Listen to Cantorial Recordings | View the Judaic Collection | Search for Cantorial Recordings
Mission
The Judaica Sound Archives began in 2002 with the mission to establish a collection of Judaic sound recordings, defined as: Cantorial/liturgical recordings, Yiddish-language recordings, Israeli recordings, recordings reflecting the American-Jewish experience, and recordings by important Jewish performers, composers and conductors.
Cantorial Collection
Today, the RSA’s Judaic Collection is the largest online collection of Jewish music in the world with close to 116,000 identified song tracks. While Cantorial music accounts for less than 10% of the entire Judaic Collection, it accounts for almost a third of the music streamed on the website. The reason for this is the wonderful support and cooperation by the families of legendary cantors of the past and also cantors who are currently recording their music. Over 120 agreements have been negotiated with copyright holders of Cantorial music recordings by FAU Libraries. These agreements allow the RSA website to stream specified recordings in their entirety. All other recordings are deemed to be under copyright and may to limited to 45-sec snippets on the public website. All recordings may be played in full on the password-protected RSA Research Station regardless of copyright status (Fair Use provisions of US copyright law).
What makes us unique?
The Judaic Collection has become a center for the Cantorial arts that is totally unique in terms of its size, scope and comprehensiveness. Great voices from the past and contemporary Cantors; Eastern-European traditional melodies and Sephardic interpretations; Israeli Cantors and modern Rock/Jazz Cantors; all find a place on the RSA website and Scholar’s Research Station.
Here, for the first time ever, is an accessible collection of Cantorial music that not only provides a wonderful and important resource for today’s Cantorial students and historic scholars, but also has gathered in one location the full range of Jewish liturgical music.
Cantorial Voices
The following are just some of the Cantors whose music is highlighted on this website. To view complete list of cantors, click here.
Cantors are invited to apply for access to the RSA Research Station: https://rsa.fau.edu/rs
Research Station users may request digitization of specific sound tracks and are able to listen to full audio of all items.
Listen to Cantorial Recordings | View the Judaic Collection | Search for Cantorial Recordings