Re: Origins of klezmer tonality?

[Solidarity Foundation <svzandt...>]

Thanks Owen and Cantor Schwartz for that correction -- the so-called
Ukrainian Dorian corresponds to Misheberakh, not Freygish (Ahava-rabo).

However, Cantor Schwartz, where you write:

Also, your concept of using the lowered seventh as a "dominant" is OK,
but the chord would be in Major; to use your above example of D Freygish,
the "dominant" would be C Major, not c minor.  Isador Freed wrote a book
many years ago called "Harmonizing the Jewish Modes" which deals with
the very difficult task of harmonizing Ahava Rabba.

I'm not sure of the reasoning behind this, maybe it's just the propriety
of the term "dominant". All I meant was that it has a dominant-like
function in klezmer music, namely in cadences -- and it is commonly 
thought of this way by klezmorim of my acquaintance. It definitely IS
a minor chord of the seventh degree, mainly because the flatted third
corresponds to the flatted second degree of the descending melodic
scale. Actually, come to think of it, it sounds even nicer when it's
flatted by maybe a 1/4 rather than a 1/2 step, but the harmonization
is definitely a minor chord. - Itzik-Leyb (Jeffrey)