Interesting comment

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

I was having a discussion with a non-Jewish friend of mine, who is a
violinist just beginning a study of klezmer music, about why she is
attracted to klezmer and Yiddish music.  I thought her comments were
interesting, so I post them here for you to enjoy, comment on, shake
your head about, whatever.
Lorele


Why is the [Yiddish] singing so compelling to me? I think because of the
intensity of the culture. There's a saying that "Jews are just like
everybody else, only more so." My sister and I often talk about how we
laugh a lot harder than people who had functional childhoods. Not to
suggest that
Jewish life is dysfunctional, but that there is an intensity that comes
from tight family ties and that lends itself to (later) passionate
tension release (in music, in humor, etc.) Anyway, the result in this
klezmer music seems to be singing that is full of both pain and joy
(sometimes at the same time) that goes off the scale of much of the
music you hear otherwise. Plus I just like the way the words sound:)

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