All About Jewish Theatre - Klezmer exhibition in Frankfurt Jewish Museum

A new exhibition at the Jewish Museum Frankfurt is looking at the musical breadth and geographic scope of klezmer, a secular music that began in celebrations at Jewish weddings and festivals but has since experienced a mainstream boom in Israel, the United States, and Germany.

Called "Klezmer — Hejmisch und hip" (Klezmer — Homegrown and Hip), the exhibition traces the style back 300 years to its roots in the villages of Eastern Europe and Russia.

It follows the style's development among poor traveling musicians of the 18th century to the hot bands of today through photos, texts, music instruments, and multimedia performances.

Klezmer, which musicologists identify more by stylistics than the instruments used to play it, has experienced something of a boom in Germany, now home to the third largest and fastest growing Jewish population in Europe.

The style's German revival began in the 1960s and 70s, with bands performing traditional folk songs, and continues today with mainstream acts such as "Klezmorium," and "Aufwind."

Though its improvisational quality has always made klezmer a style especially open to outside influences, these days, it is not uncommon to speak of klezmer in the same breath as genres such as blues, jazz, swing and rock.

The exhibition and an accompanying concert series run through June 25, with dates and performances listed on the website of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt.

(2227)