RSA Blog

Did you know that in 1933, Lucrezia Bori began a career as a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Opera during the Great Depression on top of performing?

Retiring, later that she wanted at age 48, Lucrezia Bori helped save the Metropolitan Opera. Despite the Great Depression, the Metropolitan continued to sell tickets to performances with no difficulty, but the contributions of its stockholders fell off dramatically and by the end of 1932 the board of directors found that a great deal of money would be needed if the next season were to be held.

Bori agreed to work with the Opera’s managers to obtain the funds and in 1933, she headed an organization called the Committee to Save the Metropolitan Opera House. Where Lucrezia made appeals by flyer, letter, and in personal contacts with potential benefactors to help save the Met. She traveled widely and participated in numerous benefits, at which she performed.

During this period of fundraising, Lucrezia also continued to carry out an exhausting schedule of performance at the Met.

To help raise the final funds needed,  a masquerade ball was held to raise financial support for the opera house.  Over 3,000 of the city’s aristocracy attended paying $10 each admission, contributing the final $30,000 towards the $300,000 fund needed to save the opera along with $10,000 to cover the cost of the ball.

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives we are celebrating Women’s History month through music by highlighting the voices of Lucrezia Bori and her accomplishments.

To listen to recordings by Lucrezia Bori, click here.

The post Lucrezia Bori Saved the Metropolitan Opera during the Great Depression appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Looking for music to enjoy with family and friends this Purim? Here at the Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries, we would like to highlight the voices of William Wolff and Joan Mey one of several artists available in the Purim Collection off the album, Songs for Tu Bishvat and Purim.

This album was produced by the Jewish Education Committee of New York, in 1965 and was compiled by Harry Coopersmith to help engage youngsters in the customs and traditions of the Jewish religion. These recordings reflect a time in American history when Conservative Jewish educators sought to spirtually bind Jews together through song.

To listen to this album, click here.

To view other recordings by the Jewish Education Committee of New York, click here.

Discover over 20 other recordings for you to enjoy with family and friends in the Purim Collection.

Enjoy!

Interested in past posts related to Purim, click here.

The post Celebrate Purim with Music from the Jewish Education Committee of New York appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Did you know that Ethel Waters was the first African American to be nominated for an Emmy Award? In 1962, the legendary jazz and blues singer received the nomination for her performance in a “Route 66” episode, “Good Night, Sweet Blues.”

Ethel Waters in “Route 66”, episode “Good Night, Sweet Blues.”

In the episode, “Good Night, Swee Blues”, Ethel Waters plays Jenny Henderson, a retired singer in failing health who commissions Tod and Buzz to find and bring her the members of the Memphis Naturals, the band she performed and recorded with thirty years earlier.

Waters’ nomination for this role paved the way for women like Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson, Alfre Woodard, Halle Berry, Kerry Washington, Regina King, and Viola Davis, now the first Black woman to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Beyond acting, Waters’ also performed jazz, big band, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.

Her best-known recordings include “Dinah,” “Stormy Weather,” “Taking a Chance on Love,” “Heat Wave,” “Supper Time,” “Am I Blue?” and “Cabin in the Sky,” as well as her version of the spiritual “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.”

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives we are celebrating Black History month through music by highlighting the voices that pioneered it.

To listen to recordings by Ethel Waters, click here.

The post Ethel Waters – First African American to be Nominated for an Emmy in 1962 appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Have you recently typed “Chanukah” into Google? No….please go and try now and discover the beautiful animated image Google’s put together to celebrate Chanukah.

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives we celebrate with music, sharing over 50 Chanukah albums for you to enjoy with family and friends. The Songs of Chanukah Collection consists of what is considered traditional, children’s songs that teach about the holiday and a few old favorites with a new twist.

There is a little bit of something for everyone in this collection, so please share it with friends and family. In years prior we’ve highlighted the voice of Gladys Gewirtz and Kenny Ellis.

This year on the Recorded Sound Archives website we are highlighting the voice of Margie Rosenthal and Ilene Safyan, who were brought together by a mutual love of Jewish music in 1979 and are both featured performers on the Recorded Sound Archives website. The music on their album Just In Time for Chanukah is a blend of old and new melodies and words, and we think you’ll enjoy them this holiday season.

Click here to view this collection.

Click here to learn more about Margie Rosenthal and Ilene Safyan and their music.

