Klezmer — ?

From Hebrew "kli" (tool, device, container) and "zemer" (song, tune) derives the "container of the song", in modern use the musical instrument or the musician. Klezmer (pl. klezmorim) was the Jewish itinerant musician mostly playing for weddings and other celebrations.

Most of the music itself is played for dancing. Typical are syncopes, but above all modal tonalities, also with augmented intervals not common with European music. Klezmer music ist mostly homophone, that is melody plus accompaniment.

Klezer groups in the US often called themselves in the first half of the 20th century "orchestra" in order not to be misunderstood as Jazz bands. Normally these groups did not have more than five members. The main instrument is the clarinet as successor to the violin because of its loudness and its larger ambitus.

KlezPO with its 12-plus members does not aim to conserve historical Klezmer music. Instead, most of our arrangements use polyphony coming to an almost sinfonic sound.

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