Recorded Sound Archives

The last time it happened was in 1888. Chanukah and Thanksgiving…..at the same time!

Some might call it “Thanksgivukkah.”   But whatever you call it, you can be sure that it won’t happen again for tens of thousands of years to come.

This year American Jews may be enjoying crispy, hot latkes with their Thanksgiving turkey. Sounds like a delicious combo to me. Yummmm.

Yet, despite this year’s rare opportunity to celebrate a double dose of survival and gratitude, some things will always remain the same. The Story of Chanukah reaches back in time way past the struggling Pilgrims on New England’s rocky coast. It reaches back to 167 BCE when the Syrian king Antiochus desecrated the Temple and outlawed Jewish practices. The five sons of the Jewish priest, Mattithius, were incited to revolt. Chanukah celebrates their victory and the miracle of the light that lasted for eight days during the Temple’s  re-dedication. Read More About This…

Player pianos, pianolas and piano rolls were all the rage during Prohibition.

By the early 1920’s new advances in piano-roll technology gave rise to a complex, performance-oriented style of music that became the soundtrack of an era.

All types of music were recorded on piano rolls, from Ragtime  to folk songs; from Jazz to Cantorial masterpieces. So….can these “Boardwalk Empire” era Jewish piano rolls still find an audience in today’s  fast-paced electronic world? Read More About This…

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

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. Read More About This…