The Klezmer Repertoire, Volume 1: Flute or Violin Book

These pieces inhabit a tender, spirited, sometimes wistful emotional space; they dance between joy and yearning, with rhythms that swing and lilt in ways that resist rigid meter. The melodies carry the vocal quality of Yiddish speech and song, full of ornament and rhetorical pause that asks the flutist to sing through the instrument rather than merely execute notes.

Flutists comfortable with folk style ornamentation and ready to work with chord symbols for improvisation, from advanced high school players through adult amateurs. Solo performers building a recital program or ensemble players seeking repertoire that works for small klezmer groups, chamber ensembles, or mixed instrumentations.

• Listen to early recordings of Brandwein and Tarras before rehearsing; their articulation, vibrato, and rhythmic looseness shape how these melodies live on the flute.
• Use the chord symbols to explore countermelodies and variations in repeat sections rather than playing the melody identically each time.
• Shape phrases with rubato and slight tempo fluctuations to honor the vocal quality klezmer inherited from its Yiddish song roots.
• Balance ornamentation carefully; slides and grace notes should feel natural to speech patterns, not applied mechanically.

Feature one or two pieces in a world music or folk music concert to broaden your audience's sense of American musical heritage. Pair selections with other Eastern European or Jewish-American repertoire to create a thematic program, or excerpt single pieces for chamber ensemble performances alongside contemporary composers who draw on klezmer idioms.

• Ornamental playing and slides in folk style
• Rhythmic flexibility and swing feel
• Reading and improvising from chord symbols
• Stylistic interpretation based on historical recordings
• Phrasing with vocal inflection and rubato