Jewish National and University Library Digitized Books includes Song Books

The Jewish National and University Library's Digitized Books Repository continues to grow and now contains 340 titles of rare and out-of-print books.
Among the items added this week:
mi-zimrat ha-arets : American national songs in Hebrew / [translated by Gerson Rosenzweig] (New York, 1898) which contains the songs: "America, or My country tis of thee" (le-artsenu mizmor shir), "Columbia, the gem of the ocean (adom, lavan u-tekhelet), and "The Star spangled banner" (degel ha-kokhavim), along with notes for singing them in Hebrew.

The Digital Repository can be accessed via the Library homepage at:
http://www.jnul.huji.ac.il/eng/digibook.html
or directly at:
http://www.jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/books/html/bk1946517.htm
It may be noted that this software to view the items works in Internet Explorer, but won't work with Mozilla or Firefox browsers.

Judi Lamble's compositions on new website

Judi Lamble, who composes for accompanied and a cappella choruses, soloists, and duets, has a new website that has contact information for obtaining her scores, and samples of her music. Lamble's music can be appropriate for groups with varying degrees of sophistication. For more information about difficulty of pieces, contact the composer. Some of the religious texts she uses follow the Reform liturgy. She also includes links to other composers sites. http://www.jewishvocalmusic.com/listen.html

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

The Ramaz Chorus of the New York under the direction of Caroll Goldberg recorded songs on Yom Yerushalayim in 2001. Title of the CD is Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow. If your Jewish day school is looking for material that is attractive, uplifting, and sounds good both to you and teens, you may want to take a listen to this recording to see what kids can do. Caroll Goldberg also has a book L’yisrael Mizmor, that has "selections with melody line, chords, two and three part settings suitable for amateur as well as professional chorus, texts, transliterations and translations, discography, curriculum guide, amd bibliography." Availble through www.jewishmusic.com.

Klezmer Music for Bands

KLEZMER FOR BRASS’N WOOD is available from JACK MUSIK, the Swiss online music publisher. http://www.klezmer.ch/BrassWood/seiten_e/intro_e.asp These may be appropriate for high school concert bands or other groups. Sample score pages online and also sound files. Music can be ordered directly online. Tunes include:
01 Frejlech Sol Sajn
02 Kolomejke
03 Klezmer-Tunes
04 Frejlach Tantz
05 Papirosn
06 Sibn-Ferzik
07 Hawdala
08 Hopkele
09 Husid'l
10 Zwei Nigunim und Frejlach

New music at Transcon

Transcontinental Music Publications, A division of the Union for Reform Judaism, has announced new publications, including Nigun Anthology Volume I
633 Third Avenue - New York, NY 10017
orders 800.455.5223 - NY 212.650.4101 - Fax 212.650.4109
www.TranscontinentalMusic.com - tmp@urj.org
Nigun Anthology Volume I
eclectic new compilation of 56 nigunim includes traditional folk tunes and new compositions. The songbook features a foreword by ethnomusicologist Judah Cohen and handyindex by melody line.
Piano/Vocal/Guitar
No. 993265 Paperback + CD

Jewish music for Classical Guitar

Fred Fastow has a new book and CD called "Jewish Songs for Classical Guitar" which has 25 Sabbath, holiday and folk songs arranged in it. Various pieces are arranged for beginning, intermediate and advanced guitarists. Fred Fastow is a native of Brooklyn and grew up in New York. The book is available through Transcontinental music at www.etranscon.com.

KLEZMER - MUSIC MINUS ONE

From Yale Strom comes a series of klezmer music books (WORLD MUSIC: KLEZMER - MUSIC MINUS ONE) that will help the budding klezmer musician to learn to play klezmer.

