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Programs include Klezmer
Party, Klezmer Nutcracker, Pincus and the Pig (which is Peter &
the Wolf with projected art & a new story by Maurice Sendak), The Golden
Dreydel.
“utterly natural and totally
compelling…a delight and its playing is a joy”
Billboard
Biography
Really, there isn’t another
group like Shirim! Who else manages to honor klezmer’s soulful Eastern European
origins, celebrate klezmer’s development in America, and cleverly explore its
intersection with classical music, all in one entertaining concert?
For over 20 years the
Boston-based sextet has engaged audiences throughout the U.S., Canada and
Europe, with hundreds of performances at venues such as Philadelphia’s Academy
of Music, in New York at Lincoln Center, the Chicago Cultural Center, the
Montreal Jazz Festival and at festivals in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany.
Woody Allen featured Shirim on
the soundtrack of his film “Deconstructing Harry” and the band has
seven recordings including Pincus and the Pig: A Klezmer Tale (winner,
2005 Parent’s Choice Award), based on Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” with a
new story written and narrated by Maurice Sendak, Mayse (Tales),
The Golden Dreydl
with Ellen Kushner
narrating, Klezmer Nutcracker, Oy!
It’s Good, and ...of angels and horseradish.
A typical Shirim concert
includes these elements: traditional klezmer as it has been played for
centuries, American jazz-influenced klezmer as it developed through the 20th
century, and Shirim’s own unique classical selections given clever klezmer
treatments – pieces such as Brahms Hungarian Dances, Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker”
and Mahler’s First Symphony.
What is Klezmer?
A little bit Polish, a little Russian and a little
Near Eastern, Klezmer is the music of the Eastern European Jews. It shimmers
with all of the chutzpah, glorious joy and soulful crying of the itinerant
Yiddish troubadours who performed throughout Europe for 400 years. These
wandering musicians traveled, often on foot, between the shtetls of Eastern
Europe, playing at wedding and concerts, bringing the latest news and gossip
from the surrounding towns.
"Klezmer" is the contraction of two Hebrew words
meaning "instrument of song." It stands for both the music and the musician.
The Klezmer sound washed ashore America during the
great immigration period between 1890 and 1910, where it first collided with the
syncopation of American city life, the excitement of jazz, blues and ragtime and
the exuberance of the big bands. Instrumental accompaniments were written for
traditional Yiddish folk songs, previously sung acapella in Europe. New songs
were created for the Yiddish Theater, describing Jewish life, poverty and
romance in both the old and new worlds. Soon these sounds became standard
Klezmer fare, producing a mix dubbed "Yiddish Jazz."
The Great Depression forced out many of the small
record labels that had record Klezmer, and musicians disappeared into show
business at large. The Klezmer sound survived in a much reduced role in Jewish
weddings and Bar Mitvahs. Until the 1970's this music had been forgotten or
neglected. Now it's back, alive and thriving, and Shirim is at the forefront of
this renaissance!
Reviews
Billboard (click to enlarge)
The Washington Post
(click to enlarge)
Boston Globe
(click to enlarge)
All About Jazz
(click to enlarge)
St. Louis Post Dispatch
(click to enlarge)
Programs
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KLEZMER PARTY!
Skotchne
(slow tune for listening during
the meal)
Ukransky Tantz
(Ukrainian dance, medium
tempo)
Serba
Romaniaska (Serbian tune
for fast dancing)
Dobriden
(Piano, Bone, Tuba trio, an
entrance tune as people enter a wedding, slow and meditative)
Hasapiko
(Greek tune, medium tempo,
Jewish/Greek influence)
Turkisher
(clar, banjo, drums, medium,
Turkish beat)
Scheherezade
(klezmer arrangement of
Rimksy-Korsakoff, talk about how the better klezmer groups played classical
concerts)
Tchatchkes
(an
original tune, audience participation, immigration theme)
Mazeltov
Mekhatonim (a happy,
lively tune to end the set
******Intermission*****
The second set focuses on some
of the major Jewish/klezmer clarinetists, with some stories about them.
The first 3 tunes are a medley
of tunes by Dave Tarras, King of Klezmer in the 20th Century U.S.A.
Tarras Bulgar
Tantz Bulgar
Tzivalas
Firn di Mechatonim
A
slow meditative tune by Naftule Brandwein, used to escort the in-laws home after
a wedding. Brandwein was the other “King of Klezmer” in the USA in the early 20th
Century.
