Re: World Music at INSIDE: Khevrisa - European Klezmer Music 12/9/00

[Lori Cahan-Simon <l_cahan...>]

Just another reminder, folks.

> This Saturday night at 9 PM!
> World Music at INSIDE. presents
>
> The Roots of Klezmer
> Khevrisa: European Klezmer Music
> Steven Greenman, violin & Zev Feldman, cimbal
>
> WHEN: Saturday, December 9, 2000 at 9PM
> WHERE:  INSIDE. 2393 Professor, Cleveland, OH 44113 (in Tremont)
> ADMISSION: $15, $10 for students
> RESERVATIONS: Call (216) 621-1220 or email mahovlich (at) juno(dot)com
>
> Khevrisa, the premier European style klezmer ensemble, performs
> live in concert at INSIDE, 2393 Professor in Cleveland on Saturday,
> December 9 at 9 PM.  The
> European klezmer music performed by Khevrisa differs from the American
> variety in its
> instrumentation, style and repertoire.  Performing in a traditional
> ensemble of violin and cimbal (a
> type of hammered dulcimer), Steven Greenman and Zev Feldman have
> enthralled European and American audiences with music that is by turns
> gentle, soulful, evocative and fiery.  The December 9th concert also
> marks the release of their new CD, Khevrisa: European klezmer music on
> Smithsonian Folkways.
> Admission is $15, $10 for students.  Call 216-621-1220 or email
> mahovlich (at) juno(dot)com for
> concert reservations.
>
> For more information about the World Music at INSIDE concert series,
> contact Walt Mahovlich at (216) 281-8727
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> More about Khevrisa:
>
>       Khevrisa was the secret klezmer term for the klezmer ensemble,
> known otherwise as
>       kapelye. It is used there to refer to the old European kapelye
> consisting of four
>       instruments with discrete musical functions?the lead fiddle
> (prima/labushnik), the
>       kontra fiddle (sekund), the cimbal (hackbreydl), and the bass.
> The standard khevrisa,
>       originating in Central Europe, was developed by the klezmorim of
> Poland-Lithuania
>       during the 17th century and continued as the core klezmer group
> there until the early
>       20th century?in some regions up to the Holocaust.
>
>       European klezmer music is differed from the American variety in
> its instrumentation,
>       performance style and in the nature of the repertoire. In
> Eastern Europe the
>       klezmorim were a closed professional caste, and the
> kappelmeister violinist were a
>       major source of music both for the local aristocracy and for the
> Jews. In
>       Poland/Lithuania/Ukraine this required a knowledge of some
> Western art music and in
>       Romania of Turkish art and popular music. While in most of
> Eastern Europe the
>       klezmorim performed only with Jewish personnel, in Romania they
> mixed with Rom
>       (Gypsy) and Greek musicians, frequently touring together in the
> Balkans and Istanbul.
>       The most famous klezmorim were retained by the Romanian boyar
> aristocracy and
>       the Ottoman voyvod governors. During the 18th and 19th centuries
> these Ashkenazic,
>       eastern and western elements were combined by the klezmorim to
> create a unique
>       repertoire and performance style. In addition to performing the
> functional music for
>       Jewish ceremonies and lighter standard classical pieces, the
> best klezmer
>       composers created small-scale compositions for their wealthier
> Jewish
>       patrons?tunes known as zogekhts, shteyger, taksim, dobriden,
> dobranoch, mazltov,
>       terkisher freylakhs, skochne, and settings for various psalms
> and religious texts. In
>       Hasidic areas klezmorim composed table-tunes, known as
> tish-nign. Elaborate dance
>       tunes were composed for listening or for the performances of
> professional klezmer
>       solo dancers. At the same time the best khevrisas were masters
> of dance music,
>       creating dynamic polyrhythmic patterns to accompany the melody
> of the lead violin.
>
>       Most of the famous klezmorim of Eastern Europe did not emigrate
> to America and
>       were never recorded, but a few precious pre-World War I sound
> recordings document
>       their performance style on violin, flute and cimbal. A number of
> notated collections,
>       especially those of Moshe Beregovski (Kiev) and Moshe Bik
> (Orhei, Bessarabia)
>       preserve some of the rare compositions of the 19th century
> klezmer masters. Our
>       interpretation of these pieces is aided by the presence of Mr.
> Jeremiah Hesheles,
>       (born 1910 in Lvov province), the last European-born
> kappelmeister in North
> America.
>       These notation and recordings form the basis for the
> performances of "Khevrisa."
>
>

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