re: klez go classical

[ganzl azoi freyl <d6l...>]

i'm flattered to be described as "difficult to keep on a leash" <smile>
and 'course i don't mind being shredded and reassembled, but i would prefer 
my tangents and asides be less central to your response, josh...

my basic point (as distinctly opposed to your 'socratic summary') has always 
been about *emphasis*, not exclusion (the first time "banning" anything came 
up in this thread was when you put it in my mouth--please take it right back 
out, 'kay?).  i'm in no way opposed to sitting in a concert hall listening 
to klezmer (or tuvan 'throat singing' or stravinski for that matter).  what 
i see as potentially dangerous is the concert hall becoming the *only* or 
*primary* site for klezmer music.
      the 'change and development' in music which i've said is necessary can 
happen in any context.... *but* when it mainly happens in concert halls it 
seems to me far more likely to lose its connections to other parts of the 
culture it's rooted in than when the experimentation is happening in a 
variety of venues (among which the concert hall should of course be present, 
but not dominant).

incidentally, you imply that there's a contradiction between dancing to and 
listening to music.  if anything, i'd want to argue that the opposite is 
true-- you just *can't* dance without paying serious attention to the 
musicians; it's easy to sit and drift...  it's also worth mentioning that 
venues with space to dance tend also to accomodate those who just want to 
sit, while concert halls tend to frown upon dancing (with some 
exceptions--the 'in the fiddler's house' tour being the first to occur to 
me).

finally, it seems more than a bit disingenuous to describe "listening" in 
the concert-hall sense as part of the traditional wedding context of 
klezmer.  then again, it seems thoroughly unnecessary to appeal to that 
context to establish something as worthwhile for klezmer in 1999 (yes, i do 
think that concert-hall type listening is worthwhile)
   --unless, that is, you want to insist that all klezmer contexts should 
include dancing, wine, and a rabbi (which is probably closer to my position 
<wink>)--

that's it for me....
ideologically yours,
zayt gezunt,

daniel

p.s. "hidden agenda"?  what's *hidden*?

p.p.s.
for reference, snipped for concision--
josh wrote:

>That "variety of directions" excludes the classical venue, seemingly
>because it doesn't allow for you to breakdance and also because it
>encourages the act of listening (in your former email, you refer to >this 
>as the "sit-in-yer-seat experience").
>
>In spite of the fact that listening was a part of the original context (the 
>wedding) in which klezmer music developed, and represents a further 
>possibility for "change and development," it >is banned from your list of 
>outlets which allow klezmer music to >evolve.
>
>Rather than antithesize the contradictions in your argument, I would
>rather manipulate them into a synthesized Socratic summary, using

>In spite of actually sympathizing with some of your sentiments, Dan,
>it's hard to resist uncovering a hidden agenda in your ideology. Josh

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