Re:Hora and Travels

[Fred Jacobowitz <fredj...>]

Jennifer,
        The word HORA is of the same derivation as KOLO (in parts of the 
Balkans) and KHOROVOD (in Russia). It means a *DANCE*. What dind? Well, 
depends on what country, the region of that country (including dialect) 
and the context. For example, in Romania there is a HORA MARE which means 
a large circle dance, of medium tempo - similar to a Sher (in fact, My 
Klezmer band plays a couple of Shers which I know are also used in Romania 
as Hora Mare's). Then there is the SLOW HORA, which is more properly 
known as a "JOC" (as in Kandel's Hora in T.C.K.). In Israel, a hora is a 
dance which is faster than lightning, such as "HORA AGADADI" or "HOROA 
HAK'TANA". We don't use these tunes for our Hora sets at Machaya Klezmer 
Band gigs because they are too fast. 
        Jews have also been notoriously imprecise about the meaning of 
the word. Witness the name "Romainian Hora and Bulgar". Not to mention 
that wonderful recessional "Freylakhs Fun Der Khuppa", which is really a 
quick HUSSIDL.
        In terms of a ***KLEZMER*** band, a "hora" means a FREYLAKHS/BULGAR 
(and 
sometimes a SIRBA). Just keep in mind, since you are entering the murky 
world of ethnomusicology, that any terms you may encounter are likely to 
be subjective and will change in meaning due to geography, etc. 

Fred Jacobowitz
Machaya Klezmer Band in the Washington/Baltimore area.

On Tue, 25 Jun 1996, Jennifer R. Goodman wrote:

> Shalom!
> 
> A question came up in the course of klezmer practice: my 
> accordion-playing colleague asked me what sort of dance the "hora"
> would have been. He plays for an international folk-dance group,
> but finds it difficult to relate the music we are exploring to
> the modern Israeli dances that go by the same name, and the
> other Eastern European "horos" he knows only complicate the
> situation. It would help us a lot to be able to envision what
> the dancers are supposed to be doing while the music is being
> played. (We are working our way through H. Sapoznik's _The
> Compleat Klezmer_, so the horas we are dealing with are the ones
> represented there.)
> 
> Guidance on other klezmer dance forms and how to go about learning
> them would be appreciated, too, but the hora question is especially
> perplexing. 
> 
> Many thanks for your help!
> 
> Jennifer Goodman
> 
> Department of English 
> Texas A&M University
> College Station, TX 77843-4227
> jenifer (at) tam2000(dot)tamu(dot)edu
>