RE: Wolf's Yiddish

[Matt Jaffey <mjaffey2...>]

Reyzl wrote:

>And you only thought that Yiddish music was only Rozhinkes mit mandlen, 
>Tumbalayka, and Bay mir bistu sheyn and Belz.  :)

No, I didn't think that. I'm talking about what kinds of categories make
sense to present to a single audience. This has to do with what is the
aesthetic sense of a group of people. Some people, like Ari, like a
remarkable diversity, ranging from traditional klez to fusion with jazz,
rock etc., to Kronos Quartet "classicized" klez (though Ari's tastes didn't
seem to range into Wolf's creations). I could be wrong, but I think Ari is
exceptional in this regard. Personally, I would tend to categorize music
more cross-culturally according to the intent of the music
(religious/spiritual, for dancing, for focussed listening, background music
etc.) or the genre (jazz, broadway musical, baroque etc.) I wouldn't say
that my thinking on this is fully formed. Why did it strike me as odd to
juxtapose the groups that played at KlezKanada last year? I made the analogy
to music by english speaking composers. If I advertised a concert of music
composed by english speakers, what kind of music would people expect?
renaissance? romantic era? folk? jazz? pop? religious? secular? Probably, if
you were expecting renaissance and you got pop, you'd be disappointed.

>They are all Yiddish music, including as some have said Broadway musical 
>classics.  Why not?  Think if someone wanted to present American music or 
>Eastern European music or even Italian music?  There are all kinds of 
>categories, styles, and functions.

Within any one of those categories, there is such diversity that has appeal
to very different people. You could have Italian renaissance or modern
Italian pop music etc. There was recently an east european group that
performed at the local campus - very informed, very traditional, beautiful
costumes. Members of the audience who were into folk, be it folk dance or
folk music, really liked it. Others, who were young students who came from
eastern europe, weren't so interested. The musical styles they are used to
have evolved, involve electronic instruments etc.

Matt

>----------
>From:  Matt Jaffey [SMTP:mjaffey2 (at) mum(dot)edu]
>Sent:  Thursday, December 09, 1999 12:44 PM
>To:  World music from a Jewish slant
>Subject:  Re: Wolf's Yiddish
>
>First, I'll admit that I'm one of those people whose parents spoke Yiddish
>to keep me from knowing what was going on. So in a way, I'm speaking as an
>outsider on this - which may give me some perspective.
>
>I'm struck by the diversity of musical forms that are included under the
>umbrella "Yiddish Music". Wolf's music is an example, including styles like
>reggae etc. that are not traditionally associated with Yiddish culture.
>
>Last summer at the Klezkanada concert, we were treated to traditional
>American klez, modern broadway tunes, Russian revolutionary songs, a
>concerto for mandolin and orchestra, 19th c. klez reconstructed, and
>Hassidic nigunim. The latter, by the way, got booed off stage, much to my
>shock, presumably by people who had come to hear the traditional American
>klez style.
>
>Personally, I'm only attracted to some of these styles. Why were they 
>lumped
>together? Because they all have something to do with Yiddish culture, even
>though obviously, everyone there didn't like everything. (Oh, and I'm
>forgetting that there were also some charming Judeo-Spanish songs from
>Judith, but then, those weren't Yiddish at all.)
>
>I think the category is a bit odd. Who would ever speak of a category like
>"Songs in English and instrumental music written by people who speak
>English"? Maybe it's because there are so few people who are actually
>involved in Yiddish culture, and because we have such a short period of
>history in which the musical part of the culture was recorded, that this
>happens.
>
>And of course, the existence of this list is a reflection of this way of
>grouping things. Which works out pretty well, since there's no actual music
>happening on it, so people can disagree while continuing to listen to what
>they like elsewhere.
>
>Matt
>
>At 10:23 AM 12/9/99 -0500, you wrote:
>>Thanks to Jordan and Jeffrey for their cogent and
>>even-handed comments on the promiscuous fusioneering topic.
>>
>>With some Jew, you can never be =frum= enough.
>>With others , you can never have enough=gelt=.
>>
>>And with others still, --should you sing or play Yiddish music--
>>your Yiddish is never good enough (even if it is native -- because it is
>not the
>>listener's dialect or the one they think they remember <bubbe> speaking)
>and the
>>+ta'am+ ("feel", "taste") of the playing =feylt epis=(there is something
>>lacking).
>>
>>Many Ashkenazi Jewish people, in my perception, due to both generational
>>neuroses and collective trauma have a weird proprietary relationship to 
>the
>>Yiddish language and ( for purposes of this discussion) it's expression in
>>music/song.
>>
>>I have concluded that this feeling of almost "owning"  the language is 
>bound up
>>with cherished childhood memories and of course, with the six million.
>>When these people come to  a Yiddish musical event (should they deign to
>attend)
>>they are, of course, hyper-critical.  Add individual personality traits of
>>bitterness and vengefulness, and you have an idea of the attitude some 
>folks
>>bring to a simple concert.  And, should they consider themselves scholars 
> to
>>boot, there will never be any pleasing them.
>>
>>When they are served up Yiddish, they want it their way.
>>Spiced just so, as in the meatloaf that was used as an analogy earlier.
>>{The recipe may be the same, but there's stuff in the meat -- you don't 
>want to
>>know -- that wasn't there in =bubbe's=  day).  So it's gonna taste/sound
>>different anyways, no matter what.  Changes in  the instruments ,
>amplification,
>>improvisation  and venues all come into play.}
>>
>>I sometimes wonder, except for the old timers who may have seen
>>Witler in Lodz or Schwartz in NY -- who in today's audiences ever even saw 
>a
>>"real" Yiddish artist in their own element,  so that he/she could at least 
>have
>>some sensible and reality-based criteria by which to judge?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Wolf Krakowski
>>
>>Kame'a Media
>>http://www.kamea.com
>>
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