RSA Blog

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”.

Click here for event details and ticket information.

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!

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 in February from requests made by Research Station Users.

Recently Added Music

Timeless Treasures by Ben Zion Shenker

Prayer and Song by Morris Levinson

The Hush of Midnight – Slikhos A Midnight Synagogue Service by Zamir Chorale and Cantor Ray Edgar

Masterpieces of the American Synagogue by Eric Freudigman and Harold Orbach

Songs Children Sing: Israel by Tom Glazer and Friends

Journey Through Song – A Selection…by Yom Tov Ehrlich

Stam Yom Shel Chol by Shimon Israeli

Journey Through Song – No. 2 – A Selection…by Yom Tov Ehrlich

Yaleh Veyuvo and Ruchel Mevakeh Al Boneho by David Roitman

Habeit Mishomaim and Kol Dodi by Moshe Koussevitzky

Shir Hacheirut and Yerushalayim by Moshe Koussevitzky

Ver Vill A Kale and Ich Toig Ze Gor Nit by Bessie Weissman

Jewish Voices in the New World – Chants and Prayers from the American Colonial Era by Ira Rohde and New London Children’s Choir

The British Are Coming by Yisroel Lamm and the Neginah Orchestra; Gershon Fordsham and the Gateshead Boys Choir

Nagila Halleluya by Arie Ovadia

A Tribute of Moshe Koussevitzky by Cantor Benjamin Siller

The Y’Did Singers by The Y’did  Singers

Aris by Aris San

Rozhinkes mit Mandlin – A Montage / Documentary by Rita Jacobs Willens

Hits in Hebrew by Aris San

Living Prayers by Cantor Aaron Caplow

19 / “Chai-Life” + 1 Gala Concert by Various Artists

The Messengers: The “IN” Jewish Sound by The Messengers

Cantor David Werdyger sings Chassidic Nigunim by David Werdyger

Songs of Breslov by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

We’ll Bring Moshiach Now by Eli Lipsker and His Little Soldiers

The Time Is Now by Avraham Fried and Zimriah Symphony Orchestra

Veseorev and Tal by Israel Barski

Hebrew Melodies by Joseph Midwin

Hebrew Sephardic Melodies by Nissan Melamed and Coro Del Colegio Hebreo Sefaradi De Mexico

 

See a recording that hasn’t been digitized?

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.

This past week marks Thomas Edison’s 169th birthday!

Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, the very first device for recording and playing back sound, in 1877. Early machines were sold to entrepreneurs who made a living out of traveling around the country giving “phonograph concerts” and demonstrating the device for a fee at fairs.

Here at the Recorded Sound Archives, we have a collection of over 70 Edison Records which can be listened to online. To listen or learn more about Edison Records click here.

 

March 5 – March 12, 2016 8th Annual Kultur Celebration

Click here for full schedule and more information

Florida Atlantic University Libraries

Festival Highlights Saturday Night at the Movies: Arranged

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

Saturday, Mar 5, 2016 07:30 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

 

Klezmer Company Orchestra Bernstein’s Jeremiah Symphony + KlezmerJAZZ

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

Sunday, Mar 6, 2016 03:00 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

 

Jewish Roots & Turkish Blues with Shtreiml & Ismail Fencioglu

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

Monday, Mar 7, 2016 07:30 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

  Laugh Your Tuchas Off with Avi Liberman

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

Tuesday, Mar 8, 2016 07:30 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

  Yiddish, Blues, Blacks & Jews with Aaron Kula

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

Wednesday, Mar 9, 2016 02:00 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

  Yiddish Opera & Chazzanut with Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell

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

Thursday, Mar 10, 2016 07:30 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

  Joe Papp Yiddish Awakening: Tales of Hoffman with Miriam Hoffman

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

Friday, Mar 11, 2016 02:00 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

  Jewish Melodies in Jazztime with Brian Potts Vibraphone Quartet

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

Saturday, Mar 12, 2016 07:30 PM

Click here to purchase tickets.

 

If there’s one type of song that we will never grow tired of, it is the ever popular love song. Mellow or upbeat, mushy or filled with angst; whatever the tempo or the lyrical content… Enjoy these nine timeless love songs from the 1920s found in the Recorded Sound Archives Vintage, Judaic and Jazz Collections.

1.  Ain’t Misbehavin’ by Fats Waller written in 1929 by Thomas “Fats” Waller himself, Harry Brooks and Andy Razaf.
2. All Alone by Al Jolson, written by Irving Berlin and published in 1924.
3. April Showers by Al Jolson, written by B.G. DeSylva music composed by Louis Silvers originally published in 1921.
4. Blue Skies by The Hour of Charm Girl Orchestra and Choir, written and composed by Irving Berlin in 1926.
5. I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me by Artie Shaw, written by Jimmy McHugh and Clarence Gaskill in 1926.
6. With a Song in My Heart by Dennis Day, originally written for the musical Spring is Here by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers in 1929.
7. What’ll I Do? by Henry Burr and Marcia Freer, written by Irving Berlin in 1923.
8. Who’s Sorry Now? by Ernest Stevens, written by Bert Kalmer and Harry Ruby composed by Ted Snyder this song was published in 1923 and featured in the 1950 film, Three Little Words.
9. Everybody Loves My Baby (But My Baby Don’t Love Nobody but Me) by Aileen Stanley, composed by Jack Palmer and Spencer Williams in 1924.

 

Some songs may only be available as snippets due to US Copyright laws.

These items are noted in the player with the words (Research Station) and only allow for 45 seconds snippets to be played to give you a sense of what that recording originally sounded like. Full access is available through the RSA’s Research Station access is limited to educators, students and serious researchers.

The Recorded Sound Archives would like to highlight the voice and recordings of Cantor Shloimele Rothstein , one of over 260 Cantorial voices to choose from in the RSA’s Cantorial Collection.

Born in Bessarabia on May 1, 1891 in the town of Falesty. He was the first Cantor to sing on KDKA radio in Pittsburgh in 1926 and was contracted by Columbia Grafonola to produce phonograph recordings along with being Cantor at Synagogue B’nai Israel in Brooklyn, NY.

Shloimele’s only teacher was Jerome Hayes of whom he learned several operas with. As a result, he was offered the leading tenor role in “La Juive” by an Opera Co., but refused the offer to give his attention to the Synagogue, Phonograph and Concert work. He passed away on October 19, 1966, at the age of 75.

He is also known as Shlomo Rothstein, Sol Rothstein & Solomon Rothstein.

To listen the voice and recordings of Shloimele Rothstein, click here.

To discover other cantorial voices, please visit the Recorded Sound Archives Cantorial Voices collection.

This year the Recorded Sound Archives has put together a wonderful collection called Songs of Chanukah that will entertain and delight the entire family with over 50 albums to choose from such as the Children’s Village Choir singing Hanukkah is Here to Kenny Ellis with Hanukkah Swings. The songs in this collection express the essence of the holiday with children’s songs that teach about the holiday,  traditional songs and a new twist on old favorites.

Please accept this gift of music for you and your family from the Recorded Sound Archives along with our best wishes for a Happy Chanukah!

Click here to view this collection.

Click here to view past blog posts on Chanukah.

Looking for something to do on campus? Check out these music events taking place at FAU’s University Theatre in October. For other FAU Events, click here.

FAU Faculty & Friends
Saturday, Oct. 17, 7pm, University Theatre

Enjoy the romantic spirit of chamber music, including the Dvořák Piano Quintet (“Dumky”) and the Vaughn Williams Piano Quintet. Don’t miss the all-time favorite Lehar “God and Silver” waltz arranged for piano quintet, performed by Irena Kofman, Benjamin Joella and the Delray String Quartet.

Tickets are $15. To purchase your tickets, click here.

 

Rattette Jazz
“Old Wine in New Bottles”
Saturday, Oct. 18, 3pm, University Theatre

Directed by Tim Walters, Rattette features South Florida’s best jazz musicians in concert.

Tickets are $15. To purchase your tickets, click here.

 

 

 

FAU Classical Guitar Society
Saturday, Oct. 24th, 7pm, University Theatre

FAU Classical Guitar Society. Directed by Ken Keaton. Enjoy beautiful and exciting works for classical guitar, solos and ensembles, featuring Mauro Giuliani’s Rossiniane no. 1, Op. 119.

Tickets are $10. To purchase your tickets, click here.

 

 
FAU Jazz Band
Sunday, Oct. 25th, 3pm, University Theatre

The FAU Jazz Band continues its long tradition of performing popular selections from the wonderful tradition of the American Big Band, as well as contemporary works for the modern jazz ensemble.

Tickets are $10. To purchase your tickets, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know the Recorded Sound Archives has over 49,000 albums along with over 150,000 songs in it’s databases which is growing everyday with the help of volunteers? With so many recordings to choose from at FAU Libraries Recorded Sound Archives, we’ve given Research Station users the ability to request items be digitized. See a recording that hasn’t been digitized as a research station user you can request it using the Music on Demand forms on the RSA 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.

Below you’ll find a list of recordings that were recently added in September by Collection.

Judaic Collection

Prayers from Jerusalem by Naftali Herstik

Zemirot – Turkish-Sephardic Synagogue Hymns  by Los Pasharos Sefaradis

Oriental Song Festival 1973 by Various Artists

A Song of the Heights by Andrew Edison & Norman Summers

Tanchumim by Various Artists

A World of Jewish Music by Allan Michelson

Blue Star Camp – 1984 by Ted Grey

30 Golden Moments of Music by The Epstein Brothers

Lamenatseach Shir Mizmor – Oriental Song Festival 1974 – Volume 2 by Various Artists

Tsur Mi’Shelo Achalnu – Famous Traditional Sephardic Hymns by Renanim Choir

Achva by Various Artists

Ismach Moshe by Sawel Kwartin

Al Taschlicheinu by Sawel Kwartin

Erev Shel Shoshanim by Various Artists

Gems of the Synagogue by Josef Rosenblatt

My Mother’s Sabbath Candles (Sung in Yiddish) by The Malavsky Family

 

Vintage Collection

The Bells of St. Mary’s by Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra

 

Featured Collection

Hit of the Week Collection

High Holy Days Collection

 

If you are an FAU student, faculty or staff member, all you need is  your FAU ID to login and listen.

Not a part of the FAU? If you are a student, professor or researcher from an outside institution needing unrestricted access to the recordings please consider applying for research station usage by clicking here.

 

In years past, the Recorded Sound Archives Judaic collection or the Judaica Sound Archives as most know it has highlighted the music of Leibele Waldman, Gershon Sirota and Moishe Oysher for the High Holy Days along with some of today’s finest cantors.

This year the Recorded Sound Archives has created a High Holy Days collection for you to  share and enjoy with your family. Included in this collection is a mixture of cantors, and other musicians such as 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.

Theodore Bikel on stage as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.

With his grey beard, clear voice, and room filling performance, Theodore Bikel had so much in common with Tevye the Milkman. He was the fiddler on the roof, a versatile man.

Theodore Bikel, actor, activist and folk singer, passed away at the age of 91 last month on July 21, 2015 in Los Angeles. He played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof onstage in thousands of performances, created the role of Baron von Trapp in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music, recorded as a singer and guitarist for many albums in different languages, and was involved in civil rights causes.

Bikel was born into a Jewish family in Vienna, and named after Zionist Theodore Herzl. They fled to Palestine in 1938. and according to his mother in his autobiography, he sang before he could talk. Theodore started acting at a young age and performed in the Habimah Theatre in Tel Aviv in 1943. Bikel moved to London in 1945 and next to the United States in 1954, where he started his acting career on Broadway.

Bikel released thirteen albums between 1955 to 1965. The most popular recordings were: Theodore Bikel Sings Jewish Folk Songs (1958), Songs of a Russian Gypsy (1958), Theodore Bikel Sings More Jewish Folk Songs (1959), A Harvest of Israel Folk Songs (1961), and Theodore Bikel Sings Yiddish Theatre and Folk Songs (1965). With this repertoire, he paved the way for a renewed interest in Yiddish folk songs, and ultimately for the klezmer revival in the late seventies.

Along with folk singer Pete Seeger, Bikel became one of the founders of the Newport Folk Festival in 1959. This festival is known for the performances of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan in 1963 and played a crucial role in the American folk music revival of the sixties.

Just recently, a documentary film was released about the intertwining of Theodore Bikel’s life with writer Sholom Aleichem, the great storyteller of Jewish life in Eastern Europe: Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem. In March this year, Record Sound Archives’ Alethea Perez wrote a blog about this portrait. click here to read more.

Listed below are some of his popular tunes.

