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Klezmer musicians were traditionally hired to play at what type of function?

weddings. Traditional Jewish weddings lasted for days, and the musicians would vary the tempo depending on how exhausted the guests had become! Klezmer music is frequently dance music, many pieces are very fast tempo. These days, klezmer music may be heard at Bar Mitzvahs too.

When klezmer pieces include lyrics to be sung, what language is usually used?

Yiddish. Modern klezmer is sung in many languages, but the roots of the current style are in Yiddish music from Eastern Europe.

Which instrument traditionally is most prominent in klezmer, presenting the main themes of the melody?

violin. Violins (fiddles) are portable, and the kleyzmorim needed to travel from place to place.

In more recent times (19th century and later), the fiddle was often replaced by this wind instrument as the lead - it is well suited to klezmer because of the plaintive sounds that can be coaxed from it.

clarinet. Flutes and piccolos are also common in klezmer orchestras. According to Wikipedia, there is some thought that the initial clarinet glissando in Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" was inspired by klezmer.

One instrument that is unusual (but not unheard of) in most orchestras but is common in klezmer groups is the cymbalom. By what name is it more commonly known?

hammered dulcimer. Apparently, these have about 100 strings and are very difficult to tune. Zoltan Kodaly and Stravinsky composed pieces that included the cymbalom. One was used in the music for "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". The name "Zimbalist" refers to a cymbalom player. The origins of the instrument are unclear, but it may have been brought north from India by the Roma and adapted from there - there are many Romani influences in klezmer music.

One of the dances popular in klezmer is the hora.

t. The traditional dances are danced while holding hands, usually in a circle. The most well known hora, "Hava Nagila," is Israeli and not traditional klezmer music.

Where did klezmer arise?

all of the choices are correct (The shtetls, Bessarabia, The synagogues). The earliest klezmer arose in the 15th century. It drew on themes from the liturgical music of the synagogues. The vast majority of the traditional repertoire was composed by musicians in Southeastern Europe, specifically Bessarabia. The itinerant musicians traveled from village to village - small villages which maintained Orthodox traditions were known as "shtetls."

Essentially, all Jewish music is klezmer.

f. Klezmer arises mostly from the Ashkenazim, and is secular music. There is plenty of Jewish liturgical music, for instance. Jews who settled in other regions adapted the local styles there and made it uniquely their own - for example, Ladino music is a style of Jewish music from the Iberian penninsula. The Sephardim who were expelled from Spain brought the music with them; the language is Ladino which is a Romance language with roots in Castilian and Hebrew.

Klezmer music is only enjoyed by Jewish people.

f. Certainly not! I'm not Jewish, and I'm even writing a quiz about it!

Which of the following is the name of an actual contemporary klezmer group?

all of those listed are real (The Klezmatics, Brave Old World, Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band). I first became enamored with klezmer when I heard the song "Di Goldene Pave" (translation: the Golden Peacock) from the New York-based Klezmatic's album "The Well," which features vocals by Israeli singer Chava Alberstein. It is haunting and beautiful. The "bulgar" in the name of the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band (a Canadian group) refers to yet another dance style popular in klezmer. Brave Old World is an international group, with members hailing from the US and Germany.