“I first heard klezmer, about 25 years ago, I was well established as a classical flutist, with a career immersed in teaching at the college level and a fine symphony position. I had my two children and husband. Did I need to now learn a totally different kind of music? Yes! I heard the modes, the scales, the sorrowful wailing alongside the excitement and it grabbed me hard. I wanted to learn to play this stuff in the most authentic way and was told to go to Klezkamp in the Catskills. I went, I learned what I could without a flute specialist, listened to old recordings.
I love improvising in much the same way that musicians did in the baroque period. I learned how to play the kind of flute that was played by the klezmer. I get to even lead dancing while playing the flute. I get to dance up and down the aisle in concerts! I enjoy playing fast, exuberant, more technically demanding tunes that also benefit from the afterglow of the Impressive Factor, to be cheaply honest. Equally, I literally melt into ornamenting the slow tunes, allowing each, plus the flute - and myself - to get totally lost in the soulful vibe.
For me the flute is my voice. I love the contribution we can make to the whole: the sparkle and the soul that is added to the overall mix. The music itself bit me hard and became a true wow for and from my heart.”
Adrianne Greenbaum for the newly published book Klezmer for the Joyful Soul by Debbie Burke. Book landed as #1 on Amazon Musicology page!