The post Just In Time for Chanukah – Google’s Celebrating too! appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Join FAU Libraries March 4-8 in celebrating Jewish Culture through Kultur Festival highlighting music from Florida Atlantic University Libraries’  Special Collections performed by distinguished artists and internationally acclaimed musicians and actors including the Klezmer Company Jazz Orchestra, Beyond The Pale, klezmer band from Toronto, Brian Potts Vibraphone Quartet and Yiddish Tango LIVE!

Links to all events listed below with date, time and links to purchase tickets.

Funny Girl in Concert

FAU  – Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium

Click here to buy tickets

Beyond The Pale

FAU – Wimberly Library 5th Floor

Click here to buy tickets.

Jewish Melodies in Jazztime

FAU – Wimberly Library 5th Floor

Click here to buy tickets.

Yiddish Tango LIVE!

FAU – Wimberly Library 5th Floor

Click here to buy tickets.

The post FAU Libraries Celebrates Jewish Culture 2018 appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Looking for music to celebrate the High Holy Days this year? Look no further, the Recorded Sound Archives has a collection of over 40 recordings for you to choose from and share and enjoy with your family.

Here are a few favorite albums, which can be listened to in full on the Recorded Sound Archives website.

Selichot Service by Cantor Joseph Schwartzman

Selichot Service by Cantor Joseph Gross

Complete Selichot Service by Cantor Zvee Aroni

High Holiday Chants by Cantor Salomon Pinkasovitch

High Holiday Chants by Cantor Samuel Taube

High Holiday Moods by Cantor Leib Glantz

High Holiday Prayers (Volume 1) by Cantor Moshe Koussevitzky

High Holiday Selections by Malavsky Family

High Holy Day Prayers Live for the First Time by Cantor Leibele Waldman

High Holy Days in a Conservative Synagogue by Moishe Schwimmer

Rosh Hashana – Day 1 by Cantor Zvee Aroni

Rosh Hashana – Day 2 by Cantor Zvee Aroni

Rosh Hashanah by Cantor Benjamin Z. Maissner

Rosh Hashanah New Years Service Abraham Birnbaum – Rosh Hashanah New Year Service by Cantor Israel Goldstein

Rosh Hashanah by Cantor Yosef Rosenblatt

Yom Kippur Chants, Volume 3 by Cantor Zawel Kwartin

Yom Kippur  Day (Parts 1 & 2) by Cantor Zvee Aroni

Yom Kippur Day (Part 3 – Conclusion) by Cantor Zvee Aroni

Yom Kippur; Excerpts From the Traditional Liturgy by Cantor Moshe Ganchoff

Midnight Selichot Service by Cantor Leib Glantz

The post Celebrate the High Holy Days 5778 With Music from the Recorded Sound Archives appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Two weeks after his 101th birthday, pianist and composer Irving Fields passed away August 20, 2016 in Manhattan. He was perhaps the longest working musician in the world. At the age of hundred, he used to play the piano several nights a week at Nino’s Tuscany restaurant in Manhattan. Irving Fields became known by fusing Jewish tunes, jazz, and popular songs with Latin music.

Born as Isidore Schwartz in 1915 New York City to Jewish immigrants, Irving Fields started working as a pianist in the thirties during the years of the Great Depression. In this time of high unemployment, he started playing piano in resort hotels in the Catskills Mountains, and then he found work as a pianist on cruise ships sailing from New York to Havana, capital city of Cuba. In Havana, Irving Fields listened to the great Cuban orchestras, and developed his love for Latin music. Attracted by pictures from palm trees and beaches in travel magazines, Irving decided to settle in Miami Beach and performed in hotels playing dinner music, and did sessions with local orchestras.

After joining the army, he began the Irving Fields Trio, with a bass and a drummer, and started composing his own songs. In 1947, his song Miami Beach Rhumba became a big success by versions of Kay Kyser, Freddy Martin, Carmen Miranda, and even by the popular band leader Xavier Cugat. During the Latin craze trend in the 40s, Irving Fields was at the right time and place, and soon Miami Beach Rhumba was followed by the number one hit song Managua, Nicaragua (1947) recorded by big band leader Guy Lombardo, and ten years later by Chantez-Chantez (1957) by singer Dinah Shore.

