Katchko: Three Generations of Cantorial Art

Deborah Katchko-Gray announces the release of the compilaton Katchko: 3 Generations of Cantorial Art, featuring the music of Adolph Katchko, and including a CD of music sung by Cantor Katchko-Gray. The book is a combination of scholarly articles about the lives and work of Cantor Adolph Katchko (1866-1958) and CantorTheodore Katchko (1927-1997) and music. Essays on the nature of the cantorate, and transcripts of talks given by the cantors, as well as still photos from the film "The Voice of Israel", family memorabila, letters, programs, and testimonials, all lend to the interesting archival presentation in the work. In addition to this background material, the important musical works of Adoph Katchko are presented in score with guitar chords in "female friendly" vocal ranges. These vocal arrangements by Deborah allow this music to become available to everyone, including modern female cantors who wish to sing the music of the "Golden Age" of cantors. The collection is published by Tara Publications and is available at http://www.jewishmusic.com/

Important Critical Edition of Leo Zeitlin's Music Published

As part of their series on Recent Researches in the Music of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century, AR Editions has released an important critical edition of Jewish music, the Leo Zeitlin: Chamber Music. Paula Eisenstein Baker and Robert Nelson are the editors. This is the work of many years of research and labor to bring this performance and critical score to light. This music is important to American Jewish community because Leo Zeitlin (1884-1930) was one of the significant members of the St. Petersburg Society for Jewish Folk Music group of Jewish musicians establishing a Jewish national school, who came to America. The musicans of the St. Petersburg Society brought those musical ideas both to Israel and America; that organization being the ancestor of today's American Society of Jewish Music. This score should be on the purchase list of conservatories as well as college music departments, and those schools with Jewish Studies who are looking for chamber music with Jewish content for concerts and events.

For details on the content, visit:
http://www.areditions.com/rr/rrn/n051.html Here's what the publishers are saying at: "Lost from view and largely unperformed for over half a century, the thirty-two extant works of chamber music by Leo Zeitlin (1884-1930) are published here, most of them for the first time. All but two are Jewish in content. A superbly talented composer and arranger, Zeitlin’s career as a violinist, violist, conductor, and impresario began in St. Petersburg. There he became active in the Society for Jewish Folk Music, the catalyst for a brief but golden age of art music composed on Jewish themes. He subsequently taught and conducted in Ekaterinoslav and Vilna before emigrating in 1923 to New York, where he was a violist and arranger for the Capitol Theatre. The works date from all these periods of Zeitlin’s career and are writtten for various combinations, instrumental and vocal. This edition describes Zeitllin and his milieu and includes historical and analytic discussions of each of the works. "

Free Jewish Sheet Music

Free downloadable Jewish sheet music for Chanukah with melody line, Hebrew text, English translation & transliteration for singing with your family or congregation. Also good for sing-alongs. Great supplementation for Jewish homeschoolers & Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation, by Patricia Baumhoff
http://hebrewthroughsong.blogspot.com/

New Klezmer Fiddle book released by Ilana Cravitz

Ilana Cravitz has released a new book exploring traditional klezmer music. It's a teaching guide, accompanied by a CD, and helps the student delve into the style of klezmer playing. Seckund and bass parts pull out for handy playing with friends. Cravitz explains bowing techniques, includes a brief history of klezmer, and the modes of each piece. Each of the sixteen tunes has a listening track to help learn performance technique. She also gives suggestions for effective variations and interpretations from the written score. In the appendix is a helpful chart explaining the dance style that goes with the various tunes, a Yiddish glossary and pronunciation guide, a bibliography and a discography. She also gives helpful suggestions about arranging melodies in sets, or groups of tunes that will work well together without a break. This book can be offered by teachers or be used as a self-study for learning klezmer music. This item, published by the music division of Oxford University Press, has a very nice clear and readable print style. The tune selections consist of the currently played repertoire and are intended for intermediate to advanced players who already have a fairly good mastery of general violin technique. This score and CD set is recommended for home use as well as for purchase by college music libraries. The item can be purchased throught the Oxford University Press website.

Guitar Arrangements for Jewish Melodies

Ellen S. Whitaker, a guitar teacher in North Carolina, has created an excellent book of guitar arrangements of Jewish favorite melodies. The book is intended for intermediate to advanced guitar players, with a few easier pieces. It includes a key to the guitar notation used in the work, the texts to the songs in transliteration, occasionally in Hebrew text, with English and an annotation about the meaning of the song along with performance notes about each piece. The guitar music, both solos and duets are presented in a separate section, which is an excellent arrangement of the book for learning and performance. The end of the collection includes an appendix explaining the Jewish modes, a second appendix linking each piece with the mode used, a glossary of each of the musical terms, a bibliography and discography. The thoroughness of this work is to be admired. A student new to Jewish music would gain an enormous amount of insight, and those who are familiar with the songs already will have a set of well done arrangements with suggested performance practice. JMWC recommends this book not only to individuals, but to teachers, schools and colleges for purchase. For more information and to preview some of the arrangements, go to: http://www.lulu.com/content/3660520. To learn more about Ellen Whitaker, view her website at: http://www.ellenwhitakerguitar.com/Home_Page.html

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.