Fiddler on the Move by Mark Slobin

Fiddler on the Move by Mark Slobin

Contemporary klezmer music is a rapidly expanding revival of repertories and styles used by old-time professional musical entertainers in Jewish Eastern Europe. Fiddler on the Move, a volume (with CD) in the American Musicspheres series, is an attempt to position klezmer within American music studies, cultural studies, and ethnomusicology.

"Written by one of the most distinguished ethnomusicologists working today and accompanied by an illustrative CD, Fiddler on the Move is a thoughtful, essay-like contemplation of klezmer music in contemporary US society and of its culture-historical background...Addressing music scholars and informed music lovers, Slobin synthesizes theoretical perspectives from which klezmer music may be studied and thus contributes to ethnomusicological method and theory as well as to American and Jewish studies."--Choice
"A beautifully written book on a timely topic....important for anyone interested in contemporary Jewish and American studies and current trends in ethnomusicology." --Notes
"Well researched and rich in anecdotes...makes a compelling case for the importance of Klezmer in American musical and cultural studies." --Library Journal
"Mark Slobin is probably the person best -placed to write about the klezmer revival. He has not only written extensively about Eastern European folk musics..., but may have been the first Jewish ethnomusicologist to see that the klezmer revival was relevant to Jewish music and Jewish community.....Here, Slobin puts the revival into a cultural and musical context that will be sheer delight to people engaged in playing the music, or wanting to understand that context better....Slobin's insights and breadth of understanding contribute to an enormously wonderful volume. ...this is the first book about klezmer music and about the klezmer revival that offers perspective and grounded historical fact....Once again, Mark Slobin writes the (so-far) definitive work. This is a book that was needed. Now I look forward to the next volume."--Ari Davidow, klezmershack.com
"Fiddler on the Move is written in a style that is very accessible....Slobin is at once more understanding and more critical of the music's past and its future. He cares about why people are called to klezmer, and how it functions in an age of world music....[The book] provides a rich sense of klezmer's historical and cultural roots, of the meaning of the music in both the old and new worlds....[He] gives the reader a sense of the music as it is played, with a detailed look at how several players interpret a common tune....Slobin does a great job of describing...the impact of so much loss of material on our understanding of klezmer today. This book will appeal to readers looking for insight into why klezmer pulls in so many listeners, [and] why it is we--and so many others--have developed a love for this music at this time."--Kim Bates, The Green Man Review

Mark Slobin is Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music at Wesleyan University. A former president of the Society of Ethnomusicology, Mark Slobin is also the author of Subcultural Sounds: Micromusics of the West, Chosen Voices: The Story of the American Cantorate, and Tenement Songs: The Popular Music of the Jewish Immigrants.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780195161809
ISBN 10	0195161807
Title	Fiddler on the Move
Author	Mark Slobin
Series	American Musicspheres
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Oxford University Press Inc
Year published	2003-02-27
Number of pages	168
Prizes	Winner of Winner of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for 2000.
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.