The Archives of the World Centre for Jewish Music in Palestine, 1936-1940, at the Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem

The musicological activities in Israel prior to statehood are often characterized by rather outstanding contributions of single individuals, possessing usually a European musicological and humanistic education; best known of such individuals are, of course, A. Z. Idelsohn and Robert Lachmann, who typify this pioneering approach to the musics of Israel. These two individual efforts included attempts to create in Jerusalem institutional tools for the advancement of Jewish music research: Idelsohn's attempt to establish in 1910 the Makôn le-sirat yisra'el and Lachmahn's attempt, after his immigration to Palestine in 1935, to create at the Hebrew University the 'Archive of Oriental Music.' Both these endeavours, though short-lived, were significant forerunners of later realizations, after the creation of the State of Israel, which brought to existence in 1964 the Jewish Music Research Centre at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The purpose of this article is to introduce the documentation of yet another attempt to organize pre-statehood musicological endeavours: the 'World Centre for Jewish Music in Palestine' (WCJMP). Although this initiative was doomed to disappear a few years after its inception, organizational efforts were most effective and succeeded not only to reach all parts of the world, but also to produce within Palestine many of the fruits of labour generally associated with a musicological organization. Despite the problems of isolation in a still sparsely settled land, inadequate personnel, and the sometimes devastating effects of opposition to its efforts, the World Centre began to thrive soon after its conception in 1936, sponsoring concerts and public presentations, and even publishing a journal, before the Second World War brought an end to the centre's activities by destroying that which was most essential to the centre, its contact with musicians and musicologists throughout the world.