Sparke: Three Klezmer Miniatures

Three Klezmer Miniatures is Philip Sparke’s third work based on traditional Jewish klezmer melodies, after Shalom! and A Klezmer Karnival. Klezmer music originated in the ’shtetl‘ (villages) and the ghettos of Eastern Europe, where itinerant Jewish troubadours, known as ’klezmorim‘, had performed at celebrations, particularly weddings, since the early Middle Ages. In Three Klezmer Miniatures Philip Sparke used the traditional tunes Sham Harei Golan Nigun Shel Yossi, Tumbalalaika, and Hava Nagila.