In 1959, the Irving Fields Trio recorded the album Bagels and Bongos blending popular Jewish tunes with Latin rhythms such as Bei Mir Bist Du Schön as a mambo, Havannah Negila a paso doble, and I Love You Much Too Much a rhumba. The album became a big hit all over the world, and was followed by the albums More Bagels and Bongos (1960), Pizzas and Bongos (Italian traditionals), Champagne and Bongos (with French standards), and Bikinis and Bongos (with Hawaiian music). Every song was mixed with a Latin beat, which turned out to be a story of success.

After the success with his trio in the sixties, Irving Fields went back working as a solo pianist on cruise ships again, where he sailed the whole world, and finally settled as a music entertainer in restaurants, from 2004 six nights a week in Nino’s Tuscany, Manhattan. This would become the place, where he started his second career.

In the last decade, several films appeared about Fields playing piano on YouTube. These films form a good impression of his talent, wisdom, and humor. Although Irving Fields was not a user of a computer or the Internet, he did compose the YouTube theme song.

Regarding my research about the influence of Jewish tunes in American popular song, I contacted Irving Fields, and then I received several handwritten letters from him. At my birthday March 2010, I met Irving Fields and his lovely wife Ruth in person in Nino’s Tuscany restaurant, where he entertained the guests with his music. From my letters, he knew that I should visit him this special evening. To my surprise, he welcomed me with a newly composed personal anniversary song. When listening to his music and talking to him, I knew that I was close to one of the last persons, already in his nineties, who could tell me first-hand about the history of popular music in the Tin Pan Alley period before the second World War.

Irving Fields and Niels Falch at Nino’s

Of course, I also asked him about his secret for longevity, and he replied with more than ten rules. The first three rules for longevity are; (1) Have a sense of humor (you’ll never get ulcers), (2) Think of these three magic letters before you make a decision: L.T.D. Look, Think and Do, and (3) Be the first to say “hello” with a smile on your face and a friendly glow. Following these rules during his life, Irving Fields became ultimately 101 years young.

Even U.S. President Donald J. Trump admired Irving Fields, and shared one of his secrets for longevity: “Irving has said that work is a blessing, especially when you like your work. He loves his work, and that love is evident in his music. Irving is a great pro.”

Irving Fields will be remembered as the pianist who blended bagels and bongos, although he never had a way to play a bagel…

RSA Guest Blogger, Niels Falch, is a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and is currently writing a dissertation on the influence of Jewish music in American popular songs.

The post Pianist Irving Fields Mixed Bagels and Bongos appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

There was a “joke” in the cantorial world that “If you can’t get Koussevitzky, get Aroni!”  Personally, I think Aroni (my dad) had a better voice.

His voice instructor and many others told him that he could have been, or should be an opera singer, but he loved being a cantor too much.

His voice didn’t age noticeably from his first recordings, specifically The Grape Song recorded in 1950, to his last recording Kohanecha Yilb’shu Tzedek recorded in 1990.

Both recordings can be heard on the RSA website, along with 34 other recordings by Cantor Zvee Aroni, just one of over 260 cantorial voices to choose from in the Cantorial Voices Collection.

The post Highlighting the Voice of Cantor Zvee Aroni appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Celebrate this Fourth of July by listening and discovering some vintage songs from the early 1900s. Listen to a funny monologue and learn how the Fourth of July was celebrated at the Pun’kin Center back in 1915 or learn more about the Declaration of Independance, Thomas Jefferson and other Americana.

Below you will find a list of 5 songs and albums for you to share and enjoy this year with family and friends.

Fourth of July at Pun’kin Center by Cal Stewart and Steve Porter

Spirit of Independence March by Conway’s Band

The Liberty Tree by The Sand Pipers & Mitch Miller and Orchestra

Our American Heritage Album by Wesley Addy

American Patriotic & Marching Songs by Various Artists

Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access considering applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

The post Vintage Songs About Fourth of July – Independence Day appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Celebrate this Summer by listening and discovering some vintage songs from the early 1900s about summer and/or the summertime. Below you will find a list of over 20 songs for you to share and enjoy this year with family and friends.

