Liedl mitn Fidl: Reflection of a Tradition

The Mizmorim theme Jidl mitn Fidl takes up a motif that has resonated in many different ways throughout 20th-century popular Yiddish music. One of these songs became particularly prominent during the klezmer revival, but its history is far more complex than previously known. Musicologist Eckhard John explores how the song not only serves as a vehicle for constructing tradition, but also reflects fundamental aspects of the broader theme of Judaism and the violin.