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By Recorded Sound Archives, March 25, 2011 10:20 am

Separated from other Ashkenazic Jews in 18^th and 19th century Eastern Europe, the Chassids developed their own distinctive music traditions, which included chazzanuth, folk songs and nigunim.

Nigunim are unique musical expressions of Chassidic religious thought and grew out of the belief that the experience of exuberant joy was a religious duty.

Since it was felt that words interrupted the pure stream of emotion, most early nigunim were wordless. Instead they employed special syllables to carry the tune (like ‘bim bam’, or ‘yadi-da-di’). Often these syllables became distinctive signatures which allowed musicologists to specify the region that a particular nigun had come from.

The nigun has inspired secular Israeli music, klezmer and even Chassidic jazz. Please explore the world of Chassidic music with the Judaica Sound Archives at FAU Libraries.

Click here to listen to this special JSA collection of Chassidic music.

Click here to browse JSA’s online collection of Chassidic music.

Click here to listen to this special JSA collection of Chassidic music.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, March 14, 2011 10:11 am

Children love Purim. And so do adults. It just might be the most fun holiday in the whole Jewish calendar!

Here are just some of the reasons why Purim is a holiday favorite.

The Story: Who doesn’t love a good story? The story of Queen Esther’s bravery has drama, plot twists, and the thrill of good winning over evil.

Costumes: What child (or even a grown-up) doesn’t enjoy dressing in costume? This Jewish version of a costume holiday (like Halloween or Mardi Gras) is filled with a variety of colorful characters.

Entertainment: Purim is the time for children and adults to put on plays, talent shows and parades celebrating the story of Queen Esther.

Noise: Children love to make noise. Usually this gets them in trouble. But… on Purim children are encouraged to make as much noise as they can whenever they hear Haman’s name.

Food: Most Jewish holidays are celebrated with special foods and Purim is no exception. Hamantashen, everyone’s favorite Purim cookie, is a delicious way to remember the downfall of Haman.

Music: The songs of Purim often teach children about the holiday. tell the story of Purim, and give thanks.

Click on the albums and songs listed below to hear some of your favorite Purim music.

Purim Festival in Town Hall by Sidor Belarsky

Purim Party by Shimon & ilana Gewirtz

Songs for Tu Bishvat and Purim by Cantor William Wolfe

Akh Ze haYom Kiviti – Fate Onore Del Bel Purim Wal Viva Nostro Burino – Alabemos by Ramon Tasat

Ani Purim by Cantor Benjamin Maissner

Ani Purim by Judy Caplan Ginsberg

Chag Purim by Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray

Haynt Iz Purim by Marsha Benya

Lo Kol Yom Purim by Fran Avni

Purim by Ohel Moshe Children’s Chorus

Purim Lid by Marsha Benya

Purim By Der Seeda by Kandel’s Klezmer Orchestra

Purim iz der bester Yom Tov by Pesach Burstein

Purim Lied by Werdyger Children’s Chorus

The Purim Parade by Safam

A Gut Yontev Yidn by Lori Cahan-Simon

Wecome Purim Fun by Seymour Silbermintz

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By Recorded Sound Archives, February 24, 2011 1:15 pm

As part of its KULTUR Festival FAU Libraries will honor and highlight some of the  JSA’s favorite performers. See below for a partial list of some of the wonderful events.

Saturday, March 5 at 7 pm

FAU Wimberly Library 5th Floor, Boca Raton, FL

Singing in the Dark starring Moyishe Oysher

This 1956 movie was Moishe Oysher’s only English-language film.

Click to hear Moishe Oysher’s online music collection.

Sunday, March 6 at 3 pm

Carole & Barry Kaye Auditorium, FAU Boca Raton Campus

Klezmerology

This main event concert features the 25-member KCO orchestra under the direction of Aaron Kula , Director of Music Collections and Performance at FAU Libraries.

Click to hear KCO’s online album.

Click to browse JSA’s online klezmer collection.

Tuesday, March 8 at 2 pm

FAU Wimberly Library 5th Floor, Boca Raton, FL

Zingen un Zogn: Songs & Stories, Phyllis Berk and Roslyn Perry

Yiddishkeit sung and told by two sisters.

Click to hear Phyllis Berk’s online album.

Click to browse JSA’s online Yiddish music collection.

Wednesday, March 9 at 2 pm

FAU Wimberly Library 5th Floor,Boca Raton, FL

Jewish Woman in Song with Helene Williams (soprano) and Leonard Lehrman (piano)

Songs and lecture that celebrate great Jewish women entertainers.

