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By Recorded Sound Archives, August 22, 2013 12:59 pm

5774     A new year.  In case you haven’t noticed…the world is changing.

I’ve heard it a thousand times, “things just aren’t the way they used to be!”

The future is unpredictable. Like a wind storm moving things helter-skelter, we never know where things will end up.

The past, on the other hand, is well-known and stable. The values, traditions and  perspectives of our parents, grandparents and ancestors do not change. We may cherish the past or we may discard it.  You get to choose.

Ask yourself, “What happens to the past when you are no longer around to remember it?” Does it disappear? Or does it remain as a treasure trove of discovery for  future generations?

High Holy Days in the Conservative Synagogue  sung by Cantor Moshe Schwimmer is just one example  of how the Judaica Sound Archives attempts to bring the unique qualities of early 20th century European liturgical music into the present. And, hopefully, the future.

This wonderful recording was created by the JSA from the private recordings of Cantor Moshe Schwimmer and can only be heard on this website. Moshe Schwimmer was a cantor whose beautiful voice and soulful singing touched audiences for decades. Yet, his voice might have been lost forever were it not for one man’s strong desire to cherish his brother’s memory and protect his legacy.

Zalman Schwimmer (a.k.a. Sydney), personally hand-carried his brother’s private tape recordings (along with some memorabilia and biographical information) to the Wimberly Library on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus. He told us about his brother, “He never made any commercial recordings.  That wasn’t for him. He didn’t want to be famous. He didn’t try to please others.  He was just always striving for perfection.”

The Judaica Sound Archives is proud of its role in the preservation of Jewish culture. We believe that by bringing the unique qualities of early 20th century European liturgical music into the present we contribute to its survival into the future.

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By RSA Guest Blogger, August 14, 2013 3:28 pm

One family’s ancestor remembered…a shared culture preserved.

The music of the traditional synagogue in America has strong roots in the culture and shtetls of 19th and early 20th century Eastern Europe. Like many of the greats of the Golden Era of Hazzanut Cantor Gedalie Bargad was a gifted hazzan who grew out of the chassidic environment.

Born in 1898 on Kol Nidre evening in the small town of Slavuta (Volhynia Province, Russia), his promising career as a cantor was disrupted by war, civil strife and his family’s struggle for survival. Eventually Bargad and his bride were able obtain travel documents and arrived in Boston on May 25, 1921.

He found work in the shul in Lynn, MA almost immediately, and by 1926 he was officiating at the Elm Street Synagogue in Chelsea, MA. where he sang until 1963. His son, Dr. Warren Bargad, former director of the Center for Jewish Studies, University of Florida – Gainesville, reminisced about those days. “As a youth I remember the shul packed with people – about 500 – 600. . . My father was a commanding presence on the bima. When he sang he would often send shockwaves through the eardrums of the choirboys who stood near him. . . There was a bit of the actor in him. . . [but] he was also down-to-earth, a great story-teller, and often quite comic (album liner notes, 1980).”

Cantor Bargad went on to serve at Temple Emanuel in Chelsea, MA until his death in 1968. His grandson, Robert Bargad (Professor of Jazz piano at Karntnerlandeskonservatorium in Austria) remembers his grandfather “leading the congregation in the singing of prayers with very beautiful melodies, many of which he himself had composed and arranged.  I recall how sometimes his voice would suddenly swell and sustain such a great and mournful note, causing the entire congregation to wait for his release before continuing. . .  In those moments I was completely overcome and I remember thinking that the walls of the temple were shaking from the emotional power of his voice and the pure magic in his performance. I believe the impact of Gedalie’s singing has influenced me to this day – as I try to infuse my own compositions and performances with that kind of tradition and soulfulness.” (Personal communication, 2013).”

A recording of the September 23, 1962 service at the Elm Street Synagogue was preserved and then meticulously restored by Chicago record producer, Barry Serota in 1980. The Judaica Sound Archives at FAU Libraries is proud to follow in the footsteps of Barry Serota who devoted his life to the preservation of great Cantorial music. Streaming audio of this album is available only on our website.

