Re: Goldfaden's operettas

[Judy Pinnolis <pinnolis...>]

Eliott:
The item you have is likely very typical.

As Slobin points out in his introduction to Yiddish Theater in America (New
York: Garland, 1994), very often there were no full orchestration scores
written to many of these early theater pieces. The original full scores of
the music were usually not published... just the performance parts and lead
sheets... today we could view some sheets with annotation by the various
conductors. One needs to make reconstructions from these parts for many of
Goldfaden works, the way Slobin has had to do ... in order to recreate a
performance fully orchestrated. Existing performance parts lead us to think
that music can be reconstructed into a score of sorts. (Of course, each
production might vary as to instrumentation depending on who was available,
or how much money there was that week.) Slobin also tells us in his article
in the YIVO annual 1983, that there is a good deal of information around on
orchestration... (but.. you might have to dig for it.) 
Judy

Eliott Kahn wrote:
> 
> I have the score for "Shulamith" in front of me (NY: Hebrew Publishing Co., 
> 1912). There are 25 numbers in all (51 p.) and it is scored very simply on 
> two piano staves with an "oom-chick" bass and a melody line, or a melody line 
> in thirds above. The text (in romanized Yiddish) is written between the 
> staves.
> 
> One of our klezmer folks can give far better explanations than I but I 
> believe that Yiddish theatre scores were usually written in a piano/vocal 
> format and the musicians improvised from that. Or perhaps there were parts 
> and a conductor's score available that are now lost.
> 
> I did look at Sholom Secunda's Yiddish theatre scores at NYU a few years ago 
> and they were all piano/vocal scores. Although, I'm almost positive Secunda 
> wrote out most of his parts for his various ensembles. He was a trained 
> musician and I know other pieces of his (and Yiddish theatre composer Abe 
> Ellstein) that he arranged and wrote out for instrumental ensemble.
> 
> Perhaps there are some conductor's scores with parts in archival collections 
> like Rexsite's, but all indications point to the fact that full scores for 
> Yiddish theatre productions were not usually published.
> 
> Good Shabbes,
> 
> Eliott Kahn
> 
> 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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