Documenting and Performing Ashkenazi Music

Documenting and Performing Ashkenazi Music

Chair: James Loeffler


Yelena Irzabekova, Germany
Beregovski’s Early Publications in the Context of his Research

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.

align=right> Judith Pinnolis, Brandeis University
‘Cantor Soprano’: The Career of Julie Rosewald

Between 1884 and 1893, a woman soprano soloist served in the role of a cantor at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco, singing the solo parts in all the services and directing the music of the synagogue. Julie Eichberg Rosewald, affectionately called “Cantor Soprano” by her congregation, stood as a unique figure of woman cantor in America until the mid-twentieth century. This paper will lay out a description of the musical career of Julie Rosewald, and offer the evidence of her extraordinary role at Temple Emanu-El.

3.8.09