Robert Bargad

RSA Guest Blogger, Robert Bargad, is a Professor of Jazz Piano at Karntner Landeskonservatorium in Austria, he is the grandson of Cantor Gedalie Bargad. 

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By Recorded Sound Archives, July 29, 2013 10:22 am

Equally at home on the opera stage and in the synagogue, Stephen Texon’s successful and distinguished singing career spans decades.

The Judaica Sound Archives is delighted to add the voice of Cantor Stephen Texon to its distinguished online collection of Cantorial and operatic recordings. A native New Yorker, Texon studied at Yeshiva University and NYU. His rich baritone voice was a natural for the opera stage and he was inspired to pursue operatic training in Geneva, Switzerland and at the Met in NYC.

Growing up during the heyday of the Catskill Mountain resorts, Texon was chosen by Sholem Secunda (legendary Yiddish theater composer and conductor) to be the baritone soloist in his choir at the Concord Hotel.

His operatic talents allowed him to perform on stage with such stars as Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill, Placido Domingo and Jerome Hines. But it was the experience of actually performing in a full dress rehearsal performance of “La Traviata” as the understudy for Robert Merrill that remains both a personal and professional highlight for Stephen Texon.

Click here to listen to the music of Stephen Texon.

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By In the News, July 1, 2013 5:41 pm

A pile of stained, mildewed debris from Superstorm Sandy has turned into a nostalgic treasure trove for Florida Atlantic University.

A collection of 786 vintage children’s records including “The Little Engine That Could” and “Black Beauty” were inside a Long Island garage when the hurricane-like disaster struck last October. The recordings, mostly 78 rpms, appeared to be ruined due to dirt and mud on the records and stains on their jackets.

But FAU has found a way to bring the stories and music back to life. The Recorded Sound Archives at the Wimberly Library on the university’s Boca Raton campus has embarked on a project to clean and repair the damaged records and digitize and transfer their contents to an online collection. It’s an effort that requires both modern computer software and old-fashioned elbow grease.

“We are excited to be working with such rare and wonderful artifacts from the 20th Century,” said Maxine Schackman, director of the sound archives. “I can’t wait to see the reaction when we are able to share our work online.”

The website likely will be created in November, Schackman said. Researchers, students and others who are interested will be able to access the digital versions of the recordings via FAU computers or a special password, restrictions that are necessary due to copyright.

The collection is full of literary and pop culture classics, including “Bozo Sings,” “Peter Rabbit” and “Mary Poppins.” While most combine stories and songs, some are music only, like “American Folk Songs” and “Alphabet Songs.” There’s a full array of Christmas-themed records as well as plenty of educational ones. A 1947 record called “Little Songs on Big Subjects” includes a gentle call for racial equality.

“You can get good milk from a brown-skinned cow. The color of the skin doesn’t matter nohow,” the song goes.

The record collection was donated in April by Peter Muldavin, whom FAU officials call the world’s leading expert on vintage American children’s records. Muldavin, who was out of the country and couldn’t be reached by the Sun Sentinel for comment, says on his website he’s been a lifelong collector but started accumulating kiddie records only in 1991 after seeing one in a used record store and remembering it from his childhood.

He then took out “want to buy” ads in antique newspapers and flea market magazines and was swamped with responses.

“People had these records sitting in their attics and basements but didn’t know what to do with them,” Muldavin writes on his website. “There was no established hobby yet.”

Alethea Perez sorts through some of the nearly 800 vintage kiddie records that were donated to Florida Atlantic University’s Recorded Sound Archives.

Due to mold and mildew damage, the library is discarding many of the story books and paper doll cutouts that accompanied the records affected by Sandy, but photographs of the printed matter are being taken and will be digitally restored using Adobe Photoshop.

Almost all of the records are salvageable, Schackman said. Some are warped, and many are encrusted with mud and must be washed by hand.

To help with the restoration, the archives department has bought a vinyl record flattener, a device that slowly heats the recording between heavy metal plates. The department also has software that can reduce background noise from old vinyls.

The sound archive started in the 1980s as a Judaica Collection of vintage works by Jewish artists, but in 2009 expanded into other genres, including jazz and children’s recordings, after the donation of 60,000 records from the family of the late Jack Saul, a Cleveland collector. That collection included 556 children’s recordings, all in good condition.

Benjamin Roth, a Sound Archivist at Florida Atlantic University’s Recorded Sound Archives, cleans a batch of records from the nearly 800 vintage kiddie records that were donated to the Sound Archives.

Archives technician Ben Roth contacted Muldavin, author of the book “The Complete Guide to Vintage Children’s Records,” last year, months before Sandy formed, for advice on finding some specific titles for FAU’s collection.

When a tidal surge from the superstorm brought 20 inches of sea water into a family garage at Long Beach on Long Island, hundreds of recordings stored there lost practically all their value in the collector’s market. So Muldavin asked FAU if the archives department wanted them.

The Boca Raton-based archivists were thrilled. The collection represents a period in American culture, mostly the 1940s and 1950s, when vinyl replaced the hard shellac material that had been used for records, Schackman said. Vinyl was more kid-friendly since it was less prone to breakage.

The works also represent a period before many families had television sets, and when children’s records were a popular form of entertainment.

“It’s a certain time in history that won’t ever be repeated,” Schackman said. “This was the age of innocence. Times were simpler then, more naive.”

stravis@tribune.com or 561-243-6637

Restoration operation

The process that will be used at Florida Atlantic University’s Recorded Sound Archives on the damaged records:

• A technician cleans the 78 rpm using a special ultrasonic wave machine, similar to the unit used to clean jewelry. Distilled water and a small amount of Jet-Dry rinse agent are used.

• If the dirt is excessive, the record is hand-washed. A hair dryer is used to dry it.

• The record is then digitized, using a special turntable that plays the record and captures the audio onto a computer sound card. Sony Sound Forge software is then used to eliminate clicks, pops and other surface noise.

• The album jacket and any accompanying books or cutouts are photographed. Adobe Photoshop is used to remove any dirt or deformities.

• The audio clip and album art are cataloged.

— Scott Travis

Listen and view these original children’s recordings on the Recorded Sound Archives website.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, May 20, 2013 2:38 pm

Defying expectations, changing the rules, and making us laugh.

The Judaica Sound Archives at FAU Libraries honors the work and life of Molly Picon. Compiling 58 of her earliest songs produced on 78 rpm records and four of her LP albums produced later in her career, the JSA invites you to revisit the talents of a truly great Jewish female icon.

Who was Molly Picon?

She was an actress, singer, and comedian whose career spanned over 70 years. Debuting in the Yiddish Theater at the age of 6 she emerged as a respected American actress, performing in Come Blow Your Horn (1963) with Frank Sinatra, and having starring roles on Broadway in Milk & Honey (1961) and  film, Fiddler on the Roof (1971).

Molly Picon’s career followed Yiddish culture from the shtetl into mainstream America. Small and very youthful-looking she often had to fight to be taken seriously. She wore male clothing as a disguise through most of her breakout performance in Yidl Mit’n Fidl (1936) and many of her other early roles, including the well-known “Yankele.” In today’s world she might be considered to be a voice for women’s rights.

Click here for Molly’s 78rpm/LP albums.

Click here to see film clip of a very young Molly Picon singing the title song from Yid’l Mit’n Fidl.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, April 19, 2013 8:43 am

Six new Mischa Elman compilations from the Recorded Sound Archives at FAU Libraries

The Judaica Sound Archives at FAU Libraries has created six digitized compilations from 77 original 78 rpm recordings of world famous Jewish violinist, Mischa Elman.

All these recordings were originally produced between 1906 and 1921.

Click here for Mischa Elman’s biographical notes.

Click here to hear Mischa Elman’s digitized recordings at the Judaica Sound Archives.

Click here to see a  video of Mischa Elman playing Humoresque.

This film short, produced in 1926 by Vitaphone Sound Pictures, demonstrated a new technology  as innovative and exciting in its day as the first i-phone.  A year later the first feature-length talking motion picture, “The Jazz Singer,” put an end to silent movies.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, April 4, 2013 4:51 pm

There are few stories which affect us as powerfully as the story of the sinking of the Titanic.

