by Cookie Segelstein
 
One of the forms in klezmer music that uses the character of MISHEBEYRAKH (the mode covered in the previous article) is the doina . Here is an explanation of Doina from the introduction by Joshua Horowitz of Kale Bazetsns and Doinas, by Cookie Segelstein and Joshua Horowitz*:
Doina is the Romanian term used to denote families of both vocal and instrumental pieces with a recitative character. There exist countless thousands of doinas throughout all the states of Romania, some of which show specific regional characteristics, while others are shared …

by Carolyn Osborne 
Years ago I got to watch my favorite classical violinist, Itzhak Perlman, play the fiddle music of his Jewish heritage, klezmer.  He’s an amazing player, of course, having mastered the hardest classical violin music there is.  But what really struck me as I watched him play with the other klezmer fiddlers is that while all the players were facile in first and third positions, Perlman was equally at home in the stratosphere of the fiddle.  Watching Perlman made me realize how important knowing how to shift and …

by Cookie Segelstein
In our last article we spoke about the one of the most recognizably Jewish modes,  Freygish. Now I would like to talk about the mode Mishebeyrakh, which (like Ahava Rabboh, the alternate name for Freygish)  is named after a prayer with the musical elements of the mode in the Jewish synagogue liturgy.
Before we start with some musical examples, here is the mishebeyrakh mode. In this example we are using D as the tonic. The motives listed underneath the mode are typical examples of when a note’s position (in …