When Summer is Gone by Nathan Shilkret and The Troubadours

Summertime by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians

The Last Rose of Summer by Fraces Alda

My Native Land / Midsummer by Lotte Lehmann

When Summer is Gone by The Columbians

A Summer on the Farm by Various Artists

Guess I’ll Go Back Home (this Summer) by James Cross

The Things We Did Last Summer by Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra

Summer Night by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians

The First Rose of Summer by John McCormack

Guess I”ll Go Back Home (This Summer) by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra

Indian Summer by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra

One Summer Night by Roger Wolfe Kahn and his Orchestra

When Summer is Gone by Nathan Shilkret and his Orchestra

Last Rose of Summer by Nelson Eddy

Last Rose of Summer by Elizabeth Wheeler

Last Rose of Summer by Virginia Rea

With Summer Coming On by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians

Song for a Summer Night by Mitch Miller and his Orchestra

A Summer Day by Not Listed

Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access considering applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

The post Vintage Songs About Summer appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Did you know the Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries has over 49,000 albums along with over 150,000 songs in its databases, which is growing everyday with the help of volunteers? With so many recordings to choose from, we have given Research Station users the ability to request items be digitized.

Below you’ll find a list of recordings that were recently added to the Research Station this Spring Semester from requests made by Research Station Users.

Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access considering applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

Simcha L’artzecha by Dov Levine & Sherwood Goffin

The Fifth Chasidic Song Festival 1973 by Various Artists

Chabad – Songs of the Lubovitcher Chassidim volume 2 by Various Artists

Hold On Just a Little Bit Longer by Mordechai Ben David

613 Torah Avenue – Songs for Chumash B’reishis by Elie Goldberg

18 Years, Due Re’im by Various Artists

The Reim by Various Artists

Toronto Pirchei Choir by Various Artists

Shomoh Vatismach Zion by Gershon Sirota

Sh’ma Yisroel by David Kusevitsky

Concerto in E Minor – Finale by Jascha Heifetz

Autopsy on Schubert by Larry Wagner and his Rhythmasters

Get Out Those Old Records by Guy Lombardo

One Night Stand with Ziggy Elman – Hollywood Palladium August 1948 by Ziggy Elman

Echo’s of Cantorial Concert in Honour of Cantor Shmudel Vigoda by Ben-Zion Miller

Kalanit Israeli Folk Dances by Josef Milo and David Edery

Na’ Arah, Folk Dances of Israel by Shlomo Shai

Kibbutz Festival by Various Artists

Songs of David and Cantorial Prayers by Ray Roberts

Chasidance by Shmuel Goldman and Yaron Gershovsky

The Flames – Chasidic Pop Songs by Various Artists

Achdus by Various Artists

Shim Sholom by Shloimele Rothstein

Tutzi Mutzi by Aaron Lebedeff

Or Chodosh by Yossi Toiv

Samuel Sterner Choir by Samuel Sterner Concert Choir

The Songs of Rabbi Shalom Mirkin by Various Artists

Israeli Chassidic Song Festival 1982 – No. 14 by Various Artists

Mordechai Ben David Sings [V’kol Maaminim] And All Believe by Mordechai Ben David

As a research station user you can request it using the Music on Demand forms on the website.

Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access considering applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

The post Recently Added to Research Station (Spring 2017) appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Celebrate this Mothers Day by listening and discovering some vintage songs from the early 1900s about mothers. There’s even a song or two about Dad and a fun Monologue called How Mother Made Soup for your enjoyment.

Below you will find a list of over 20 songs for you to share and enjoy this year with family and friends.

Go Home and Tell Your Mother by Guy Lombardo & Keneke

Mother of My Heart by Frances Alda

Rembember Dad (On Mother’s Day) by Jerry Colonna

Mother O’ Mine by John McCormack

I Wouldn’t Trade the Silver in My Mother’s Hair (For All the Gold in the World) by Eddy Arnold

My Mother’s Sweet Voice by Eddy Arnold

Go Home and Tell Your Mother by Gus Arnheim and his Cocoanut Grove

If the Rest of the World Don’t Want You (Go Back to Mother and Dad) by Franklyn Baur

Baby Your Mother (Like She Babied You) by Don Bestor and his Orchestra

Dear Mom by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra

How Mother Made the Soup by Charley Case

Ireland Must Be Heaven for My Mother Came From There by Charles Harrison

Mother’s Hands by Henry Burr

Daddy has a Sweetheart and Mother is her Name by Charles Munch

My Mother by Orville Harrold

Dear Old-Fashioned Irish Song My Mother Sang to me by Henry Burr

I’m in Heaven When I’m in My Mother’s Arms (I Don’t Have to Die to Go to Heaven) by William Robyn

Mother O’ Mine by Conrad Thibault

Mother Of Mine, I Still Have You by Al Jolson and William F. Wirges and his Orchestra

Angel Mother by George Morgan

Always Think of Mother by Manuel Romain

An Meine Mutter (To My Mother) by Biedermann, Lufsky and Prince

Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access considering applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

The post Vintage Songs About Mothers appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Join FAU Libraries February 28-March 8th in celebrating Jewish Culture through Kultur Festival highlighting music from Florida Atlantic University Libraries’  Special Collections performed by distinguished artists and critically acclaimed musicians including the Klezmer Company Jazz Orchestra, Avi Hoffman, Eleanor Reissa, Second Avenue Jewish Chorale and Klezmrfats pianist Peter Sokolow.

