[+] Crispino, Patricia. “Osvaldo Golijov’s The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind for Klezmer Clarinet and String Quartet, Including an Introduction to Klezmer for Performance.” DM Treatise., Florida State University, 2015.
In The Dreams and Prayers of Issac the Blind for Klezmer Clarinet and String Quartet, Osvaldo Golijov uses musical imitation and quotation to present the history of Judaism. Each of the three movements presents a different language of Judaism: Aramaic in the first movement, Yiddish in the second movement, and Hebrew in the third movement and postlude. In order for music to be considered klezmer, three elements have to be presents: gustn (modal scales), instrumentation (subdivided into melody, harmony, and rhythm sections), and the use of dreydlekh (ornamentation), all of which are present in this piece. In addition, Golijov quotes Jewish prayer tunes and liturgy. The ornamentation in the first movement is a stylistic allusion to klezmer music, and Golijov uses a wide variety of klezmer ornamentations. In the second movement, Golijov quotes the klezmer tune The Old Klezmer Band (also known as Odessa Bulgar). The final movement is an instrumental adaptation of K’vakarat.
Works: Osvaldo Golijov: The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac and the Blind for Klezmer Clarinet and String Quartet, Yiddishbbuk (6), Ayre (8); Giora Feidman: Viva el Klezmer (43).
Sources: Anonymous: Dybbuk (39), Avina Malkeinu (39-40); Giora Feidman: The Old Klezmer Band (Odessa, Bulgar) (43); Anonymous: Mi Sheberakh (44), K’vakarat (45-49).
Index Classifications: 2000s
Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd
