Re: The end is nearer than you think

[MaxwellSt <MaxwellSt...>]

Thanks to Alan for an excellent letter!
I have never thought about the I-V-I klezmer ending (preceded by a trill, as 
he mentions) as anything more functional than a convention, equivalent to the 
coda sign on a sheet of music.  I suppose it might just as well have been 
IV-V-I, but that strikes me as less Yiddish in flavor, sort of like a Picardy 
third.  Maybe it was a Jewish signature originally--when listening to 1920's 
recordings that might be Jewish or Greek or Balkan, there's that ending that 
identifies it as "undzer" (ours).  In jazz, in blues, in most styles of music 
there is a typical ending which unifies the musicians who may have been 
improvising rather than reading music.  I think the klezmer ending may be as 
benign as all of that.

I hope you are enjoying your day--it is mighty peaceful erev yontif, ain't it?
Lori in Chicago

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