Links to all events listed below with date, time and links to purchase tickets.

Jewish Inspired 20th Century Music

FAU – Wimberly Library 5th floor, Boca Raton, FL

Tuesday, February 28, 2017 8:00 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

Second Avenue Jewish Chorale: Jewish Legacy in Song

FAU – Wimberly Library 5th floor, Boca Raton, FL

Wednesday, March 1, 2017 8:00 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

Fiddler on the Roof: In Concert

FAU – Carole and Barry Kay Performing Arts Auditorium, Boca Raton, FL

Sunday, March 5, 2017 2:00 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

Hip, Hop, and Hemish

FAU – Wimberly Library 5th floor, Boca Raton, FL

Tuesday, March 7, 2017 2:00 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

The Real History of American Klezmer

FAU – Wimberly Library 5th floor, Boca Raton, FL

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 2:00 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

The post FAU Libraries Celebrates Jewish Culture 2017 appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Did you know the Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries has over 49,000 albums along with over 150,000 songs in its databases, which is growing everyday with the help of volunteers? With so many recordings to choose from, we have given Research Station users the ability to request items be digitized.

Below you’ll find a list of recordings that were recently added this Fall Semester from requests made by Research Station Users.

Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access considering applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

We Believe by Dov Levine

Magical Moments in Cantorial Music by Joseph Malovany

Hold On Just a Little Bit Longer by Mordechai Ben David

Hear Our Voice by K.A.M. Temple Quartette & Maurice Levy

Songs for Little Folks – The Music of Famous Composers by Jerry Sears & Bob Hannon

Jewish Melodies in Jazztime by Terry Gibbs

The Messengers Live in Concert at Mid Woodfield 1982 by The Messengers

The Soul Messengers – Hebrew Israelites from Dimona by Various Artists

My Son the Jazz Drummer! by Various Artists

First Live Chassidic Wedding by Joe King and his Orchestra

The Eilat Duo by Various Artists

Bless the Boys by Sweets

Newly Discovered Cantorial Music of Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt by Henry and Josef Rosenblatt

Mizmorim Sephardic Songs Liturgical and Secular by Various Artists

By Special Request by The Messengers Orchestra

Der Liebes Waltz by Estelle Schreiner

E Lucevan Le Stelle by Gershon Sirota

Touring Israel by Kol Israel Choir and Jan Bart

Mo Oshiv by Leibele Haschel

Ad B’Li Dai by Leibele Haschel

(I Got a Woman Crazy For Me) She’s Funny That Way by Coleman Hawkins and his Orchestra

Body and Soul by Coleman Hawkins and his Orchestra

When Day is Gone by Coleman Hawkins All Star Octet

The Sheik of Araby by Coleman Hawkins All Star Octet

Honeysuckle Rose by Coleman Hawkins and his All Star Jam Band

April in Paris by Coleman Hawkins and his Orchestra

My Blue Heaven by Coleman Hawkins All Star Octet and Tony Pastor and his Orchestra

Body and Soul by Coleman Hawkins and his Orchestra

Crazy Rhythm by Coleman Hawkins and his All Star Jam Band and Charles Ventura and his Orchestra

My Sin by Waring’s Pennsylvanians

Body and Soul by Coleman Hawkins and his Orchestra and Earl Hines

Tenor Saxophobia by Various Artists

The History of Jazz Volume 4 by Various Artists

Coleman Hawkins by Coleman Hawkins

Tenor Sax by Various Artists

Coleman Hawkins Keynote Jazzmaster Series by Various Artists

New 52nd Street Jazz by Various Artists

Tenor Sax Album No. 2 by Ben Webster, Lester Young, Don Byas, and Coleman Hawkins

New York School of Jewish Song by Neginah Orchestra

Joan Rivers Presents Mr. Phyllis and Other Funny Stories by Joan Rivers

LBJ in the Catskills by Fannie Flagg & Christopher Weeks

The Jewish Education Program Sings Reach Out by Neginah Orchestra

At the Gate of Return by The Diaspora Yeshiva Band

Abba Eban His Memorable Historic Speech of June 19, 1967

New York School of Jewish Song by Kol Tzahala Orchestra

As a research station user you can request it using the Music on Demand forms on the website.

