The Klezmatics
The Klezmatics are a band from New York that combines the klezmer music of the Jews of Eastern Europe with numerous musical influences from jazz to ska and rock . With their characteristic crossover mix, they are among the world's most commercially successful interpreters of popular Jewish music. In February 2007 her album Wonder Wheel with settings of unknown lyrics by Woody Guthries was awarded a Grammy for best contemporary world music album .
history
The Klezmatics were founded in 1986. The musicians around the trumpeter Frank London had previously had very different degrees of contact with Klezmer. London itself, like some fellow musicians, comes from jazz, while the longtime violinist Alicia Svigals comes from the traditional klezmer scene. They released their first record in 1989 after an appearance at the Berlin world music festival Heimatklänge .
music
Most of the Klezmatics pieces come from the traditional repertoire of the Jews of Eastern Europe and North America. A major difference to traditional klezmer ensembles, however, is the driving, drum-heavy rhythm, which often takes up elements of Caribbean music as well as those from ska and other popular genres. The New York formation largely dispensed with a static 2/4 beat, as was common in Israel in the 1950s.
In addition, due to the musical origin of the musicians, there are strong jazz influences as well as psychedelic elements. The music for Jonathan Berman's film "The Shvitz" from 1993 also includes traditionals with influences from hip-hop , rock and free jazz . Elements of the folk music of Southeast Europe can also be found in the arrangements of the klezmatics, such as the frequent use of the Bulgarian kaval by Matt Darriau.
Another Klezmatics project premiered in June 2003, a joint production with the Jena Philharmonic , in which music by the Klezmatics and contemporary American composers was performed in a concert arrangement.
Topics and content
The language of most of the songs in the Klezmatics' repertoire is Yiddish , with the more recent publications in particular adding songs in English and, more rarely, in Aramaic . On their first publication “Shvaygn = Toyt”, the Klezmatics also interpret a double , which is performed with the original Bavarian text.
Yiddish songs of Eastern European origin, which make up a large part of the repertoire, are divided into several genres: Songs with religious and mystical motifs originate from Hasidism , such as Shnirele Perele , which describes the arrival of the Messiah and the Summons the return of the dispersed Jewish people from the Diaspora to Israel. Texts on worldly topics are more common: love, alcohol, financial worries, celebrations, etc.
Another source are songs from the Jewish labor movement in the Russian Empire , which sing about the struggle of the Jews for equality and against oppression. ( Barikadn , Dzhankoye , Ale Brider ).
The two milieus of the traditional Hasidim and the workers who were open to revolutionary ideas represented opposite poles of the social spectrum in pre-revolutionary Russia, so that it is only now possible that songs from both sources seem to coexist in one program in harmony.
Another part of the repertoire consists of Yiddish songs written in North America in the 20th century. These too often come from the Jewish labor movement and address the struggle for social justice (e.g. In Kamf , Lomir heybn dem Bekher ).
In some cases, traditional songs are updated and reinterpreted to reflect current conditions, for example when a stanza is woven into the traditional workers' song Ale Brider that says "Un mir zaynen ale freylekh / Vi Yoynoson and Dovid hamelekh". (“And we are all gay / Like Jonathan and King David”) Singer Lorin Sklamberg, who, like violinist Alicia Svigals, is openly homosexual, alludes to the relationship between Jonathan and the later King David ( 2 Sam 1,26 EU ), which has often been interpreted as erotic.
The subject of homosexuality is also woven into other pieces in a similarly tongue- in- cheek manner, for example when Sklamberg in Honikzaft expressly wants a man's kisses ( Kushen zol er mikh / Mit die kushn fun zayn moyl ) or when he has a romantic love story in Loshn-Koydesh a teacher and his student Moyshele. The title of their first publication "Shvaygn = Toyt" is also the Yiddish translation of the act-up slogan "Silence = Death".
Other contemporary topics covered in the group's repertoire are religious fanaticism ( I ain't afraid ) and the suffering of refugees ( An undoing world )
While traditional Hasidic songs often sing about the joys of drinking alcohol, the Klezmatics also interpret a piece that praises the ecstasy of enjoying marijuana as “Gots beste trayst” (“God's best consolation”). ( Mizmor shir lehanef ).
Her joint production The Well with the Israeli singer Chava Alberstein is dedicated to the Yiddish author's song of the 20th century . Here , songs composed in Israel after the Second World War dominate , often with reference to the Shoah .
Her most recent publication, Wonder Wheel, contains settings of texts by Woody Guthrie on Jewish topics that were discovered in 1998 .
Band members
- Lorin Sklamberg: lead vocals, accordion , piano
- Frank London: Trumpet , flugelhorn , cornet , alto horn , piano, organ , keyboard , percussion, vocals
- Lisa Gutkin: violin , vocals (from January 2002)
- Matt Darriau : alto saxophone , clarinet , bass clarinet , kaval , percussion, vocals
- Paul Morrissett: bass and tsimbel (dulcimer) , piano, violin, hurdy-gurdy , alto and baritone horn, Hardanger fiddle , vocals
- David Licht: drums , percussion, vocals
former members
- Alicia Svigals, violin , vocals (until January 2002)
- David Krakauer , clarinet, bass clarinet, vocals (up to and including Jews with Horns , 1994)
- Kurt Bjorling, clarinet (until around 1991 and on the first album)
Discography
- Shvaygn = Toyt (1989)
- Rhythm And Jews (1992)
- Jews With Horns (1995)
- Possessed (1997)
- The Well (1998, with Chava Alberstein )
- Rise Up! / Shteyt oyf! (2003)
- Brother Moses smote the water (2004)
- Wonder Wheel. Lyrics by Woody Guthrie. (2006)
- Tuml = Lebn - The best of the first 20 years (2008)
- Apikorsim-Heretics (2016)
Web links
- Official website
- The Klezmatics at Discogs (English)
swell
- ↑ "Freylekh" ("happy") stands for " gay " analogous to the English "gay" : From the cover text for "Shvaygn = Toyt": Our closing encore number for Heimatklänge. Poem by Winchevsky (1890) - turned - folksong popular at Jewish Socialist celebrations. Original poem included the lines: "We are all brothers ... Religious and leftists united, like bride and groom, like kugl and kashe ..." In true Klezmatics tradition we also sing "We're all sisters, like Rachel, Ruth and Ester, ”and“ We're all gay, like Jonathan and King David ”. Imagine being joined by thousands of Berlines in this refrain.
- ↑ Love between men: David and Jonathan In: Bible and Homosexuality: Reading the Bible with gay / lesbian eyes Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 22, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
