Re: Vernadsky Library Microfilm

[Eliott Kahn <Elkahn...>]

Judy and all:

The LofC listing of the library's name is this:

Natsionalna biblioteka ukrainy im. V.I. Vernadskoho

or, more common but less official:

V. Vernadsky National Library of the Ukraine
or
Vernadsky National Library of the Ukraine.

I found nothing under these listings (under corporate authorship) in the OCLC 
worldcat database.
I'm probably missing another way to search, so please let me know.

I did call the folks at Norman Ross Publishing yesterday and they are sending 
us a 25 p. photocopy of the printed catalog for the Vernadsky sheet music 
collection. (Please note spelling.) It's in Ukrainian and Russian; we have 
folks here who can read these languages.

I'll report to this list what one may generally find in the four Vernadsky 
reels. If it's of sufficient interest, our library may purchase it. There is 
also a collection of microfilm from St. Petersburg with no printed catalog 
available.

All of this material, however, IS NOT the Beregovski Collection, the greatest 
value of which is in the numerous (hundreds) of recorded sound cylinders from 
the An-Ski Expedition of 1913-1914. There are, I believe, additional recordings 
made by Beregovski in the twenties as well as numerous transcriptions which 
Marc Slobin discusses in his book.

I heard Israel Adler give a talk on the archive in 1997 at NYU as part of the 
Voice of Ashkenaz Conference. As far as I know, he's been trying to get 
permission from the Ukrainians to make audio duplicates for years, and was 
still trying to raise the necessary funds--an enormous amount--to do so.

Unless the Ukranians begin issuing CDs themselves anytime soon, I wouldn't hold 
my breath. But this collection is truly "the motherlode" of recorded Jewish 
folk music and folkways.

Eliott Kahn 


At 06:17 PM 7/16/01 -0400, Judith S Pinnolis wrote:
>Pete:
>A number of libraries have bought microfilm of the collection. To see which
>ones, best to use worldcat at your library.
>
>Best,
>Judy
>Quoting Peter Rushefsky <rushefsky_p (at) univerahealthcare(dot)org>:
>
> > Found a publishing company (see web site below) offering microfilm of
> > Jewish
> > music from the Ukraine's Verdansky Library (possibly Beregovski's
> > transcriptions?).  Anyone know anything about it or if any US Libraries
> > have it
> > in their holdings? This company seems to be offering all sorts of
> > interesting
> > stuff.  
> > 
> > http://www.nross.com/music/music2.htm 
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > Pete Rushefsky
> > 
> > 
> > 
>
>

Dr. Eliott Kahn
Music Archivist
Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
3080 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
WK: (212) 678-8076
FAX (212) 678-8998
elkahn (at) jtsa(dot)edu

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