Klezmer Music - Jewish Sounds That Bridge Generations

They say a klezmer clarinet can laugh and cry within a single phrase. Klezmer music - the tradition of itinerant Jewish musicians of Central and Eastern Europe - is one of the pillars of folk playing we reach for, and a sound that finds its place on modern stages surprisingly well.

The music of weddings and feasts

Klezmorim played wherever life happened: at weddings, holidays and fairs. Their music was functional from the start - meant to lead dances, to move and to entertain. Hence its extraordinary communicativeness: you do not need to know the tradition to understand what the clarinet is playing.

A shared cauldron with the Balkans

Klezmer, Gypsy music and Balkan sounds intermingled for centuries - itinerant musicians played side by side, borrowing melodies and performance manners. That is why these traditions combine so naturally on one stage: klezmer scales and ornaments sound like close cousins of Balkan themes.

Klezmer today

Modern folk bands play klezmer motifs with new energy - faster, louder, with a rhythm section - without losing their character. In Propabanda’s repertoire, alongside Balkan and Gypsy themes, you will find pieces like Mes tis polis to hammam and Tortapapir - melodies from the shared eastern cauldron in which klezmer is one of the flavours. Listen to them in the music and video section, and read about our whole blend in the piece on our inspirations.