It is a story of arrogance, pomposity, and cruel disregard for human life.

It is a story of bravery, compassion and self-sacrifice.

It is a story about horrible deaths.

It is a story of survival.

The British ship Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912 after colliding with an iceberg only four days into her maiden voyage. The sinking of the Titanic caused the deaths of 1,502 of the 2,224 passengers and crew she carried.

Noted for its luxury and opulence the Titanic had a swimming pool, first-class restaurants, and every modern convenience of the time. She carried hundreds of emigrants on their way to North America and also some of the wealthiest people in the world. This unsinkable vessel also carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 souls.

On April 14, 1912 the Titanic hit an iceberg. The ship gradually filled with water. First class women and children were hurriedly loaded into lifeboats.  When the ship finally broke apart and foundered there were still over a thousand people aboard.  Two hours later the RMS Carpathia was able to rescue 705 survivors.

The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the procedural failures that had led to it. It is suspected that over 100 Jews died on the Titanic, many of them poor immigrants on their way to America. Others were crew members and also wealthy, prominent Jews who occupied first-class cabins. Jewish first-class passengers, Ida and Abraham Straus went down with the ship along with Jewish millionaire Benjamin Guggenheim.

Cantor Josef (Yossele) Rosenblatt, being a man of great heart, felt called upon to reach out with help for all those who had lost loved ones in the tragedy. Raising his powerful voice in song, he recorded “El mole rachmin (fur Titanic)” for Victor records soon afterwards. Record sales soared and Rosenblatt was able to collect over $150,000 in royalties, which was promptly donated to help the bereaved  families.  Click  to hear original recording.

English translation: Exalted, compassionate God,  grant perfect peace in Your sheltering Presence, among the holy and the pure,  to the souls of all our beloved who have gone to their eternal home. May their  memory endure as inspiration for deeds  of charity and goodness in our lives.  May their souls thus be bound up in the  bond of life. May they rest in peace.  And let us say: Amen.

The American Jewish community was especially touched by the bravery and death of Ida Straus who chose to die alongside her husband. Solomon Smulewitz, a prolific writer for the Yiddish theater, wrote “Der Naser Kaver (The Watery Grave)” a graphic and moving song about the tragic event. Click to hear the original recording.

English translation: There stand, in woe/The thousands in need/And know that death/will dash them down/Then they cry, “Save yourselves/into the boats quickly, women/No man dare/ Take a place tbere.”/But listen to one woman-soul/who can say/”I won’t stir from the spot/I’ll die here with my husband.”/Let small and great honor/the name of Ida Straus! (from Tenement Songs by Mark Slobin; 1982).

PLEASE click here  to hear FAU’s Recorded Sound Archives compilation of  14 original songs from the Titanic Era.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, March 11, 2013 3:38 pm

Ma Nishtana (מה נשתנה‎) is also known as The Four Questions.

Recited by the youngest child at the table it evokes our own childhood experience and the pride we felt participating in the family seder.

Sung by Fran Avni’s Singing Children’s Chorus

Mah nishtanah, ha-laylah ha-zeh,mi-kol ha-leylot?

She-b’khol ha-leylot ‘anu ‘okhlin chameytz u-matzah, ha-laylah ha-zeh, kulo matzah?

She-b’khol ha-leylot ‘anu ‘okhlin sh’ar y’raqot, ha-laylah ha-zeh, maror?

She-b’khol ha-leylot ‘eyn ‘anumatbilin ‘afilu pa`am ‘achat, ha-laylah ha-zeh, shtey fe`amim?

She-b’khol ha-leylot ‘anu ‘okhlin beyn yoshvin u-veyn m’subin, ha-laylah ha-zeh, kulanu m’subin?

Dayenu (דַּיֵּנוּ) is a song of gratitude for all the gifts that God has given us.

It is more than a thousand years old.

Sung by Chaim Parchi

Ilu ilu hotzianu hotzianu mimitzrayim, v’lo asah bahem sh’fatim, dayeinu!

Ilu ilu asah  bahem , asah bahem sh’fatim v’lo asah be’eloheihem, dayeinu!