Click to hear Molly Picon’s original album online.

Thursday, March 10 at 7:30pm

Live Oak Pavilion, FAU Boca Raton Campus

Sephardic Soul: The Joe Elias Memorial Concert

The Susana Behar Sephardic Music Ensemble and the Elias Ladino Ensemble, led by Daniel Elias will honor the memory of Joe Elias, a leading American Sephardic musician of the 20th century.

Click to hear the Elias Ladino Ensemble’s online music collection.

Click to browse JSA’s online Ladino/Sephardic collection.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, February 3, 2011 12:42 pm

Rouhama Danto, long-time friend of the JSA, stopped by the Wimberly Library during a recent visit to South Florida. Mrs. Danto told me how pleased she is with the work that the Judaica Sound Archives is doing to preserve her husband’s legacy and how much it meant to her to be able to share his extraordinary and beautiful voice with those who were not fortunate enough to have heard him during his lifetime.

She reminded me that she had recently donated a two-disc DVD of many of her husband’s public appearances. “Is there any way you can put video on the website?” she asked.

The Judaica Sound Archives collects sound recordings exclusively, so we do not usually have access to videos or permission to use them.  During her visit, however, Mrs. Danto chose three excerpts from the DVD to share with you. We are grateful to Mrs. Danto and very pleased to be able to share these clips with you.

Prayer for Queen Elizabeth, Toronto (1984)

Mi Par Dudir Ancora, Moscow (1989)

Dos Yiddish Lid, Budapest (1989)

Click to browse the JSA collection of Cantor Louis Danto’s recordings.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, January 13, 2011 1:38 pm

The Judaica Sound Archives at FAU Libraries joins the rest of the worldwide Jewish community in mourning the death of Debbie Friedman.

Friedman, a beloved Jewish composer and performer, died on January 9th at the age of 59.  Her singable, folk-inspired music combined lyrics in Hebrew and English to make Jewish prayer uniquely accessible. She was deeply committed to Jewish spiritual values and bringing them to us in ways we had never heard before.

Her music is not featured on the JSA website due to copyright restrictions. However, the following 18 of her albums are in the JSA Collection which is available for researchers, scholars and students. These albums are widely available commercially.

Related articles:

Forward: Friedman’s legacy seen in her music, and her message

Daily News: Jewish folk singer Debbie Friedman, 59, dies in California

AOL Music: Jewish folk singer Debbie Friedman dies

Washington Post: Jewish folk singer Debbie Friedman dies

Billboard: Debbie Friedman, Jewish folk artist, dies at 59

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By Recorded Sound Archives, January 4, 2011 5:13 pm

Harry Kandel was one of the pioneers of modern Klezmer music. His orchestra consisted of a variety of instruments including the clarinet, trombone, tuba, xylophone, cornet, violin, flute, viola and piano.  Kandel studied at the Odessa Conservatory of music before moving NYC in 1905. In New York he performed in vaudeville as clarinetist with the Great Lafayette Band and also appeared in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

After moving to Philadelphia in 1913 he played with John Philip Sousa’s Band and started his own orchestra in 1916. The 34 songs in this collection were digitized from the original 78 rpm recordings produced by Victor Records from 1917 through 1921, at the height of the Kandel Orchestra’s popularity. Volume one contains their original rendition of Der Stiller Bulgarish which was later recorded by Benny Goodman as And the Angels Sing.

Although most of Kandel’s recordings were with Victor Records he also produced recordings for the Brunswick and Okeh labels. He retired in 1924 spending the rest of his life running a music store, making only occasional live and radio appearances.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, December 14, 2010 10:42 am

What is a renaissance man? According to the dictionary a renaissance  man  is someone who is knowledgeable, educated, and proficient in a wide range of fields. Al Drucker was such a man.

A graduate of Adelphi University, he pursued a career in engineering. He eventually got a job with Grumman where he helped design the guidance system for the lunar lander.

Throughout his life he expressed his love of science and math and engineering by working on fix-it projects.  He loved to use engineering principles to solve practical problems.

A true renaissance man, he was not only creative in the engineering and science fields, he was creative in the arts as well. He loved to paint, was an accomplished photographer, and sang in the synagogue choir.

His grandchildren called him “Albert Einstein” because they thought he was a genius who often involved them in science “projects.” He was not only a genius.  He was a genius who enjoyed using his knowledge to help others. After he moved to Florida he started a small business to coach seniors how to use their computers. He was always available to friends and neighbors when they needed help.

