Re: Klezmer status

[Paul M. Gifford <PGIFFORD...>]

"shirona" <shirona (at) bellatlantic(dot)net> wrote:

I don't get it...  how did we get from a "half step above a thief " - to
revering musicians as demi-gods? ( you know, the "stars" - whether in Pop,
Classical, Opera, Jazz... you name it )    The skills remain the same.  We
all know the sensitivity, intelligence, TALENT and hard work it takes to be
a good musician.  Did gifted, intelligent people pursue a musical career
ALBEIT that terrible low-status back in the old country?

This relates to the earlier question of the relationship of klezmorim 
and Gypsy musicians. First, the low status relates to *dance* music, 
not art music so much. Obviously dancing was connected to sex, 
drunkenness, fighting, etc. In a lot of the Western world, 
*professional* dance musicians were of low status, so
the social niche was filled by minorities. In late 18th and early 
19th-century U.S., most of the dance fiddlers were black, even those 
that played for the upper crust. So it's not surprising that a 
segment of Jewish society specialized in instrumental dance music. In 
the 17th and 18th centuries, because of the connection to the church, 
art music was closed to Jews. In early 17th-century Lviv, 
professional musicians were either "Italian" musicians or "serbska" 
musicians (these terms did not reflect their nationalities). "Italian" 
musicians played "classical" music; "serbska" musicians played at 
weddings and banquets. In the 19th century, classical music became 
less identified with the church and more with theaters and secular 
situations, so Jewish musicians had higher status in the larger 
society if they could get into conservatories. Hungarian Gypsy 
musicians learned "German" music and improved their status, at least 
in gaining patronage from the upper class, by playing arrangements of 
themes from operas, etc. 

Paul Gifford









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