September 11, 2006

Klezmer

You've all been listening to Romanian Fantasy No.1 by Alicia Svigals on my stickam. (UAE visitors, I am sorry that Etisalat, or rather "it is haraam" has blocked stickam so you can't enjoy the music but do visit amazon where you can hear it and other songs.)

Romanian Fantasy No.1 is a Jewish wedding song of a style developed mostly in Eastern Europe. The name of the genre is Klezmer, which comes from the Hebrew words Kley (instrument) and Zemer (song). It is usally as the name indicates, an instrumental song.

The style was more or less non existent after the Holocaust, however Jews who had fled to America brought the music with them and it had a short upswing. With high demands on assimilation, less emphasis was placed on preserving the traditions. In the mid 70's when a new generation of American born musicians with Jewish ancestors started listening to old Klezmer recordings from the 40's, Klezmer had its rebirth.

7 comments:

BuJ said...

Very nice music :-)

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

Thanks, glad you like it.

nzm said...

Luckily, I'm in one of the few areas where Etasalad does not have control and I can listen to it - very beautiful.

Wow - those high notes!

Destitute Rebel said...

Deprived by etisalat.

flamin said...

Oh I have to listen to this! I love the cultural diffusion from your blog; this sounds very interesting. Never heard anything Jewish before.

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

NZM, thank God you will not be deprived like poor D reb.

MD glad to see you back n blogging :)

I love culture and its various expressions, and music happens to be a favorite.

Diligent Candy said...

The music is really nice...thanks....