Notes on Bukharan Music in Israel

The present paper describes the findings of a six-week research trip to Israel in May-June 1971. Having specialized in the music of Afghanistan and Soviet Central Asia, I was attracted by the possibility of finding survivals of Bukharan traditions in Israel, particularly in the area of secular music. This interest was stimulated by the observations of Israeli scholars, who have remarked that 'basic research ... should begin immediately, before the loss of those few who still remember Bukhara in all its splendour' (Lancet-Muller 1967: n.p.). Although the scope of the inquiry was limited by a serious dearth of musicians among the Israeli Bukharans, the data collected nevertheless afford a glimpse into the past and present state of Bukharan music among Central Asian Jews.