What is Klezmer?

Klezmer is the traditional instrumental music for weddings and parties of the Yiddish speaking Jews of Eastern Europe. Its origin goes back to the sixteenth century.

The Yiddish culture was at its peak in the 19th and early 20th century in the countries where 11 million Jews then lived: Poland, Ukraine, Byelorussia (White Russia), Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary.

The Yiddish word klezmer (plural: klezmorim) means simply 'musician' (after the two Hebrew words 'kley' and ' zemer,' literally 'vessel of song').

The roots of the style are found in Jewish 'hazanut' (cantorial music) the 'nigunim', the wordless melodies intoned by the 'Hasidim' (orthodox Jews), secular melodies and popular dances, Yiddish words have been added as in the recitations of the 'badkhn' (the master of ceremonies at weddings), and also from the tradition of the 'Purimshpil' (the humorous plays of at the Festival of Purim each Spring). Yiddish song has a long tradition and later there are songs from the Yiddish theatre but the term Klezmer usually describes the instrumental party music, particularly featuring the violin and clarinet.

Since the 1970s, when America started a revival of this music, the word 'klezmer' has been used the describe the music style itself.