Budowitz is a fascinating quintet breaking new paths with a repertoire of colorful and ecstatic Jewish ritual and celebratory music, performed from the 17th through the 19th century by itinerant European Jewish musicians known as klezmorim. Utilizing authentic period instruments, this "early music" ensemble of klezmer carefully researches each aspect of their performance, from timbre to repertoire to ornamental style. Joshua Horowitz, who plays the tsimbl, or hammer dulcimer, and button accordion, has recently re-settled in his native California, after having spent the past decade researching and performing in Europe. Christian Dawid, one of Germany's leading reed players, applies his talents to the C and Eb clarinets. Three of Hungary's most accomplished classically-trained string musicians complete the quintet: Tamás Gombai on violin, Sándor D. Tóth on violin and three string "Jewish" viola, and Zsolt Kürtösi, on cello. The five, all of whom studied with the last living practitioners of this complex and emotionally subtle music, combine their vast experiences with a seductive sense of fun and raucousness, bringing the music to life. In the concert program (and award-winning album), Wedding Without a Bride, which comprises the first half of tonight's performance, Budowitz's audience hears the liturgical music at the heart of the klezmer tradition, with all its vibrancy and power, as it might have sounded at a 19th century Eastern European wedding ceremony. Budowitz closes the evening with selections from its recently released album, Mother Tongue (Koch). Tonight's concert is co-sponsored by the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center's Jewish Music Festival.