Morning fellow violists, I wonder if any of you know where Klezmer music for the viola may be found? So far have only found violin and clarinet music, and whilst this is very good for changing positions! I wonder if there are viola arrangements?
Hope everyone is getting on well, I'll be in touch Primrose, down in London the week of 21st January, maybe we could meet up?
Otherwise, having just got back from what seems like a month away, the house is a tip, Channukah is coming, and Christmas thereafter,(mixed household here) . The teenagers have prelims.............it's the usual December chaos.Hear from you all soon. Thanks. Rebecca

Anyone in London want to get together with two violists - one relatively good and one unspeakably bad?

Happy Channukah I highly recommend you quit viola and take up violin to play klezmer. It's a muchnicer instrument If you're not keen on that, then have you thought of trying to learn some klezmer by ear? That's the tradition of the music.

Absolutely. Who'd want a C string when they can have an E?

Morning, Okay, I give up, I do play the fiddle, and will use this for Klezmer, we learn most of our traditional tunes in the Highlands, by ear, so I'll aquire a few CD's and get going. Any recommendations Bohemian?
Happy Channukah!
Primrose, I'm sure you're not a bad player, it'd be great to get together for a few tunes, I've got a book of folk tunes in alto clef, all really lovely and playable, if you want I'll send you some music, just for fun.
I know that when my double stopping exercise goes really wrong ( which is lots!) that I play folk tunes for fun.
Good luck with all the auditions and performances Bohemian, maybe we'll hear how you get on;
And ..................finallly, the C string is infinitely preferable to an E! which is only just tolerable.
Rebecca

Thanks on both counts Not of klezmer no, I tend to borrow stuff and just hear things around...but there is a cracking CD which you and everyone else who isn't deaf would love...'From Jewish Life' by Paul Marleyn. Seriously, just buy it. Has 3 klezmer songs on + a bunch of other Jewish stuff, it's incredible. I know that JMD used to do massive fake books (tune + jazz notated chords) of klezmer though so maybe give them a go. They have a website


Unfortunately that is just not true. Hopefully I will hear too!!

Thank you for the recommendation, have ordered the CD and am listening to , " In the Fiddlers House" and Live in the Fiddlers House, Itzhak Perlman, which is amazing. Still can't quite believe that there is so little for the viola, but you can't have everything.! Am now investigating summer courses for next year.

Couldn't you just take some violin music and transpose it down a fifth? Maybe that's a silly idea. I'm not really sure what klezmer is.

That could sound gorgeous if you're not playing with other people.

Klezmer is Jewish celebratory music (I think, correct me if I'm wrong.)

For Klezmer music in general, it's not actually violin, but Di Galitzyaner Klezmorim are amazing, I saw them this summer in Krakow, but I don't know how available the CD is, I bought it when I was there.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Have just received , The Absolutely Complete Klezmer Songbook, by Yale Strom, what a huge collection of tunes,and the most interesting and thorough introduction that I've ever read to a book.
I'll be trying out tunes on piano first and then on viola and violin. No giving up on C strings, especially in favour of E's!
R