RE: Greek/Klezmer connections

[James Benjamin Loeffler <jbl37...>]

Dear Tim,
        In addition to Martin Schwartz, the Jewish-Greek connection has
been explored extensively by Dr. Walter Zev Feldman, probably the best
expert around right now on the European history of klezmer. Unfortunately,
he doesn't publish much of his work, but you can start with an article of
his in the 1994 winter issue of Ethnomusicology (38:1), on the evolution
of the "bulgar" genre from a non-Jewish to a Jewish dance form. There is
also a brief piece of his touching more directly on the Greek question in
the program of the 1997 Ashkenaz festival. I believe this essay may be
available on the Ashkenaz web site. He is an expert on Turkish music as
well, and has begun to explore many of the historical questions about the
movement of musical styles and musicians in the late stages of the Ottoman
empire, which extended pretty far into Ashkenazic cultural regions in some
cases. More of his work should be coming out soon. If you have specific
questions, you might try him at UPenn, via their directory.

Hope this helps,


Jim Loeffler