Banjo Feature A couple of Naftule
Brandwein tunes played on the banjo, a chance to talk about the traditional
klezmer instruments.
Psycho
Our klezmer interpretation of
the movie theme, originally by Jewish composer Bernard Herman for the Hitchcock
movie.
Artie Shaw Suite:
Three
pieces by the great Jewish clarinetist, Arthur Arshawsky, the great swing player
know as Artie Shaw. These pieces show the Jewish influence in his music:
Nighmare
Don’t Fall Asleep
The Chant
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Maurice Sendak’s PINCUS AND THE
PIG
Sendak’s re-write of “Peter and
the Wolf” with projected art by Maurice Sendak & narration together with
Shirim’s own clever klezmerization of Prokofiev’s score. Great for the whole
family.
Click here
http://shirim.com/ to see slide show &
hear excerpts!
*For Pincus,
usually family/kids shows, we will do a half hour up front, something like this:
Lebedig Naftule Bulgar
Kolomeyka
Serba Romaniaska
Tchatchkes
Sadegurer
Honga Bucarest
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KLEZMER NUTCRACKER
Nutcracker Overture 1
Nutcracker Dreydl music
Nutcracker Grandfather’s Dance
Nutcracker Overture 2
Doina:
Klezmorim would play doinas
for lighting of the candles to recognize the solemnity of the ceremony.
Hanukah is one of the few Jewish holidays to permit instrumental music.
Our Hanukah Suite:
Latkes (Hora)
Lights (Menorah tune)
Dreydls (Search for the Golden Dreydl)
Oy, Hanukah, Oy (audience
participation, original tune)
Serba Romaniaska w/Dreydl quotes
* * *
Grandma’s Dreydl (Mickey Katz)
Hanukah freylakhs
Klezmer Nutcracker:
Kozatsky ‘til You Dropsky
Dance of the Latkes Queen
March of the Macabees
Arab Dance
Tants Chinese
Dance of the Dreydls
Waltz of the Ruggelah
Ukranian Carol (encore?)
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THE GOLDEN DREYDL
*The Golden Dreydl show is
usually a couple of rocking instrumentals up front and then Ellen Kushner joins
us for the "Golden Dreydl." Once we did "Golden Dreydl" as the first part of
the show, took an intermission, and played something similar to the first set of
our concert above and that worked really well. In that case there were a lot of
adults in the audience.
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 Discography
Pincus
and the Pig: A Klezmer Tale
(October, 2004,
Tzadik)
Recipient of the 2005 Parent's
Choice Gold Award
Based on Sergei
Prokofievís Peter and the Wolf Story written and narrated by Maurice Sendak
Music arr.
and performed by The Shirim Klezmer Orchestra
 "Did you hear of Boychick
Pincus, how he opened wide the gate and hippety-hopped over the sweet warm
meadow?" So begins internationally acclaimed childrenís author Maurice Sendak's
inimitable recasting of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" as ìPincus and the
Pig,î in which
Peter
becomes Pincus and the wolf is Chozzer Pig. With a story written and narrated by
Maurice Sendak and music arranged and performed by Shirim Klezmer Orchestra,
ìPincus and the Pigì resonates with humor, mysterious subtexts, and aural
slapstick that will appeal to all generations.
 This
deluxe CD package includes Sendakís narration, a full color booklet illustrated
by Sendak, and stickers featuring all seven of the characters he created for
this piece. The story is printed in the booklet along with a humorous glossary
of the Yiddish terms by Fishel Bressler.
As the classical ìPeter and
the Wolfî is often paired with great orchestra music the whole family will
enjoy, Shirim has created klezmer interpretations of Rimsky-Korsakovís
ìScheherezade,î a Brahms waltz, a Satie ìGnossienneî and a show-stopping
rendition of Mahlerís ìFifth Symphonyî to fill out the album.
Mayse (Tales)
(2004, Naftule's
Dream Recordings)
 Shirim's latest recording is
a beautiful sonic exploration which depicts the indescribable power and spirit
of Jewish culture, traditional music and celebration. With humor, virtuosity and
undeniable soul, from ecstatic traditional Jewish dances, to the poignant wail
of the Romanian laments to the sound collages gathered at Ellis Island and
beyond, this recording evokes the fervor and joy of the Jewish minstrels who
kept people dancing, crying and laughing in the shtetls of Eastern Europe for
hundreds of years.
The Golden Dreydl
(2001, Rykodisc)
"Tchiakofsky meets Harry
Potter and they go to a Jewish Wedding!"