 Dona Dona

Di Mame Iz Gegangen

Az Der Rebbe Zingt

Dodi Li

 Click here for more Theodore Bikel recordings.

Due to copyright concerns only snippets can be heard on the RSA public website. Full versions are available to users of the RSA Research Station.

If you enjoyed this guest blog post you may enjoy Gone but not forgotten – the Barry Sisters.

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.

 

FAU President Dr.John Kelly presented Maxine Schackman with this prestigious award on April 22, 2015.

Maxine was nominated for the prestigious Jeffrey Gabor Exemplary Employee Award by Rita Pellen, Interim Dean of FAU Libraries. In her nomination letter Pellen praised Schackman for her hard work building up the Judaica Sound Archives since the early 2000’s.

In 2009, when she stepped in as director, Schackman expanded the scope of the online archives by including rare historic vintage and jazz recordings.

In 2013 the Recorded Sound Archives made the news when, with the help of Peter Muldavin, the “Kiddie Rekord King,” they rescued over 800 vintage children’s recordings from a flooded storage facility after SuperStorm Sandy hit Long Island. Schackman and her crew worked tirelessly for a year to digitize the sound and images that had been damaged. Now this wonderful collection of recordings are available online. For more about this story see video here.

Pellen also praised Schackman for being a leader in the development and expansion of the Judaica Sound Archives, making it the largest online collection of Jewish recordings in the world. “Under her leadership the RSA at FAU Libraries has become known as the ‘go to’ place for rare and difficult to find recordings of Jewish and other vintage music.”

According to Schackman, “When I became director in 2009 my first goal was to totally revamp our very popular website. It was a great website and had an amazing number of digitized sound tracks but it was old technology and I knew we just couldn’t survive in the 21st century without going mobile. Now the JSA and other RSA recordings are available on mobile devices using streaming audio technology. Now people can take the music with them wherever they go.”

“This award means a lot to me. I have dedicated the past 13 years of my life to the Judaica Sound Archives and more recently, the Recorded Sound Archives. I worked very hard but I loved every minute of it. I loved talking to groups and introducing them to the wonderful music we have rescued and preserved. I am very proud of the contribution that I have made to FAU Libraries. I am very grateful to my dedicated staff and to the many students who have worked for us over the years.  I am especially grateful to the volunteers without whom none of this would have been possible. This award is a wonderful capstone for my career since I will be retiring on June 30, 2015.”

 

 

‘Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War’ Exhibition

Friday, March 20 – Thursday, April 30

Florida Atlantic University will host “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition from the National Constitution Center, from Friday, March 20 through Thursday, April 30 at the Wimberly Library, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. The exhibition features photographic reproductions of original documents, including a draft of President Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural speech, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment. “

American Civil War Highlights from Special Collections (March 20 – April 30)

Abraham Lincoln and the Crisis of Federalism Discussion (March 20 @ 3pm)

Florida Atlantic University professor Stephen Engle, Ph.D., and Kate Dahlstrand, an FAU alumna and U.S. Army veteran, will host a discussion titled “Abraham Lincoln and the Crisis of Federalism,” on Friday, March 20 at 3 p.m. on the fifth floor of the Wimberly Library. The lecture is free and open to the public. Metered parking is available at the Wimberly Library.  For more information, contact Jackie Simpson at 561-297-3921 or visit http://www.library.fau.edu/news/flyers/lincoln_ala2015.pdf.

Prisoners of War and the Loyalty Oath Lecture (March 23 @ 10am

Kate Dahlstrand, a Florida Atlantic University alumna and U.S. Army veteran, will present “Prisoners of War and the Loyalty Oath: The Rhetoric of Unionism and Reflections on Reconciliation,” on Monday, March 23 at 10 a.m. on the fifth floor of the Wimberly Library. The lecture focuses on unionism, reconciliation and citizenship. The lecture is free and open to the public.

While recording devices were not in existence during the Civil War, this didn’t stop people from re-enacting famous speeches by President Lincoln at the beginning of 20th century. Here at the Recorded Sound Archives we’ve digitized a collection of speeches by President Lincoln along with some military related recordings in conjunction with a traveling exhibit about Lincoln: The Constitution and Civil War highlights from Special Collections.

 

Passover is all about retelling the story. And what better way to celebrate than to enjoy this modern day interpretation of an old story.

