What is Klezmer?

A little bit Polish, a little Russian and a little Near Eastern, Klezmer is the music of the Eastern European Jews. It shimmers with all of the chutzpah, glorious joy and soulful crying of the itinerant Yiddish troubadours who performed throughout Europe for 400 years. These wandering musicians traveled, often on foot, between the shtetls of Eastern Europe, playing at wedding and concerts, bringing the latest news and gossip from the surrounding towns.

"Klezmer" is the contraction of two Hebrew words meaning "instrument of song." It stands for both the music and the musician.

The Klezmer sound washed ashore America during the great immigration period between 1890 and 1910, where it first collided with the syncopation of American city life, the excitement of jazz, blues and ragtime and the exuberance of the big bands. Instrumental accompaniments were written for traditional Yiddish folk songs, previously sung acapella in Europe. New songs were created for the Yiddish Theater, describing Jewish life, poverty and romance in both the old and new worlds. Soon these sounds became standard Klezmer fare, producing a mix dubbed "Yiddish Jazz."

The Great Depression forced out many of the small record labels that had record Klezmer, and musicians disappeared into show business at large. The Klezmer sound survived in a much reduced role in Jewish weddings and Bar Mitvahs. Until the 1970's this music had been forgotten or neglected. Now it's back, alive and thriving, and Shirim is at the forefront of this renaissance!