The Ultimate Klezmer
Arranged & Edited with an Introduction by Joshua Horowitz
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The Ultimate Klezmer is the largest known commercial collection of klezmer music yet published. It was originally titled, International Hebrew Wedding Music, published by Nat Kostakowsky in Brooklyn, New York, 1916. The collection includes tunes from what is now Romania, Poland, Russia, the Ukraine and Hungary, with a smattering of Yiddish and Zionist song melodies, light classical ditties and the obligatory Mendelssohn and Wagner wedding marches; in short, an extensive cross-section of the standard repertoire of the East European Jewish wedding as it existed in the first 2 decades of the 20th Century on American soil, especially in New York. It is not only interesting as an historical document, but is still immensely practical for amateurs and professionals alike who are interested in East European Jewish music and the music played by Jews for weddings. A substantial portion of tunes found in the collection were recorded on 78 r.p.m records, whereby their notations here are sometimes refreshing variants of those recorded versions. Some of the tunes have been performed and recorded by klezmer groups today and some are also to be found in other contemporary printings of tunes.
The Ulitimate Klezmer has been arranged by Joshua Horowitz and now includes chords for all of the tunes, and an extensive discography which shows you where to find old and new recordings of many of the tunes. There is a special section on Hungarian tunes which has been arranged by Zsolt Kürtösi, cellist of Budowitz and leader of the renowned Hegedoes Hungarian Folk Ensemble. There exist an astounding 270 tunes in the publication, many of which have never before been seen or heard by klezmer bands today. The Ultimate Klezmer promises to enrich and expand the repertoire of the Klezmer Scene with an extensive and beautiful collection of tunes which should not be missing from any serious klezmer music library.
The cost of the Ultimate Klezmer including first class postage and handling in the U,S, is
45 US Dollars. I can only process cheques and money orders or direct bank transfers (Europe), not credit cards. Don't forget to include your address when you write. Click on the Book picture on this page.
