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Re: Old/New World klezmer
- From: Lori Cahan-Simon <l_cahan...>
- Subject: Re: Old/New World klezmer
- Date: Thu 11 Sep 2003 10.36 (GMT)
Speaking of Steven Greenman, he is the reason my albums sound the way
they do. He arranged the first one and suggested the musicians, and I
naturally stayed in that idiom for the second. I love the overall sound
of the instrumentation of fidl, harmonye (accordion), tsimbl, bass,
fleyt and poyk in their various combinations. The concept I try for is
that the sum of the music being made is one voice and to try to balance
that with textures appropriate for the essence of the feeling or subject
being expressed by lyrics and music.
On a couple of songs Adrianne Greenbaum and Alex Fedoriouk are the only
accompaniment, creating a marvelous interplay and gentle support with
flute and tsimbl. As a singer, it is good to play with instrumentation
that allows one to sing and be heard without amplification.
Lorele
Dawid & Moericke wrote:
>>My
>>gut tells me that with Alicia Svigals' "Fidln'" album and Khevrisa and
>>Budowitz we began to see a new trend in the New Klez world
>>
>>
>
>I'm not sure that this really makes for a trend, though there are
>undoubtedly more groups around which go for the 'Old/European' thing. On the
>other hand, there are more groups around anyway!
>A need to de-shmalts or de-show klezmer music has always been around
>(speaking of the 'revival'), manifesting itself in different approaches and
>results. Think about Statman/Feldman, Bern/Rubin, Brave Old World, just to
>name a few... all artists who successful tried to gain a deeper
>understanding of the music, by studying the sources.
>
>I never 'went back' consciously, but it happened anyway. I was not primarily
>interested in historical details, but certainly in an in-depth understanding
>of klezmer music. Zooming in. If you have a closer look at musical elements,
>and get more detailed every time, you may end up with a simple phrase played
>as subtle and fragile as we hear it in... the earliest recordings.
>All serious klezmorim I know have, at some point, gone back as far as
>possible, not to go back historically, as a self-purpose, but to get as
>refined and subtle and telling as possible. To learn the whole story from
>its documented beginning.
>Where we go from there, or if we stay, that's a different story...
>
>Luckily, klezmerland still grows, and the picture gets more and more
>differentiated. Undoubtedly, there are much more students at today's camps,
>who are seriously interested in 'old' style/sound/phrasing. At KlezKanada,
>Stu Brotman and I were running an ensemble solely dedicated to Belf's
>Romanian Orchestra's style and repertoire. Steve Greenman writes original
>pieces using the 'old' vocabulary, we have tsimbls and fleyt kapelyes and
>fidl kapelyes, all exploring old-but-still-so-true textures and sounds...
>Interestingly enough, at the same time artists like Jason Rosenblatt's
>Shtreiml or Josh Dolgin celebrate a very successful and enjoyable 'revival'
>of the americanization of klezmer music...
>And we have more and more musicians who do it all, at the same time...
>
>Christian Dawid
>
>
>
>
>
--
You can now hear Lori's new CD, Songs My Bubbe Should Have Taught Me; Vol.1:
Passover, at: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lcahan Only $15 & postage. Email me for
more info.
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