmer" in the English term "klezmer
music" "is derived directly from the Hebrew 'Kley Zemer,' this is
incorrect. It is derived only indirectly from the Hebrew "Kley Zemer,"
but directly from the Yiddish "klezmer." Whereas in Hebrew the original
meaning of "kley zemer" is "musical instruments," in Yiddish it is
never used that way, but always means a PLAYER of musical instruments.
Incidentally, the plural of Yiddish "klezmer" (musician) is EITHER
"klezmer" (musicians) OR "klezmorim" (musicians).

If on the other hand Dr. Goldfein means that Yiddish "klezmer" is
derived directly from Hebrew "kley zemer," this is correct as far as
it goes, and is worth pointing out, but in no way conflicts with what
Sherry says. The derivation of a word and the definition of a word are
two different things. The fact that the Italian word "pomidoro" is
derived from two Latin words meaning "golden apple" does not mean that
the Italians really define a tomato as an apple of gold. The fact that
"kley zemer" means musical instruments in Hebrew doesn't mean that it
or rather, that "klezmer" MUST mean that in Yiddish, and in fact it
doesn't. 

It may also be of interest to note that, although the word "klezmer" is
an old and normal word in Yiddish, "klezmer muzik" is not a traditional
Yiddish expression. Possibly the nearest to a collective term for the
music in Yiddish is "khasene muzik" (wedding music). Sometimes it is
referred to as "freylakhsn," (literally, "happy things"), although
the "freylakhs" is properly the name of just one form, and not all
of this music is happy. The term "klezmer muzik" was used, possibly for
the first time, in Yiddish writings by the musicologist Moshe Beregovski
in the 1930s. It came into use in English in the 1970s with the "klezmer
revival" and is now widely used.

One last thing. I question Sherry's statement that "muzikant" is used in
Yiddish for conservatory-trained musicians. In Yiddish it frequently has
a more pejorative tone than "klezmer." 

It has been noted that a number of Jewish musicians who had emigrated
to America found the word "klezmer" to be pejorative. That was in the
new American context. In normal Yiddish usage, it is not pejorative, it's
simply the word for instrumental musician.

Itzik-Leyb Volokh (Jeffrey Wollock)