Oh, the Hora!! American Klezmer and Israeli Folk Music in Conversation, with Uri Schreter

If you attended a typical American Jewish wedding in the 1950s, you probably wouldn’t have heard much traditional Jewish music. American dances conquered the scene, and whatever space they left for the Jewish dance set was likely to have been filled by Israeli hits, such as Hava Nagila, Artza Alinu, and Tzena Tzena. These songs may have displaced the traditional klezmer repertoire, but how did they get there, and what did they mean? What was the musical relationship between klezmer and Israeli folk music? And how did Israeli tunes change when they were performed by klezmer luminaries like Dave Tarras, the Epsteins, and the Musikers?

Musicologist Uri Schreter will present his research on American Jewish weddings in the 1950s, based on recordings, archives, and interviews with klezmorim from that era. We will learn about mid-century approaches to popular Jewish music, listen to recorded examples, and conclude with a discussion about the role of Israeli folk songs in the history of klezmer.

This event is presented on Zoom by New Lehrhaus. There is a $12 fee for registration.