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The
Sounds of the Vanishing World
Kroke.
Kroke is a klezmer band.
What is klezmer, you
ask? Good question! As with many things Jewish, there seems to be no one authoritative
answer. One source asserts that the term "klezmer" is a contraction of
"klei zemer" - Hebrew meaning "instruments of song" - and refers to a
variety of Greek and Central/Eastern European music played at Jewish celebrations in the
Ashkenazi tradition. (Don't ask!)
Another source says,
"The word klezmer itself comes from the Aramaic 'kli' and 'zemer' and means in
the true sense 'the human being becomes the bearer of the song.'
Are you thoroughly
confused yet? Klezmer is music for dancing with a partner. It doesn't bounce; it flows, it
swings, it cries. It is safe to say we are dealing with a style of music, but defining
that style would be as difficult as finding all the Jews in the diaspora. It is probably
fair to say that klezmer is a music that expresses deep emotion around the joy of life,
but Jewish culture rarely lets you know about that joy without also taking note of the
trials and the sorrows as well.
Think long, sinuous,
minor-key, violin-carried melodies wending their way over a toe-tapping, thigh slapping,
hip-shaking beat - a beat that sometimes accelerates and seems to be running away in
ecstatic joyousness.
In the last twenty
years or so there has been a major revival of interest in klezmer music both in Europe and
in the United States. As might be expected, young practitioners bring their own
interpretations to the traditional sounds and the tradition continues to evolve. This is
totally appropriate for such cross-cultural folk music expression.
Kroke is a klezmer
band from Kraków, Poland, which is, in itself, a statement riddled with implications.
Kraków was taken by the Germans at the beginning of World War II. The German governor
executed the university's teaching staff and sent some 55,000 Jews from the city to the
Auschwitz II (Birkenau) death camp. Kraków, like Warsaw, had had a flourishing Jewish
cultural life before World War II; the Holocaust left a mere shadow of what had been. A
klezmer band from Kraków is like a flower growing from the ashes.
The Sounds of the
Vanishing World is an extraordinary cd. There is no question that you are listening to
klezmer, but it is a very contemporary interpretation of the tradition. Three musicians
play a variety of instruments: violin, viola, accordion, flutes, double bass, mandolin,
bells, a variety of percussion, and occasional vocals - but without lyrics, the voice used
as an instrument. At various times, there are sounds that suggest Piazzolla's bandoneon,
belly dancing music, Turkish muezzins.
The opening cut,
"Earth," offers a rich sound of accordion, the viola picking up the line,
anchored by the solid bass. Simple melody lines are repeated with minor variations in a
series of interesting, dissonant harmonies. "Air" suggests just that - an
ethereal sound from the viola and accordion, the bass omitted. "Question"
is a solo for the double bass, distinguished on that count alone, and a very mellow sound.
"Time" is
one of the best cuts on the disk. A ticking clock starts the number and continues
throughout with a softly wailing accordion passing the melody along to the other
instruments, a flute coming in late in the game, until it fades back to the ticking clock
and ends with a series of birdcall-like sounds from the flute. "Dance" is a
fast, syncopated, multilayered sound that will keep you tapping that toe.
"Fire,"
"Water," and the eponymous closing number all get into a mid-Eastern
sound, more Turkey than Poland. The percussion is strong, there is that sinuously winding
melodic line, and vocal elements add to the mix.
While Kroke picks up
on a variety of the many klezmer historical strands, it integrates contemporary influences
as well and ends up being its own distinctive sound - original and beautifully
exotic.
- Arthur Lazere
