RE: Broadway composers

[medelman <medelman...>]

Fred (et al)

        In addition to the Park Avenue commissions that Eliott mentioned, there
were also arrangements of "Palestinian Folk Songs" commissioned by the
Jewish Agency.  Kurt Weill did settings of Zeira's "Havu L'venim" and
Samburshy's "Ba'a M'nucha."  (Other pieces were set by Ernst Toch, Stefan
Wolpe, Paul Dessau, Darius Milhaud and Aaron Copland.)

        Marsha Bryan Edelman, Ed.D.
        Professor of Music and Education
        Gratz College, Melrose Park, PA

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
[mailto:owner-jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org]On Behalf Of Eliott Kahn
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 11:54 AM
To: World music from a Jewish slant
Subject: Re: Broadway composers





>The name Irving Berlin was mentioned in the same digest, and at the same
time I'm playing in a pit band for a USY production.  I'm reminded of a
Kiddush by Kurt Weill, and I wonder if List members are familiar with other
Jewish music by composers more usually associated with Broadway: Richard
Rogers, Steven Sondheim et al.
>
>Fred Blumenthal
>xd2fabl (at) us(dot)ibm(dot)com


Fred:

You should be aware that the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City had a
commissioning/performance series for Shabbat music from 1943-1976. The idea
was initiated and carried out by Park Avenue's Cantor David Putterman during
all those years. The idea was supported from its beginning by Park Ave.'s
Rabbi Milton Steinberg, who was a pupil of Reconstructionism's founder
Mordecai Kaplan.

Special annual services included music from Kurt Weill (Kiddush), Leonard
Bernstein (Hashkivenu), Darius Milhaud (Borchu, Shma), Mario
Castelnuovo-Tedesco and David Amram (complete services), among others.

We have all Park Avenue's scores and papers here at our Library. (I
catalogued,  arranged and described them.)  The finding aids are not yet
available on the web, but you may look at the bib records for the scores on
our OPAC at http://sefer.jtsa.edu  Just search under author= Park Avenue
Synagogue and look at which records were from the commissioning series.

Many of these scores were published in G. Schirmer's 1951 anthology,
"Synagogue Music by Contemporary Composers," and the Cantors Assembly 1979
anthology, "Mizmor l'David."

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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