Our Passover gift to you! This Passover-themed parody of Uptown Funk by Six13. It is so catchy, it just might get stuck in your head all through Passover, which begins the evening of April 3 and ends the evening of April 11.

The Recorded Sound Archives has compiled a mix of Passover songs that the whole family can enjoy.  From Cantorial splendor to children’s play-songs, music expresses the heart of the Jewish people. Give Jewish music a special place in your home for the  holidays.

In the past we’ve highlighted each album, individually, this year we’ve created a special collection featuring all of our passover music: https://rsa.fau.edu/passover-collection All the songs  in this compilation can be heard all year long on the RSA website.

Introduced in 1930 and discontinued in 1932, these records were made from a flexible synthetic resin (Durium) coated on brown paper.

What are sound recordings made of? Initially sound was recorded on wax cylinders. By the end of the 1920s, however, recordings were made of a heavy, fragile shellac compound.

Producers began looking for better options and started experimenting with materials that were lighter, flexible and less fragile.

One of these experiments, Hit of the Week records, were actually made of resin coated brown paper! This lightweight, flexible, “unbreakable” composition was unique and provided a 78 rpm recording with sound equal to or better than ordinary shellac.

Beginning in February 1930 a new recording featuring a current “hit” song was released each week. They were sold at newsstands, likemagazines, with past issues being available by mail order. They were recorded on one side only and sold for 15 to 20 cents per recording. The unrecorded side was often printed with advertising or the performer’s portrait. They had a tendency to curl up over time and came in flimsy rice paper sleeves.

These recordings were a big hit with the public in the early days of the Great Depression and provided easy, cheap entertainment to the masses. However, as the depression wore on sales slumped. the last Hit of the Week issue was released in June 1932.

The Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries is pleased to share 39 of these original recordings with our website users. Due to US Copyright laws only 45-second snippets are available on our public website.  Full recordings are available to RSA Research Station users.

Click here to see and hear the Hit of the Week collection.

The unrecorded paper side of Hit of the Week recordings were sometimes printed with advertising a performer’s portrait, in this case Morton Downey.

Portraits of two beloved icons–Sholom Aleichem and Theodore Bikel–are woven together in this enchanting new documentary. The two men have much in common: wit, wisdom and talent, all shot through with deep humanity and Yiddishkeit.

Theodore Bikel, the unstoppable performer whose career spans more than 150 screen roles (including an Oscar-nominated turn in “The Defiant Ones”) and countless stage and musical productions, is also the foremost interpreter of Sholom Aleichem’s work. Now 90, Bikel has played Tevye the Milkman on stage more than 2,000 times, and he has animated Aleichem’s work through his creation of two celebrated musical plays about the great Russian author.

The new film Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem combines Bikel’s charismatic storytelling and masterful performances with a broader exploration of Aleichem’s remarkable life and work.

A pioneer of modern Jewish literature who championed and luxuriated in the Yiddish language, Sholom Aleichem created dozens of indelible characters. His Tevye the Milkman, Motl the Cantor’s Son, and Menachem Mendl–“shtetl Jews” for whom humor and pathos were two sides of the same Yiddish coin–remain invaluable windows into pre-war Eastern European Jewish life, real and imagined.

Watch the Trailer!

Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem (Trailer) from National Center for Jewish Film on Vimeo.

The National Center for Jewish Film is a unique, independent nonprofit motion picture archive and distributor. This month several screenings of Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem will be presented across Florida.

Below you will find information on these screenings and where tickets can be purchased.

Sarasota, FL - March 8 & 10 2015
Jewish Film Festival of Sarasota-Manatee OPENING NIGHT WITH THEODORE BIKEL RECEPTION FOLLOWING Sunday, March 8, 6:30 pm at Hyatt Regency Sarasota Encore Screening (film only) Tuesday, March 10, 3pm at Jewish Federation See Festival website for tickets Tampa, FL – Friday, March 13, 2015
Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival  Friday, March 13, 1:15 pm at Villagio Cinemas North Tampa Buy Tickets! LIMITED SEATING Delray Beach, FL  – March 13-19
Week Theatrical Run March 13-19 Tickets and showtimes coming soon! Lake Worth, FL  – March 13-19
Week Theatrical Run March 13-19 Tickets and showtimes coming soon!