Yiddish
Recorded in Eastern Europe and the United States, 1890s–1930s
Published sides carry the Yiddish tag in this hearth, chosen from the vault rows behind them. The dated years run 1907, 1915, 1918, 1921, 1922, 1923, and a single 1947; most sides are solidly pre-1923, some sit in the 1923–46 gray band, a few remain without a firm year, and one belongs to the riskier 1947 group.
Aaron Lebedeff appears again and again—with Abe Schwartz' Orchestra on 'Ich Bin A Border Bei Mein Weib' and 'Gegen A Weib Ken Men Kein Chochem Gur Nit Sein,' with Bessie Weisman on 'Rumenishe Feferlach,' on 'Yiddishe Chestushkes,' and on 'A Malke of Peisach.' Abe Schwartz's orchestra alone takes 'Baym Schtefanishter Rebn'; Morris Goldstein is heard on 'Tchepe Nit,' 'Die Griene Cusiene,' and 'Lenin & Trotsky.'
Cantorial and concert voices stand beside the dance sides. Cantor Maurice Ganchoff, with Sholom Secunda, gives both parts of 'Dos Yiddishe Lied'; Cantor Benjamin Siegel sings 'Mein Yiddishe Mamme' in 1947; Joseph Shlisky is credited with a male choir. Dave Tarras and his Orchestra play 'Ternovker Sher,' Naftule Brandwine 'Der Ziser Bulgar,' and Kandel's Jewish Orchestra 'Yekatarinsklaver Bulgar.'
The earliest side is Ada Jones and Len Spencer's 'Becky and Issy; Yiddish Courtship' from 1907; Maurice Burkhart follows in 1915 with 'At The Yiddish Wedding Jubilee.' Elsewhere the list holds Miriam Kressyn's 'Mein Yiddishe Mame,' Simon Paskal's 'Zion Du Bleibst Eibig Beim Yidd,' Saul Maisels on 'Oif'n Pripetchik,' and lighter titles such as 'Silver Swanee' and 'I Love Her - She Loves Me.'
About this hearth
From the earliest commercial cylinders, Yiddish-speaking artists recorded in the Tsarist empire’s cities, in Central Europe and—especially—in New York and other U.S. centres. Theatre stars cut songs from the popular stage; clarinet-, violin- and brass-led bands documented dance repertories later labelled klezmer; cantors issued sacred and semi-sacred sides for home listening. Language, humour and modal melody tie the catalogues together across sacred–secular lines. The records are a principal archive of a transnational Jewish vernacular culture before the Holocaust destroyed much of its European base.
Recorded in: New York, Warsaw, Vilna, Odessa
Vilnius, in their time
Vilna — the Jerusalem of Lithuania. Commons is thin on its streets, so these lean on the market and parade views that survive; a fuller pull from YIVO and the National Library of Lithuania is the next step.
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The music-makers and the dress
10 period items of this hearth's own music-makers and dress (4 of them printed pages rather than photographs), every one dated from its source's own records. Shown as documentary record, credited to the holding collection; anything here is removed on request. Sources: Wikimedia Commons (10).
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Restored Recordings
Every track below is a remaster. Press play on the full sequence, or pick a single recording.
"YIDDISHE MOMME"
A Chazen A Shiker (Part )1 - Maurice Schwartz
A Chazen A Shiker (Part 2) - Maurice Schwartz
A MALKE OF PEISACH
At The Yiddish Wedding Jubilee
Baym Schtefanishter Rebn בײַם שטעפֿאַנישטער רבין
Becky and Issy; Yiddish Courtship
CELESTE AIDA
Dave Tarras Jewish Instrumental Trio - Shifra Tantzt and Sirba
DER ZISER BULGAR
Die Griene Cusiene
DOS YIDDISHE LIED - Part I
DOS YIDDISHE LIED - Part II
E LUCEVAN LE STELLE
Gegen A Weib Ken Men Kein Chochem Gur Nit Sein
Greek Music; Jewish Music; The Gregorian Chant; Early Polyphonic Music; The Troubadours; The Minnesingers; Early Netherland Music - Part 1; Early Netherland Music - Part 2; German Choral Music of XVIt
I LOVE HER - SHE LOVES ME
Ich Bin A Border Bei Mein Weib
If You Do-What You Do (Si Haces-Lo Que Haces)
Keep It under Your Hat
Lenin & Trotsky
MEIN YIDDISHE MAME
MEIN YIDDISHE MAMME
OIF'N PRIPETCHIK (אויפן פריפעטשיק)
ON A WINDY DAY, 'WAY DOWN IN WAIKIKI
PEISACH ZEIT
Rumenishe Feferlach (Romanian Peppers) רומענישע פֿעפֿערלעך
Shlisky, Joseph, cantor - Aeolian Vocalion K 05030 (1922)
Silver Swanee
Tchepe Nit
TERNOVKER SHER
Those Star Spangled Nights In Dixieland
Tikanto Shabos-Teil 1 (Thou Didst Institute the Sabbath-Part 1)
Tikanto Shabos-Teil 2 (Thou Didst Institute the Sabbath-Part 2)
YEKATARINSKLAVER BULGAR
Yiddishe Chestushkes
Zion Du Bleibst Eibig Beim Yidd
About the restoration
Every recording here is a historical track sourced from a public archive and remastered through a purpose-built chain — the same fixed chain for every file, no machine-learning enhancement. The aim is simple: sound better, and meet YouTube's audio standards. Rights status differs per recording and sources are credited where known; anything still in copyright is published with attribution and removed on request. The surface noise of the original transfer is still audible, because removing it completely would mean removing the recording too. How the restoration works →