Zoë Aqua and her Transylvanian String Band are coming to Olympia

Rachel Benton

Zoë Aqua and her Transylvanian String Band play Klezmer music with a Transylvanian flair, and they are coming to Olympia on Feb. 22, at 4 p.m., at the Temple Beth Hatfiloh (click here to learn more). All of  this is part of their “In the Sea of Stars” tour.

What is Klezmer music, how did it differ from Transylvanian, and why should we dip our toes in these traditions? I am still new to this myself, but I do hope this column begins to answer those questions. More than anything, I hope it encourages you to expand your musical tastes and deepen your cultural appreciation.

Zöe Aqua and her string band have a style that is  folksy, rhythmic and energetic. You can get a taste of it here, and learn more about the band here.

About Klezmer

Aqua shared an article with me by Mark Slobin that gives a short synopsis of Klezmer. Slobin gives us these important facts (which are directly quoted from the article):

• Klezmer is a word in the Yiddish language from two Hebrew roots: klei (“vessel” or “instrument”) and zemer (“song”).
• Traditionally, Klezmer was considered celebratory music.
• The ‘klezmer calling’ was originally hereditary and male, with father teaching son, though some boys apprenticed themselves to musicians in other towns.
• By the 1930s and 1940s, many klezmorim left Jewish work to join mainstream dance bands, creating the hybrid “yiddish swing” repertoire, some of which turned into crossover hits, such as Benny Goodman’s 1939 “And the Angels Sing.”
• The Holocaust cut off American klezmer from its roots and dried up the source of new immigrant musicians, causing further decline. According to Aqua, this decline began earlier. Regardless, it needed a moment to rise again.
• In the mid-1970s, younger American musicians from varying musical backgrounds rediscovered this “roots” music from the 78 rpm recordings, which led them to the surviving old masters. The klezmer revitalization spread quickly across North America and to Europe by the late 1980s.
• Women musicians increasingly began to participate, becoming prominent klezmer soloists at last!
• “Klezmer” now refers not just to the musician him or herself, but to the whole ramified scene of local, touring, and recording bands, partly integrated into the broader category of “world music.”

With this context in mind, we can explore how this music has gotten a Transylvanian twist.

'In a Sea of Stars'

As Aqua describes on the band’s website, “In a Sea of Stars” has allowed the band to look at klezmer music through a Transylvanian lens.” This is done in a few ways (quotes taken directly from their website):

• Our “Suita Românească” begins with “Goldenshteyn învârtită,” a seldom-played klezmer melody that Aqua infuses with an irregular rhythm called învârtită. The rhythm comes from a Transylvanian couple dance originated from Romanian dancers, but became a key part of Hungarian dance sets as well. It's an example of different ethnic communities living side by side for centuries. The rhythm is hypnotic and the dance style smooth and gliding.
• The suite continues with “Bapolyer hârțag,” a well-known klezmer tune recast in a rhythm called hârțag, which is often a dance rhythm.

Why we should swim in this sea

In this article, I chose to guide you through a string of quotes so that you can see for yourself just how nuanced and fascinating this music, history and multiculturalism is! It was a pleasure to dip my toes into this sea of music, and I even found some new music for my playlist along the way.

At its heart, Zoë Aqua’s Transylvanian String Band is keeping history alive and learning to take tradition and make it into their own.

I chatted with Aqua at one point, and she told me about how it is really surprising that this music gathers older crowds in the United States because it attracts a younger scene in Europe. Connecting the dots, this should bring us all a little hope.

So often, I hear people worry about whether certain traditions, or ways of making music will carry on to future generations in the age of technology, but it will and it all starts with bands like these and audience attendance.

It does not matter where we come from: we are all human! We all have a need for music, to dance to music, and to be in community or in areas surrounded with others. 

So come on, and swim with me in the sea of stars, see where it takes you! You can find more concert information here.

Rachel is a writer, arts advocate, performing arts enthusiast, and passionate about our beloved Thurston County. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in History and Political Science and minor in Music. You can enjoy more of Rachel's writings by visiting her website. All inquiries for Rachel can be submitted here.