Please note, due to copyright some of these recordings may only play for 45 second snippet to give the user a taste of what this music sounded like back in the day, if you are interested in full access considering applying for Research Station Access. Access to Research Station is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

The post Recently Added to Research Station (Fall 2016) appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

Looking for music to celebrate the High Holy Days this year? Look no further, the Recorded Sound Archives has a collection of over 40 recordings for you to choose from and share and enjoy with your family.

Included in this collection is a mixture of cantors, and other musicians such as Leibele Waldman, Gershon Sirota , Moishe Oysher, Shimon and Ilana Gewirtz, Ramon Tasat and Cindy Paley.

Click here to view this collection.

Click here to view past blog posts on the High Holy Days.

The post Celebrate High Holy Days with Music from the RSA! appeared first on Recorded Sound Archives.

While digitizing recordings by Sergei Rachmaninoff at the Recorded Sound Archives, we found some interesting facts about Rachmaninoff that you may not of known. Such as did you know….

1. Rachmaninoff was twice offered the position of conductor at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He refused both times.

2. Aside from being a magnificent composer, Rachmaninoff was also a man of strong moral character. In 1912, Rachmaninoff resigned from his position as vice-president of the Russian Musical Society in protest to a musician being dismissed from his duties because he was Jewish.

3. Rachmaninoff’s last piano recital included Chopin’s Sonata no. 2, which includes a famous funeral march. Rachmaninoff died 40 days after performing the funeral march. Rachmaninoff’s composition All Night Vigil was sung at his funeral.

Want to learn more about Sergey Rachmaninoff and his music? Click here to listen to over 40 recordings that have been digitized and learn more about the life of Sergey Rachmaninov.

BOCA RATON, Fla. (Feb. 1, 2016)  ─ A year before Ekaterina Pervova graduated from Florida Atlantic University, she went to the Wimberly Library’s Recorded Sound Archives (RSA) and inquired about a volunteer assignment. One of the 19-year-old’s first assignments was translating the titles of classical music recordings from Russian into English. Pervova, who was later hired as a student worker at the RSA, can’t imagine a more rewarding use of her free time.

“I think that Florida Atlantic University has given me so much that it was important to find a way to give something back,” said Pervova, who in May earned a B.S. degree in psychology from FAU. “It was an amazing opportunity. I am very grateful.”

Volunteers have always been an integral part of FAU Libraries, but a couple of years ago, the Wimberly Library’s staff noticed more students were inquiring about volunteer assignments. Carol Hixson, Dean of University Libraries, supports such involvement, and in fact, has organized a program to recruit and involve students in meaningful volunteer roles throughout the library.

“Some of our students have free time throughout the day and many of them spend a great deal of that time in the library,” said Hixson. “We encourage students to take advantage of volunteer and internship opportunities within the Libraries as a way of learning more about our collections and services and gaining some practical experience to help them after graduation. We consider such opportunities to be another way we can contribute to our students’ success and keep them engaged with the University as alumni.”

The RSA, a robust digitization operation for all types of sound recordings that have been gifted to FAU, was a perfect match for Pervova. She credits her grandmothers, one a nuclear physicist and the other an economist, with introducing her to art at an early age. Both grandmothers love music, enjoy opera and the ballet, and always had the TV on an entertainment show when Pervova visited.

“They encouraged me to participate in singing, painting, dancing, sculpting and other arts,” said Pervova. “They would always take me to theaters and museums and they continue to find tickets when I visit them in Moscow.”

Many of the recordings that Pervova translates for the RSA are folk songs from 1910, while others are from the early 1950s and 1960s. She remembers hearing many of the recordings during childhood and at family celebrations in Russia.

“When I see something I know, I start humming it and I think back to a time when I heard that song,” said Pervova.

The biggest challenge Pervova faces while translating the music titles is trying to find a word-for-word translation. Many of the songs she is translating are about the culture of the Russian people and do not make sense outside of the Russian culture. She knows where to go for help, though.

