Beregovski’s Early Publications in the Context of his Research

The Fifteenth World Congress Of Jewish Studies Jerusalem

Session: Documenting and Performing Ashkenazi Music
3.8.09
Chair: James Loeffler

Summary:

Moshe Beregovski (1892-1961) the founder of Soviet Jewish ethnomusicology, the author of a multivolume edition on Jewish folk music, largely published posthumous. In 1929-1930 Beregovski published two of his first works: a critical review on Musikalischer Pinkos and an article on multilingual Jewish songs. The review stated Beregovski’s views on the methods of collecting Jewish folk music heritage. The article contained analysis of multilingual Jewish songs, the majority of which were connected with religious themes. The article also included an attachment of 36 songs collected by the folklorist himself. It is important to note that these songs were never mentioned or included in Beregovski’s later publications. In the review Beregovski introduced for the first time the term “Klezmer music”.

Beregovski’s early publications focused on the synthesis of the religious-ethnic quintessence of Jewish folklore, where Beregovski did not distinguish between the religious and the ethnic. These early publications were different from Beregovski’s later works. Beregovski’s early publications reveal his true view on Jewish folk music that has a fundamental connection with religious-ethnic themes which he was later forced to conceal due to the circumstances of the time. Even though today these publications are not widely known and often forgotten, they are significant as they provide an opportunity for a different approach to Beregovski’s academic heritage.