 Shirim
teams up with Public Radio International "Sound and Spirit" host Ellen Kushner
to present "The Golden Dreydl: A Klezmer Nutcracker". It’s a Tolkienesque
Chanukah inspired fantasy-adventure tale, narrated by Kushner and woven into a
musical performance of Shirim's ingenious klezmer adaptation of Tchiakofsky’s
Nutcracker ballet music.
It begins when we meet our
heroine Sarah at a family party where she receives a special dreydl from an
unexpected guest. When the dreydl comes to life and is captured by an army of
riddle-loving demons, Sarah must come to the rescue. Along the way she meets the
proud Queen of Sheba, a vain peacok, a fun-loving fool and King Solomon the Wise
himself.
This is a Gracie
Award-winning PRI holiday special and is a great family show which both kids and
their parents adore. CD available on the Rykodisc label.
 Klezmer Nutcracker
(1998, Newport
Classic)
Hailed by Billboard Magazine,
National Public Radio, and the LA Times.
"Leaves
Tchaikofsky fans rolling on the floor with laughter!"
This is the seminal klezmer/classical
crossover album which features Tchaikovskyís Nutcracker Suite and other
klezmerized classics by the likes of Gustav Mahler, Johannes Brahms, Eunesco and
Erik Satie. Combining the zany wit of Spike Jones with the class and craft of
Duke Ellington, Shirim recasts the Nutcracker as a Hannukah classic conjuring
images of a dancing Potato Latkes Queen and marching Macabees. Emphasizing the
Eastern European elements of the score with witty intelligence and playful
irreverence, Shirim redefines the modern melting pot of "world music." These
witty and intelligent arrangements catch the folky essence of these pieces and
will change the way you hear them forever.
 Oy!
It’s Good
(1999, Newport Classic)
On this, their last
recording with vocalist Betty Silberman, Shirim pays homage to some of the
classic Yiddish songs your grandmother sang to you . From Oyfn Pripetshok to a
swinging version of the rarely heard original Yiddish lyrics of Bay Mir Bistu
Sheyn, Betty Silberman proves why she's one of the finest yiddish singers alive
while
...of
angels and horseradish
(1989, Northeastern)
 Shirim’s first album has a
very traditional sound while it includes many original compositions. It
features five instrumentals by Glenn Dickson, including the first recording of
the ground-breaking "The Black Wedding," and two original songs by vocalist
Rosalie Gerut. The album is filled out with some classic Yiddish folk and
theater songs as well as a burning post-bop arrangement of "And the Angels
Sing." One fascinating feature of the album is the Barry Sister’s-style dual
vocals of Betty Silberman and Rosalie Gerut, two of the finest Yiddish singers
of this generation.
Personal
& Biased Comments about the Artist
Why have a klezmer group on a
mostly classical artist roster? Because Shirim deftly inhabits both the
traditional klezmer world and the classical world, as well. Actually, they’ve
created a whole galaxy of Shirim worlds
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the jazz & klezmer world (Artie Shaw)
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the Americanized klezmer world
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the movie theme klezmer world (Psycho!)
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the klezmerized classical world (the Nutcracker)
They can really dive into the
traditional klezmer in a tangy way that satisfies the purists and the extend the
appeal & variety of klezmer with their inventive and very effective off shoots.
I laugh out loud at their Tchaikovsky – play the sound sample at the top of this
page for fun!
Technical
Requirements
Shirim Technical
Rider Sheet
Call Eric
Rosenthal with questions: 617-522-2900
The Presenter will
please provide:
-
a sound system
with monitors suitable for the hall
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a well-tuned
piano
-
piano bench
-
a small
drum set including:
-
18 inch
Bass Drum
-
14 inch
Floor Tom
-
High Hat
Stand
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Drum
Throne
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4 Cymbal
Stands
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Snare drum
stand
-
a powered
speaker like the JBL EON 15 for the tuba
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a solid state
guitar amplifier for the banjo
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a keyboard
amplifier for the accordion
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6 music stands
w/lights
PA Inputs:
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vocal mic
-
clarinet, XLR
input
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trombone, XLR
input
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tuba, XLR
input
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drums, mic as
needed
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accordion,
direct box
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piano, mic as
needed
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banjo, mic
The clarinet,
trombone & tuba have their own mics/pick-ups and direct boxes.
Stage plot:
|
piano/accordion |
tuba
w/bass amp |
drums |
banjo
|
talk
mic & clarinet |
trombone |
Monitors as system
can handle, at least two, preferably 3-6 mixes.
Audience
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