Re: Assistance required please

[Steven Lowenthal <lownthl...>]

While it is difficult to pinpoint all the tunes that should be played by
a "Klezmer" band I would recommend that you include some of the classic
tunes from the Kammen Internation Dance Folio Number 1 (It was only
$12.95 at Sam Ash last year).  There are some outstanding Frailachs in
the beginning of the book as well as some nice Horra's and Bulgars. Then
jump ahead to tune #47, "Chosen-Kalle Masel Tov", is a favorite played
at almost any Simka such as a Bar Mitzvah.  I've heard #48, "Ot A Soi",
played by several Klezmer groups.  Although I'm not that familiar with
tunes #49 and #50, they do seem to have some of the melodic/rhythmic
structures alluded to by Henry Sapoznik in his "The Compleat Klezmer"
masterpiece, which, if you are serious about learning how to play
Klezmer, should be regarded as mandatory reading. 

The first 17 pages of "The Compleat Klezmer" consists of a brief history
of Klezmer.  The next 13 pages has "A few notes and observations on the
theory and performance of Klezmer Music" (by Pete Sokolow), followed by
47 pages worth of Klezmer tunes.  Although the majority of the guests at
a Bar Mitzvah would not be familiar with the most of the tunes in this
book, I would still play a couple of my favorites for them (e.g. Baym
Rebin's Sude) because they are so beautifully Jewish.

Another music book that comes to mind that would be great for a Bar
Mitzvah is "Easy To Play Jewish Nostalgia", again by J&J Kammen Music
Co. Although many of the tunes in this book are less likely to be
regarded as "Klezmer" than the ones I highlighted in the Kammen
International book #1, they are considered all time Jewish Classics -
many one of them are gems and should sound familiar to most of the Bar
Mitzvah guests.

Other Jewish Music Books that I had used at Simchas:
"Israel in Song" compiled by Velvel Pasternak (Tara).
"Siddur in Song" compiled by Velvel Pasternak (Tara).
"Mir Trogn a Gezang - The New Book of Yiddish Songs" (Workmen's Circle)
"Pearls of Yiddish Song" (Workmen's Circle)

Regards,

Steven Lowenthal




Corey Marc Fogel wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 22 Apr 1998, maurice altman wrote:
> 
> > After such a long intro I would like to ask if you know of any special
> > tunes for a bar mitzvah or rites of passage (to manhood) that you could
> > recommend to play.  The sort of tunes that will make the family feel
> > touched.
> 
> speaking of which, I wonder if someone could please tell me or point me
> to a list of all the tunes that a Klezmer band should definitely have in
> their repetoire for different occasions, aside from Hava Nagila.
> thank you