Re: yale strom

[Mattflight <Mattflight...>]

     I was e-mailed by Yale Strom in response to my posting questioning how 
we use words in response to Seth's posting the link to his article in the 
forward. I think that this is an important enough discussion that I choose to 
post my response back to the list. And I would like to add that I am sorry to 
Yale if he feels that I misrepresented his book. The reason that I referred 
to it was not just that it was in Seth's article, but also that I feel that 
through the book he defined a definition of what traditional klezmer is.

     If I missed the point of that chapter than I did for instrumental songs, 
but not for vocal songs. And what I am more interested in is in the 
instrumental development of the music, because I feel that language is a 
given separator in music. It is harder to separate genres of music, as was 
discussed in the past couple of weeks on this list. 
     The Rom musicians that you have studied with in Europe don't speak 
Yiddish, but when they play Jewish tunes we have no problem calling it 
Klezmer. If I put Yiddish lyrics to rock music it does that make it Klezmer? 
And I live on the edge of a Hasidic community, so I can walk by stores and 
hear new Yiddish music being played, but is it Klezmer? Not in my book, if 
your going to ask the question is it Jewish, the answer is yes. But for me 
Klezmer, is Eastern European Wedding Dance Music. The Yiddish vocal 
tradition, is the parallel vocal tradition. (Think of a parallel relationship 
between Ballet and Opera in Orchestral music.)
     The larger question I was trying to frame to the list deals with what I 
feel is the misrepresentation of the word Klezmer. I think Zev puts it right 
when he calls it an umbrella. I think it may be in the best interests of the 
musicians to go back to calling the music "playing the Freylakhs." 
     While I do think we need to be worried about the survival of Yiddish, I 
think that the language has a larger community that it is open to, than the 
numbers of performers of Yiddish influenced music. I think that the key for 
the instrumental music is are their enough people that know the dances? 
Otherwise this music will take the path that the minuet has taken, being 
played in concert halls, and very few people know the dance that goes with 
it. Do we want klezmer music to only be played in situations we people are 
sitting of their hands like they are listening to a symphony, or do we want 
the music to be played like jazz were the audience interacts, be it with 
applause and at times dancing? 
     I went and grabbed some food after the screening in Boston, and they 
said that they didn't like your playing of the violin in the question and 
answer period. They didn't think it was Jewish, they didn't think that it had 
enough of the coughing and spitting that Billy Crystal uses to describe the 
Yiddish language. And if you feel that the Yiddish language portion of the 
music is the more part to express to audiences, my feeling then is why don't 
you sing to demonstrate this.

     Personally, I feel that to play this music, musicians must first learn 
the tunes, the tempos, and feelings before they put on any of the dredlakh. 
It is the same as playing a work of Bach, you learn the music, and then you 
add the ornamentation. I don't care how much finger gymnastics you show me, 
if you don't have heart in the music. And for me this goes to any genre of 
music. Yes, I agree with you that learning the history, culture, and language 
is important. But my question to you, is in your movie, "The Last Klezmer" 
that women seen learning to sing Yiddish songs, she only sang in Yiddish, she 
didn't speak Yiddish did she? 

Matt Temkin



In a message dated 5/12/03 8:10:19 PM, Yitztyco writes:


> Matt,
> 
> You missed the point.
> 
> 
> What I said was simply that if this revival, this bale-kulturnik scene is 
> to grow the musicians no matter how far they take the music still have to 
> be grounded in some semblance of the knowledge of the culture in which the 
> music grew out of. And even better than just knowing some history of the 
> Jews in Eastern Europe when should learn a little of the language they 
> spoke. Yes this means learning a little Yiddish, this will help the 
> musician get inside the head, of these quite engimatic characters. No one 
> doesn't have to be fluent but one who says why do I have to learn the 
> vernacular they spoke misses the whole point of what carrying on a 
> tradition and departing from it, is all about.
> 
> I still stand by my last chapter in my book. And yes it will ruffle some 
> feathers of those trying to play the music, take it in to new worlds....but 
> hey  really learning another person's folk music, or your own takes a 
> little work...it is not just learning the riffs, the improvs. and the black 
> notes on the page.
> 
> As I say in my book: (The Book of Klezmer) p. 264. Playing Brandwein or 
> Tarras note for note with all the proper klzmer dreydlekh is enough to 
> maintain the music on a cursory level, and that fine for many musicians. 
> But, as John Zorn said to me, "The music is much more that a flat two and a 
> sharp four." If you can "talk the talk" (Yiddish) you really can't "walk 
> the walk." The musician will bring a greater profundity to klezmer if he or 
> she understands some portions of the history, folkore and language.
> 
> The earliest descendants of today's klezmorim were the medeival Ashkenazic 
> minstrels who played and sang in Yiddish. Thus for the bal-kulturnik scene 
> to continue to develop and flourish, whether it be neotraditionalist or 
> avant-gardists, the Yiddish component will need to be explored, examined 
> and exploited. Old and new Yiddish songs will help us better understand the 
> past, present and future world of the klezmer.
> 
> zay gezint, Yale
> 
>