Di-di-yeinu! Di-di- yeinu! Di-di-yeinu! Dayeinu, dayeinu, dayeinu!

Di-di-yeinu! Di-di-yeinu! Di-di-yeinu! Dayeinu, dayeinu!

Adir Hu (אדיר הוּא) “Mighty is He” is a hymn traditionally sung towards the end of the Seder.

Performed by Safam, music by Shlomo Carlebach

Adir hy yivneh beito Yivneh beito beito b’karov

El b’nei, el b’nei, b’nei beitcha b’karov,

Bimhera bimhera bimhera b’karov.

Chad Gadya (גדי אחד) “One Little Goat” is a playful song popular with the children.

It is sung at the end of the seder.

Sung by Ralph Levitan

Chad gadya, chad gadya. Chad gadya, chad gadya,

Dizabin abah dizabin abah dizabin abah bitrei zuzei.

Chad gadya, chad gadya.

Ve-ata shunra ve-akhlah le-gadya,

Dizabin abba bitrei zuzei.

Chad gadya, chad gadya, ve-ata kalba ve-nashakh le-shunra, de-akhlah le-gadya.

Echad Mi Yodea (אחד מי יודע) is a cumulative song meaning that each verse is built upon the previous one.

There are thirteen verses in all.

Sung by Deborah Katchko-Gray

Sung by Deborah Katchko-Gray

English Translation:

Who knows one?

I know one.

One is our God, in heaven and on earth.

Who knows two?

I know two.

Two are the tablets of the covenant;

One is our God, in heaven and on earth……..

Who knows thirteen?

I know thirteen.

Thirteen are the temperaments of God;

Twelve are the tribes of Israel;

Eleven are the stars of Joseph‘s dream;

Ten are the [Ten] Commandments;

Nine are the months of pregnancy;

Eight are the days of circumcision;

Seven are the days of the week;

Six are the books of the Mishnah;

Five are the books of the Torah;

Four are the Matriarchs;

Three are the Patriarchs;

Two are the tablets of the covenant;

One is our God, in heaven and on earth.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, February 7, 2013 12:34 pm

For five generations, the Lind Family, descended from Belzer Hassidim in Galicia, sang the songs of the synagogue. It was from this lineage that Joshua Lind (1890—1973) rose to prominence as a composer, cantor and teacher. Joining his father’s synagogue choir at the age of 5, young David Lind quickly became a Cantorial wunderkind touring the country and recording for RCA Victor.

Together with his brothers, Murray and Phil, David formed the Lind Brothers Trio in 1937. They became quite popular performing a repertoire especially created for them by their father, Cantor Joshua Lind.

The Trio not only had great success in the pulpit, they also became well-known popular entertainers, appearing in night clubs, on the radio, on TV, and in films (Universal International Pictures).

During WWII David and his brothers entertained troops and shared the stage with such stars as Danny Kaye and Betty Hutton. Following the war they headlined in Las Vegas, Hollywood, and on Broadway.

Dale eventually returned to Chicago to pursue a career as a solo performer and cantor, officiating at the Congregation Sons of Joshua since 1974.

Click to hear Cantor Lind’s recordings.

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By Recorded Sound Archives, January 2, 2013 2:03 pm

If you can remember the 1940s and 1950s then you are old enough to remember the heyday of vinyl children’s records. Perhaps you sat for hours on end listening to the phonograph as its spinning turntable produced stories and songs that only seemed to improve  with each playing. This was the golden age  of American vintage kiddie recordings.

Yet, it took a pioneer to ask: why not create kiddie records that would be relevant for Jewish children?

Gladys Gewirtz was that pioneer. She was the first to create recordings specifically for Jewish youngsters. Together with her sister, Roz Grossman, they produced recordings based on familiar fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

Many performers have created Jewish children’s records since that time. The Judaica Sound Archives is delighted to share with you its collection of more than 930 songs and stories for Jewish children on more than 60 albums.  Browse them all.

Yanky At The Pesach Seder With Zeude

Alef Bet in Song and Story: Fred Vogel & Jesse Silverstein

Sorry! I Just Don’t Have the Time – An Adventure Story for Jewish Children