About This Collection
The Yiddish language sheet music in this digital collection is part of the large Sheet Music Collection at the John Hay Library. The digital collection is composed of public domain (pre-1923) titles; when the project is completed it is expected that it will be comprised of approximately 700 titles.
Most of the Yiddish sheet music in the collection came from the collection of Menache Vaxer, a Yiddish writer and Hebraist of Russia, and was acquired by the Library in 1968, which included over 850 pieces of piano-vocal or instrumental music, dating from the 1890s through the 1940s. This core collection has been added to by purchase and gift since that time, and the entire Yiddish sheet music collection now totals approximately 2000 items.
The Collection's focus is on the Yiddish-language musical stage, and includes many photographs of performers (often in costume) and composers, and, not infrequently, scenes from theatrical productions. Also included in the collection are art songs, Hebrew and Yiddish language folk songs, and religious music, notably from the cantorial repertoire. Notable performers and theatrical personalities represented are Molly Picon, Bores Thomashefsky, David Kessler, Jacob Adler, Aaron Lebedeff, Abraham Goldfaden, Mrs. Regina Praeger, and Cantor Gershon Sirota, among many others.
The originals, and the post-1923 titles in the collection, are available for consultation at the John Hay Library during its usual business hours. A related collection of Yiddish language literature is part of the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays, and includes the book portion of the Menache Vaxer Collection.