CU Jewish Studies Klezmer Music as Jewish Dialogue and Jewish Discourse

Presented by Professor Yonatan Malin this lecture will introduce klezmer music as a kind of Jewish dialogue, or Jewish discourse. Klezmer is Jewish instrumental music from Eastern Europe, and it comes from the same culture as the Yiddish literature of Sholem Aleichem, S. J. Abramovitsh, and others. It makes sense that the music and literature of this culture would share certain features. But can we specify what those are? Or are music and literature too distinct? Professor Yonatan Malin will address these questions from cognitive, cultural, and music-analytical perspectives. Musical examples will include recordings from the early 20th century to today. The lecture does not require any background in music or Yiddish.