Each book has a brief history of klezmer and describes the scales and ornametations that differentiate klezmer from other folk genres from Eastern Europe. Also each book has five tunes. Three traditional tunes: Ma Yofes, Romanian Hora &Bulgar and Stoliner Nign and two original compositions by Strom, The Silver Crown and Dorohoi Khusidl, which is actually based upon a few bars Strom heard from a klezmer in Dorohoi, Romania in 1981. Each book has all the marked parts and the CD. The CD has two cuts of each tune, one of the entire ensemble and one without the melody instrument. The musician and play the written melody as is or improvise as the harmony and rhythm parts are always heard. The tunes were recorded by Strom's klezmer band Hot Pstromi (violin, accordion, clarinet, tenor saxophone, bass and percussion). This book is a great for all who want to learn to play klezmer. UE31529: World Music - Klezmer with CD for flexible ensemble ( 2 melody instruments (C,Bb, Eb), accordian, bass (guitar, electric bass), percussion editor: Yale Strom retail: US $ 27.95 UE31568: World Music - Klezmer with CD Play Along Violin for violin (guitar/keyboard ad lib.) and CD editor: Yale Strom retail: US $ 15.95 UE31569: World Music - Klezmer with CD Play Along Clarinet for clarinet ( guitar/keyboard ad lib.) and CD editor: Yale Strom retail: US $ 15.95 UE31570: World Music - Klezmer with CD Play Along Flute for flute ( guitar/keyboard ad lib.) and CD editor: Yale Strom retail: US $ 15.95 UE31571: World Music - Klezmer with CD Play Along Saxophone for alt/tenor saxophone ( guitar/keyboard ad lib.) and CD editor: Yale Strom retail: US $ 16.95 The following items will be in stock with Warner Bros. within the next 3-4 weeks. Initial orders can be placed by calling the Noteservice line at 800-628-1528. The items are still listed as NEW in the system. Most music dealers have accounts with Warner Bros. The larger chains, of course, all do. Special orders will be accepted for out of stock items.

JMWC Top Jewish Music Accomplishment for 2003

Mazel Tov from The Jewish Music WebCenter: Congratulations Stephen!! This is probably the most significant accomplishment of 2003 on the Internet for Jewish music...

"Ladies and Gentlemen! -- It gives me the greatest of pleasure, after more than 7 years of travail, to announce that over 2,000 sheets of shul music have now been scanned and put on the www.shulmusic.org site."-- so starts the announcement of Stephen Simpson. Simpson's accomplishment is significant in the history of Jewish music online. http://www.shulmusic.org/
The shul music list (http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe.cgi/jewishshulmusic), will give updates as to when the next batches will be on-line. The uploaded files are:
Yamim Noraim basics, taken from 2 choirs: 18 MB
Sulzer in zipped file: 84 Mb
Lewandowski - all three volumes (Shabbat, Yom Tov and recitatives): 100 MB
Basic Shabbat choral material: 14 MB
Index of all known liturgical music composers: 2 Mb
The Blue Book in a zipped file: 44 MB
The Goldfarb (son and father) Yamim Noraim Songster from 1926: 4 Mb
The URL is: http://www.shulmusic.org/latest_updates.htm
Bio: Stephen Simpson grew up in north-west London where he heard the beauty of Jewish liturgical music through singing in his orthodox synagogue choir. After immigrating to Israel, he started a shul choir in Rehovot, Israel. Stephen felt keen disappointment by the decline of choral music in synagogues in Israel. This led him to the current digitization project. He plans to continue to make Jewish music from the early 1800s available to others through the web.

The Gerard Edery Sephardic Song Book

"This highly anticipated song book by Sephardic singer/composer/guitarist, Gerard Edery, contains 40 musical gems from the Sephardic oral tradition. Includes... ballads, songs of courtship, love and marriage, as well as liturgical pieces honoring Elijah the Prophet, Abraham and Moses, among others. The song book also includes a 17 track accompanying CD, Ladino pronunciation guide, lyrics and translations, and a forward by renowned author/storyteller, Peninnah Schram. The songs are arranged in an easily readable format that highlights melody and guitar chords with suggested accompaniments." www.gerardedery.com/BOOK/HTML/book.html

Jewish Guitar Music

Rob Citron has generously supplied a listing of places for students and others to find Jewish music for guitar.

Jewish Music for Guitar
Whole Note Music, The Israeli Guitar Book (Tara); The Complete Jewish Songbook (Transcontinental); Jewish Play-Along, Vol. 1 for C Instruments (Tara); Jewish Songs for Classical Guitar (Transcontinental);The Best Of Israeli Folksongs - An Anthology by Velvel Pasternak (Tara);

Let me list also for guitar: Blues for Peace
The Complete Shireinu: 350 Fully Notated Jewish Songs from Transcontinental
Tara Music
This is a great start and I appreciated this, as I've had many requests for instrumental music for various instruments. If you have a listing of great resources for your instrument, give a holler by email and let me know.