Klezmer for Hammered Dulcimer
by Deborah Justice and Pete Rushefsky
Spiral bound, pages: 64
Features transcriptions of 30 klezmer tunes and much more!
Price: $25 plus shipping, NYS sales tax, and PayPal fees.
For almost, five hundred years, the tsimbl (cimbalom), the hammered dulcimer of Eastern Europe, has been an integral part of Jewish klezmer music. The earliest recordings of klezmer from Ukraine and Poland in the first decades of the 20th century feature tsimbl players accompanying violinists and flute players.
Unfortunately, changing musical tastes beginning in the late 19th century, and accelerating in the 20th century, led to the demise of the tsimbl. The instrument was all but forgotten by immigrant generations as Jewish wedding bands adopted the instrumentation of jazz and later rock & roll. However, since the 1970s, a small group of brave musicians/researchers has been working to revive the tsimbl along with klezmer’s East European string-band roots, a revival which continues as an important stream in the wider international Yiddish music scene.
We’re excited to announce the publication of a new book, Klezmer for Hammered Dulcimer authored by ethnomusicologist and leading hammered dulcimer player Deborah Justice and CTMD’s Pete Rushefsky, a renowned tsimblist. A wonderful introduction to Jewish klezmer music geared to intermediate and advanced hammered dulcimer players, this handsome, spiral bound book (for easy use on a bandstand) includes transcriptions of thirty commonly played klezmer tunes, along with chapters breaking down klezmer ornamentation, accompaniment, and modes/scales. But that’s not all– Klezmer for Hammered Dulcimer includes engaging information on the historical role of the tsimbl in klezmer, images of historical and contemporary performers, and a guide to resources.
Makes a great gift for your favorite hammered dulcimer player, and you don’t have to be Jewish to have a great time exploring klezmer!
Published by the Center for Traditional Music and Dance
New York City, 2021