“I often Skype my grandma while I’m translating to show her a particular record and when she sees it, she is delighted and she says ‘Oh! I know that one,’” said Pervova.

The RSA will add the titles of the approximately 100 rare recordings that Pervova is translating to its database once the work is completed. Pervova will also translate the RSA’s Finnish labels into English. The recordings will be digitalized and made available on the RSA’s research station for professors and students.

Pervova said it’s her small way of giving back to the FAU campus, where she has studied since she enrolled in the Alexander D. Henderson University School in fourth grade. When it was time for ninth-grade, she was accepted into the academically-rigorous FAU High School, which offers students a chance to earn three years of college credit on FAU’s main campus. She plans to graduate from FAU in the spring of 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Tammy Ferguson, director of the A.D. Henderson University School/FAU High School, said she is very proud to say that “giving back” is part of the culture that has been created at the Henderson University School and FAU High.

“Ekaterina Pervova is an exceptional young lady who has impressed me from the first time I met her,” said Ferguson. “She has always given back to make sure other students have the best experience possible on the university campus.”

After graduation from FAU, Pervova would like to continue here for graduate school at FAU and work as a researcher on the FAU campus. Eventually, she would like to work for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

Pervova would like to focus her research on Brain Syndrome and dementia” and her ultimate goal is to find a way to help people with organic brain syndrome.

“Everything about the brain fascinates me, including its adaptability, its plasticity, its ability to modify and regulate itself through interactions with the environment,” said Pervova.

“I used dementia as an example because it is a very hot topic in the field. There are many different types of dementia, but the most common types are Alzheimer’s and vascular.

“It is imperative that a treatment for dementia is found soon because the major brain change involved in the disease is nerve cell damage and plaque deposits. If we can find a way to stop or reduce nerve cell damage, then we can find similar applications of this with other diseases.”

For more information on student volunteer opportunities at FAU Libraries, call 561-297-6911. Call 561-297- 0080 for student volunteer assignments in the Recorded Sound Archives.

Looking for something to do this summer? As part of the eleventh annual Spirit of America Concert to showcase FAU Libraries’ Marvin and Sybil Weiner Spirit of American Collection, come and see FAU Libraries’ Klezmer Company Orchestra, Aaron Kula and a cast of 10 actors along with 30-members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida on June 26th as they present a concert version of the beloved musical “South Pacific”.

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Passover marks the liberation of the Israelites from 400 years of slavery in ancient Egypt. Moses tried to convince Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go free with words and demonstrations of God’s AWESOME power.

When Pharaoh wouldn’t concede, Moses proceeded to bring about the 10 plagues.

You can read more about the plagues, here.

The 10th plague, the death of every Egyptian first born including Pharaoh’s young son, was too much for Pharaoh and he finally let the Hebrews go. God instructed the Israelites to mark their doorposts with the blood of a slaughtered lamb so that he would know to pass over those homes. This is where the name Passover comes from (Exodus 12:11-13). There are actually three other names for the holiday: Holiday of Matzot, Holiday of Freedom, and Holiday of Spring.  But on this holiday, we celebrate the gift of freedom, remember Jewish history through special Seder foods and teach the lessons of the Haggadah (The Telling) to the next generation.

And this year, the Recorded Sound Archives invites you to add music and song to your family’s Passover traditions and has put together a collection of over 40 recordings for you to enjoy with family and friends this Passover.

Enjoy!

PURIM, which, in English, means [drawing] LOTS, is about the book of Esther which is also known in Hebrew as Megillah (the Scroll).  It is a book in the third section of Ketuvim (Writings) of the Jewish Tanakh (Hebrew Bible).  It relates to the story of a Hebrew girl in Persia, born as Hadassah but known as Esther (niece of Mordechai), who becomes Queen of Persia and thwarts the genocide of her people by the wicked Haman, a high official in the court of King Achashverosh.

Haman sought to annihilate all the Jews, Mordechai’s people, throughout King Achashverosh’s’ entire kingdom.  For Haman plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and he cast a “pur”, which is a LOT, to shatter and destroy them. For this reason, they call these days “Purim,” after the pur.

The story forms the core of the Jewish festival of Purim, during which it is read aloud twice: once in the evening and again the following morning. A Purim party often takes place during this time where children dress up in costumes usually relevant to the story of Purim. It’s a fun time for everyone including adults!

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives, we have put together a collection of over 20 recordings for you to enjoy with family and friends this Purim.

Enjoy!