Lots of klezmer this springtime

The next session is on February 8th (Monday), from 8pm – at the Ducie Arms (behind the university). (more information)

And then in March there are quite a few contrasting concerts (in terms of line-ups, venues, purposes, etc):

• 3rd and 6th March, “Irish meets Jewish (amidst the mirk over the Irk)” (at the Manchester Jewish Museum) – three concerts as follows: Thursday evening, Sunday afternoon, and Sunday evening — the Sunday afternoon show will begin with a film premiere of a new documentary – produced by Rob Foot and Ellie Sherwood – on (the development of) klezmer in Manchester and what it means to those involved.
• 10th March, Michael Kahan Kapelye plus Ibbergerblibbernis and Dos Lebn iz a Shpas at the Zombie Shack (more details) — Tickets £3 advance, £4 on the door
• 12th March, Hard Times Kapelye playing a refugee fund-raising concert along with Fairview Convention (community Choir) and the Hard Times Orkestar, 7.30pm at Ford’s Lane Evangelical Church, Ford’s Lane, Bramhall, SK7 1DQ. £6.00+ donation on the door.
• 17th March, free Michael Kahan Kapelye lunch-time (assessment) concert at the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Theatre, in the Martin Harris Centre , The University of Manchester. 1.10pm.

Mirk over the Irk concerts (klezmer-and-Irish) tickets selling fast

Thursday March 3rd at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm) and Sunday March 6th at 2.30pm (doors open at 2pm) and again at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm) https://www.manchesterjewishmuseum.com/whats-on/

Irish meets Jewish (amid the mirk over the Irk)
Imagine, back in the day (say 1880s-1900s), the huddled masses down in the valley of the river Irk; on the western bank, the largely Jewish communities of Red Bank and on the eastern side the largely Irish dwellers of Angel Meadow. Their differences in languages, cultures and religions meant they probably kept largely to themselves but, imagine, amid the polluted mirk in which they lived and worked, what if they’d caught snatches of melody drifting across the Irk? Maybe some were curious to follow the sounds and cross to the other side. Imagine what music might have ensued.

These two communities – though very different – shared the immigrant experience of leaving home (the shtetl and the bog) behind, driven from their rural and small-town home-worlds for the industrialised deprivations and opportunities of Cottonopolis. Over time, both peoples prospered, and both, through their participation in the life of the city, became important Mancunian communities. The musics of such Jewish and Irish communities – though very different – also share some similarities. Both are modal, heterophonic, dance-oriented oral traditions, and the fortunes of both have waned then waxed over the years. So, imagine if, a century or more ago, some musicians had ventured from Angel Meadow to Red Bank …. what would have transpired and what might it have sounded like?

In this newly-devised show, musicians in both traditions (who learned their craft here in Manchester) come together to explore these possibilities. Michael McGoldrick, Dezi Donnelly and Ange Durcan and the six-strong members of L’chaim Kapelye (Pippa Goodall/Meabh Kennedy, Jemima Kingsland, Dan Mawson, Lucie Phillips, Ellie Sherwood, and Hat Wells) – together, they work the different traditions to create new sounds and pieces, their response to this ‘What if?’ of intercultural engagement.

Reviews of the “Amid the Mirk Over the Irk – Irish meets Jewish” concerts

See reviews of and articles about the show: Big Issue, Rob Spence blog review, North West End review

Review of MKK (2015-16) assessed lunch-time concert

North West End review

London Klezmer Quartet — new album, concert dates etc

LKQ CD To the Tavern

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