What attracted Al to the Judaica Sound Archives at FAU Libraries? Was it his love of Jewish music? His desire to be a part of an historic cultural preservation project? The inclination to help in whatever way he could? For many years Al was a dedicated volunteer at the JSA. He did many jobs and helped out in many ways.

One day he noticed that we were having trouble cleaning 78 rpm recordings, some of which were over 100 years old. These fragile discs accumulated dirt in their grooves which interfered with our efforts to get good sound quality when we digitized them. We had purchased a commercial product designed for this purpose but found that all it did was make mud out of the dirt which then only made matters worse.

Al designed a sonic multi-record cleaner using the same technology that jewelers use for cleaning fine jewelry. With this problem solved, the JSA was able to greatly speed up the process of getting the music out of the trash and onto the website.

Al was 88 years old. All of us at the Judaica Sound Archives are deeply saddened by his passing.

Al Drucker (left) with sonic record cleaner he invented

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By Recorded Sound Archives, December 10, 2010 5:31 pm

The world of music has been enriched beyond measure by the efforts of Jewish performers, conductors and composers.  Today we highlight the talents of one of the great violinists of the 20th century, Mischa Elman.

Famed for his passionate style and beautiful tone, this world-famous virtuoso was the grandson of a violin-playing klezmer performer.  By the age of six he was already understood to be a prodigy and when he was 11 he was admitted to the St. Petersburg Conservatory for further training.

He made his Berlin debut in 1904 at age 13 and his London debut a year later. While still in his teens he traveled to the USA to appear at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Fifty years later, in 1958, he celebrated this occasion with a wonderful return performance.

Elman’s recorded legacy spanned over 60 years. His first 78 rpm discs were made for Pathe, in Paris, in 1906.  He continued recording until shortly before his death in 1967.

The Judaica Sound Archives has created six digitized “albums” from Elman’s 78 rpm discs produced by Victor/Victrola between 1906 and 1921.

Click either record label to hear any of the 77 songs in this collection.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, December 6, 2010 12:13 pm

Mort Malavsky, one of the last surviving members of the Malavsky Family Choir, passed away Nov. 24, 2010. He is survived by his wife Rhoda of 50 years, children Andy, Jeffrey and Jodi, daughter-in-laws Ellen and Kelli, son-in-law Lonnie,  his sisters Ruthie  and Minnie, and his six grandchildren Samuel, Matthew, Jake, Max, Melanie and Eric.

You can enjoy the music of Cantor Samuel Malavsky and his Malavasky Family Choir by visiting the JSA website.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, November 15, 2010 2:43 pm

Chanukah celebrations are joyous occasions, with lots of holiday gifts, decorations and parties.

The eight-day festival of Chanukah retells a story that teaches about hope, the importance of maintaining Jewish traditions, and the symbolic power of light.

Of course, at the Judaica Sound Archives we celebrate Chanukah with music!

This year we have put together a wonderful collection of songs that will entertain and delight the entire family. From the Children’s Village Choir singing Hanukkah is Here to Moshe Oysher singing Maoz Tzur with his sister Fraydele and his niece Marilyn Michaels, the songs in this collection express the essence of the holiday. Joyous songs, children’s songs that teach about the holiday, traditional songs, and a new twist on an old favorite have been included.

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

This special collection is for your listening pleasure only.

Due to US Copyright laws these songs may not be copied, reproduced or sold.

Click to hear all 18 songs  or listen to your your favorites.

Selections from the following albums were used to create  JSA Chanukah Music Mix 2010. Choose any title to hear the entire album.

(3) Happy Chanukah! by Fran Avni

(4) The Chanukah Collection by Safam

(5) The Oysher Heritage by Moshe Oysher, Fraydele Oysher, Marilyn Michaels

(6) Gerer Holiday Songs by Cantor David Werdyger

(7) Isaac Goodfriend Sings Hanukka Songs by Cantor Isaac Goodfriend

(8) Chanukah Songs for Children by Shimon & Ilana Gewirtz

(9) Make a Chanukah Miracle by Cantor Benjamin Maissner

(10) Songs for Hanukkah by Jewish Education Commission of NY

(11) Holidays in the Sephardic Heritage by Chaim Parchi

(12) Just in time for Chanukah by Rosenthal & Safyan

(13) Latkes & Hamentashen by Fran Avni

(14) Celebrate with Cindy by Cindy Paley

(15) The Three Jewish Tenors Live! by Mizrachi, Finkelstein, Propis

(16) Chanukah is Freylekh by Lori Cahan-Simon Ensemble