Re: last child (question from my web page)

[James Benjamin Loeffler <jbl37...>]

I think Mark is talking about the mezinke-tants. It is a dance performed
on the occasion of the last daughter being married off. I confess I am not
sure as to what traditional melodies are, but I do recall that you can
find one melody notated in a sheet music collection published called "The
Joy of the Jewish Wedding" by Sol Zim, c. 1986 and published by Tara
Publications. On the Tara Publications website you should also be able to
find a new recording by Paul Zim (Sol's bro?), Paul Zim presents a
musical mazel tov to the bride and groom: from the cocktail hour through
the reception [Simcha, 1997] which probably has a melody. 
        Neither of those sources is probably going to be anything special
or even totally accurate, but they should be useful to a decent band.
There are definitely other recordings of the mezinke-tants out there.
I'll pass on anything else that comes to mind.
        "Di mezinke oysgegebn" is a song about the ritual and the dance,
and it was composed by the great Yiddish folkstimlikhe composer Mark
Varshavsky. It can be found in numerous Yiddish folk song collections.


Hope this helps,



Jim Loeffler