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One of the things Christians would do was to invite a klezmer band to play for a celebration (e.g., dance, wedding, etc.) and then, in lieu of payment, kidnap them and throw them into prison.  The musicians were held for ransom.  In captivity, these generally poor, itinerant klezmer musicians had to endure all kinds of mistreatment until their fellow Jews in their hometowns could collect enough funds to pay the ransom.  Sometimes, punishment for not paying the ransom was forced conversion to Christianity.  And sometimes, even after the ransom was paid, the klezmer musicians were forced to go to the baptismal font under threat of death.  The life of the klezmer  - even more precarious than his fellow Jews – was never dull and seemed to always hover on the brink of disaster.  In creating the fictional world of “The Witches of Lublin” we not only referenced history, but honored the spirit of the lives of the klezmorim of 18th Century Poland.




Yale Strom (www.yalestrom.com) is an internationally recognized authority on klezmer music and culture, and is a leading artist-ethnographer in the field.  An award-winning author, musician, composer, photographer, playwright and filmmaker, he is also artist-in-residence in the Jewish Studies Program at San Diego State University.
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Klezmer music in the style of Moldavian klezmer from Yale Strom’s CD, “Bread with Borsht Brothers,” on the ARC UK label.  The new CD will be out this fall. www.yalestrom.com
All Rights Reserved. Reproduced with permission.

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