A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.
The Mysteries of Jewish Music
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Henri Oppenheim, klezmer musician based in Montreal, responds to the question, "How did you feel hearing klezmer for the first time?"
This is an excerpt from an oral history with Henri Oppenheim.
This excerpt is in English.
This interview is part of the Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.
Other video highlights from this oral history

The Mysteries of Jewish Music
1 minute 53 seconds
Activism and Jewish Music for Francophones
2 minutes 44 seconds
It's Important To Know History, and Then Forget It
1 minute 50 seconds
Setting Yiddish Poetry to Music
6 minutes 41 seconds
Learning Yiddish and Love of Words
1 minute 17 seconds
Grandmother's Jewishness: Warm, Strong, and Tasty!
3 minutes 11 seconds
From Math to Klezmer Music
4 minutes 13 seconds
Learning Yiddish to Go Deeper Into and Beyond Klezmer
1 minute 47 seconds
Understand a Language to Understand the Soul
1 minute 51 seconds
Can Yiddish Music Be Heard As Word Music?
2 minutes 58 seconds
Reflection on Transmission of Jewish Identity and Culture
2 minutes 19 secondsMore information about this oral history excerpt
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About the Wexler Oral History Project

Since 2010, the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project has recorded more than 500 in-depth video interviews that provide a deeper understanding of the Jewish experience and the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture.
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