Re: question on sher performance

[allen watsky <awatsky...>]

well since no one has danced this tune lately we will have to Quiz "Dancin'"
Steve W. upon his  return. I would suggest playing it as written. The
sections are short. Its maybe a minhag 'kinda thing. By the time SW gets
back from Deutschland "he" will let us know. 'Spose he'll  have been hipped
and or have been creative enough to make some  dance moves for the tune.
Original Message -----
From: "r l reid" <ro (at) panix(dot)com>
To: "World music from a Jewish slant" <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2004 8:18 PM
Subject: question on sher performance


> Some of the people who might best answer this are back in
> the old country right now, but let's give it a shot.
>
> Listening to and learning Vinnitser Sher from Veretski
> Pass. (By the way - learn more about the Vinnitsa Jewish
> community at http://ddickerson.igc.org/podolia-vrjc.html)
>
> I note that, unlike recordings or modern performances of
> the "Philadelphia Shers" attributed to Morris Fried, the
> band plays the 10 sections in this form:
>
> AABBAABBCCDDCCDDEEFFEEFFGGHHGGHHIIJJ
>
> In other words, each pair is repeated almost as it it were
> a single AABBAABB song, then on to the next.  Except the
> last pair.
>
> Is this a "typical" form?  A choice made by these
> performers?  Or does it all have to do with how energetic
> your dancers are?
>
> In the Fried/Phila shers, most sections repeat once and
> move on forever, as I've heard it (Svigals, Feldman,
> Schwartz, Strauss/Warschuaer).  There is one section that
> does not repeat at all, which is fairly vanilla
> harmonically, that then drives hard into a harmonic
> contrast.  I bet that a "WHEE" moment for dancers - the
> expectation of the repetition is broken, and the harmony
> moves way out.
>
> I'd love to see some of our New England or NorthWest folks
> who are also involved in contra and set dancing get the
> shers out into the American folk dance community.
>
>
>
>


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