>Anthology of Hassidic Music
More details
Year:
1985
Catalog number :
45-333008
ISBN:
965-222-045-0
Pages:
472
Language:
Weight:
2150 gr.
Cover:
Hardcover

Anthology of Hassidic Music

Synopsis

The ANTHOLOGY OF HASSIDIC MUSIC is a special collection of a wide variety of music whose origin is Hassidic. The ANTHOLOGY contains a complete musical transcription of the Sabbath eve service in Hassidic nusach (melodic style), table songs for Sabbath and festivals, Hassidic Niggunim (melodies) on Hebrew and Yiddish texts, textless Niggunim,traditional chanting formulas and cantorial pieces of Hassidic origin. The ANTHOLOGY also contains choral arrangements of Hassidic songs and compositions which are based on Hassidic musical motives. Many of these Niggunim and compositions see here the light of print for the first time.

The ANTHOLOGY is a continuation of Chemjo Vinaver's famous Anthology of Jewish Music. It is the fruit of many years of labour in collecting and notating Hassidic music; the result of the tireless efforts of Chemjo Vonaver who was on the one hand a great connoisseur of this music which he knew from early childhood and on the other hand a meticulous selector and critic, who would not compromise good taste and originality for the sake of popularity.
In spite of his wide activities as choral conductor (he won great acclaim for his outstanding choirs in Berlin and New York) he devoted much time and effort to this collection, but he died before he could edit the material for print. Dr. Eliyahu Schleifer, lecturer of Musicology in Tel Aviv University and researcher at the Jewish Music Research Centre at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, re-edited Vinaver's musical transcriptions. Dr. Schleifer also wrote explanatory notes to each of the 104 compositions of the ANTHOLOGY and an extensive introduction to each section of the book. In these notes and introductions he explained the liturgical or social significance of the texts and commented on the music basing his observations on the most recent research in Hassidic Music.
The introductions and annotations are in English and Hebrew. Special effort was made to explain Hassidic matters to the non-initiated. Many hints are given for the sake of performers who would wish to sing this music in a manner which would suit the special musical aesthetics of the Hassidim.