Gefilte Trout Eastern European Folk Music March 10, 2012

Gefilte Trout to play Eastern European folk music at the Dahmen Barn on Saturday, March 10

This performance will appeal to those who would like to hear Eastern European for the first time, and for those who yearn to hear this music again.  If you liked the sound of “Fiddler on the Roof”, you will love this concert.  Artisans at the Dahmen Barn welcomes back Gefilte Trout for this concert on March 10, 2012 at 7:30 pm.  The cost is $7 at the door.

Since 2005, Gefilte Trout has played for Chanukah parties, the Spokane Folk Festival, the Cordelia Church, the Moscow Renaissance Faire, the Moscow Farmers’ Market, One-World Café, the Coop, and the Empty Bowl fundraising event for Oxfam.  

The group will perform folk music from Eastern Europe, including music in the Jewish klezmer and Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) styles. The klezmer tunes follow a unique musical scale, called ahavo rabboh (abounding love) that was initially used by cantors in Jewish liturgical ceremonies. Since the 1800s, the scale has been used for upbeat dance tunes that are often played at Jewish weddings. These dance tunes are marked by unique musical ornamentation referred to as “dreydlekh” (spinning tops), which includes slides, a laughing sound, and a sobbing sound.

This concert will also showcase Russian folk songs from the 1940s and Ukrainian folk dances. At performances in Moscow, Idaho, some audience members have sung along in Russian, and others have thanked Gefilte Trout in tears. They were a long way from home and never expected to hear this music performed on the Palouse.

Rounding out the performance will be songs in Ladino, the language of the Jewish people of Spain. These songs showcase a flamenco guitar style and lyrics in the Castilian dialect of Spain.

The current incarnation of Gefilte Trout includes Bill Voxman on clarinet, Carla Chandler on fiddle, Bill Thomson on mandolin, Bill Thompson on guitar, Greg Donohoe on upright bass, and Mary Donohoe on percussion. Mary, who is quite the accomplished singer, sings in Ladino, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Hungarian!

Artisans at the Dahmen Barn is a non-profit organization that cultivates creativity on the Palouse.  Located in the big white barn behind the famous iron wheel fence on highway 195 in Uniontown, the facility is ADA accessible and has no daily admission fee.  Information:  www.artisanbarn.org or 509-229-3414.

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