Bring the buttons and keys to life
Should you ever happen to get near any dixieland band, most probably you’ll hear evergreens such as “When the Saints Go Marching In”, “Hello Dolly”, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” nebo “Mackie Messer”, but also another merry tune bearing an exotic title: Bay Mir Bistu Sheyn. Continue reading
Sometimes people aren’t quite sure what klezmer exactly is, where it comes from or how to play it. It has always attracted me incredibly: its rhythms provoking me and melodies ringing in my ears for days. I decided to undergo a little investigation, I read a lot about it, and I played in two klezmer music groups afterwards, to absorb its atmosphere. Continue reading
I don’t mean to say that the accordion isn’t a great instrument, not at all! But listening to klezmer and hearing a violin or a clarinet, all the more when the player is really good, the awkward black and white keys make me rather sad. Just listen! Continue reading
We have a music group which plays at weddings, but however hard we might try, nobody has yet invited us for a Jewish wedding. It’s a pity, because I’d really be interested… one doesn’t visit a Jewish wedding every day, do they? Continue reading
Who wouldn’t have heard (of) it? One of the best known Jewish songs. The Irish pub has Seven Drunken Nights, country lovers have their Ring of Fire, Mozart has Eine kleine Nachtmusik… Our violinist Jitka calls them „index songs“, and she might have meant it rather pejoratively at the beginning, but the meaning of this term has shifted in our band and now we enjoy playing them form time to time.