Re: Old World vs. New World klez

[Joshua Horowitz <horowitz...>]

I am wondering if German Gershteyn's
> repertoire provides any insight into the question of
> differences/similarities between Old World and New.  He is younger, I know,
> so perhaps this question is off the point...Bert, Josh or anyone else? 

I don't think it's off the point at all- I've seen excerpts from his
notebook, and have an old tape of Michael's first sessions with German,
and the rep, except for some exceptions, has a lot of overlap with the
American repertoire, though other folks could comment on that better
than  me. I just received some tunes from my Kishinev friend, Isaak
Loberan, who returned this year to find out what's been happening in the
Klez music there now (after being away for 12 years). The repertoire has
a lot of the old standards, with the *finer* tunes of the
Brandwein/Tarras rep missing, but with lots of freygish standards and
Yiddish theater stuff. Also, a strange phenomenon has emerged from the
*what are non-Jews who play Jewish repertoire playing nowadays* front:
The disappointing answer is that there is a general *standard*
repertoire which seems to circulate including such tunes as:

Hot a Yid a vaybele
7:40
Hava Nagila
Oy is dos a rebetsin

etc, ad nauseum from Hungary to the West Ukraine

That's why the Vinnitsa repertoire discussed previously on this list is
of such great value - unknown tunes. The only Jewish thang being played
in Kolomija (home of the Kolomeyke) right now is 
Vu bistu geveyn, which a school tsimbl orchestra plays(!). 
As far as I know, the post war Kishenev Jewish repertoire stagnated well
before musicians stopped having to present rep lists to cultural
officials at their gigs to prove ethnic 
non-specificity or pay them hefty shmirgeld to be able to play a
Zsidovanka or two. The published stuff circulating underground there has
lots of standards of klezmer-gone-by with few things that you can't find
in the standard publications used nowadays in America. Josh

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