KLEZMER music is the traditional instrumental dance music of the Eastern-European Jews. Its roots lie in the liturgical music of the Jewish synagogue, with which it shares common modes (scales) and ornamentation. Historical records referring to Klezmer bands have been found dating to back the1500's, but no one knows exactly what the music sounded like back then. As Jewish populations traveled from Israel and the Middle East to settle in Eastern and Central Europe, their music blended with the music of Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Hungary and Greece. Jewish musicians learned the favorite traditional dances from these countries and the locals also learned jewish dance tunes and melodies. Some common klezmer dance tunes are: freylekhes, bulgar, khosidl, honga, sirba and the Yiddishe hora. |