Finding Yiddish Music in NYPL's Catalog
Browse by subject headings in the Research Catalog:
Browse by historical call number in the Legacy Catalog
- **P (Sheet Music) for Yiddish sheet music in the Dorot Jewish Division:
- **P (Thomashefsky Collection) for Yiddish music manuscripts from Boris Thomashefsky's repertoire (these contain parts for several instruments and were used for musical theater productions)
- *PVO for Jewish songbooks in all languages
Search the "author" field for the names of composers, lyricists, and performers.
Use these search terms in the "all fields" search box:
- SATB
- Choir
- Hora
- Sher
- Yiddish art songs
- Yiddish theater songs
Additional Search Tips
- The term "klezmer" is used by contemporary authors to describe Yiddish instrumental music, but it's generally not used as a search term for primary sources/ historical works in the collection.
- If the item you need was published in the U.S. before 1923, check the digital sources listed in this guide to find an online version.
- Spelling varies. Try searching in the Hebrew alphabet. If you don't have a Hebrew keyboard, use an online one.
- Please contact us at dorotjewish@nypl.org for additional assistance.
Links
- The Yosl and Chana Mlotek Yiddish Song Collection at the Workers' Circle.This database has musical notation for 400 songs, arranged thematically, with lyrics in Yiddish and YIVO-standard transliteration, and English translation. The content comes from the following books:
-Mir Trogn a Gezang! 4th edition. New York: Workmen's Circle, 2000.
-Mir zaynen do=We are here! Songs of the Holocaust. New York: Workmen's Circle, 1983.
-Songs of Generations. New York: Workmen's Circle, 1997.
-Pearls of Yiddish Song. New York: Workmen's Circle, 1988.
-Yontevdike teg: lider far di yidishe yontoyvim. Jewish Education Press, 1972. - Wood, Abigail. Index of Yiddish songbooks published ca. 1900-2002.Appendix detailing collections of Yiddish songs published between 1900 and the present day, based principally on a survey in 2001 of the holdings of the New York Public Library, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, supplemented by material found in UK collections.
Klezmer (Instrumental) Repertoire
Intro text
International Hebrew wedding music by Publication Date: 1916
Klezmer fiddle : a how-to guide : 16 tunes with accompanying chords plus pull-out booklets for second fiddle and cello/bass by ISBN: 9780193355842Publication Date: 2008
- Transcontinental PublicationsSongbooks for klezmer and other Jewish music traditions.
Books About Yiddish Song
Tenement Songs: the popular music of the Jewish immigrants by ISBN: 0252008936Publication Date: 1990
Music Books
- Pearls of Yiddish song : favorite folk, art and theatre songs by Publication Date: 1988
- Songs of generations : new pearls of Yiddish song by Publication Date: 1999
