Heyser Bulgar

הייסער בולגאר“The Hot Bulgar”in English

Naftule Brandwein · 1923

• Klezmer

“The hot bulgar” — Brandwein's May 1923 recording made this one of the best-known American klezmer (כּלי־זמר) tunes, and his ornament-drenched version is still the reference point.

Heyser means “hot.” Brandwein cut it for Victor in New York on May 10, 1923 — issued as “Heiser Bulgar,” with the label’s own gloss “spirited bulgar.” A bulgar is a Bessarabian wedding dance that American klezmer made its own; Brandwein’s take is fast, heavily ornamented, and still the version later clarinetists learn from. It sits on the same 78 as his “Turkishe Yalle Vey Uve,” another of the sides that defined the hot American klezmer clarinet style.