Moshe Beregovski
Encyclopedia
Moshe Beregovski, or Moisei Iakovlevich Beregovskii (18921961), was a Ukrainian
Jewish folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He has been called the "foremost ethnomusicologist of Eastern European Jewry". His research gathered melodies and words of Yiddish folk songs, wordless melodies (nigunim), as well as Eastern European Jewish dance melodies (klezmer
music).
From roughly 1929 to 1947, Beregovski made ethnographic trips collecting secular Jewish music in various parts of Ukraine
. His works make up the largest and most carefully notated collection of its kind in prewar Europe. Mark Slobin
, who arranged and republished much of Beregovki's collection in the United States
, has said in an interview that Beregovski "was the only person to do this for Yiddish music, and he was an excellent ethnomusicologist." He made roughly 2,000 field recordings on 700 phonograph cylinder
s.
In 1944, Beregovksi received his Ph.D. from the Moscow Conservatory
, writing his dissertation on the topic of Jewish instrumental folk music. He was also a contemporary of such Eastern European ethnomusicologists as Bela Bartok
, and worked to meticulously expand the work of previous Eastern European Jewish ethnomusicologists such as A.Z. Idelsohn
, Yoel Engel, S. An-Sky, and Y.L. Cahan.
Beregovski was the head of the Cabinet for Jewish Musical Folklore in the ethnographic section of the Institute of Jewish Proletarian Culture in Kiev
. He continued his research during the period of Stalinist repression of the 1930s under what must have been great ideological pressure, as state-funded musical research in the Soviet Union
necessarily followed Marxist-Leninist
lines.
The institute itself was later closed down and many of its members exiled and disgraced. In 1949, Beregovski's department was closed and he was arrested and sent to Tayshet
, in the Irkutsk
region, where he remained from 1951 to 1955. In 1956, he was “rehabilitated” and returned to Kiev, where he lived the rest of his life.
Beregovski's archive of wax cylinders was thought by many to have been destroyed during World War II
, but it was discovered in a library in Kiev during the 1990s. Some of Beregovski's collections were republished by American ethnomusicologist
Mark Slobin, first in 1981 as Old Jewish Folk Music and in an expanded volume in 2001 as Jewish Instrumental Folk Music. His collections of melodies have made their way into the repertoire of many current-day klezmer musicians such as Joel Rubin
.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
Jewish folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He has been called the "foremost ethnomusicologist of Eastern European Jewry". His research gathered melodies and words of Yiddish folk songs, wordless melodies (nigunim), as well as Eastern European Jewish dance melodies (klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
music).
From roughly 1929 to 1947, Beregovski made ethnographic trips collecting secular Jewish music in various parts of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. His works make up the largest and most carefully notated collection of its kind in prewar Europe. Mark Slobin
Mark Slobin
Mark Slobin is an American scholar and ethnomusicologist who has written extensively on the subject of East European Jewish music and klezmer music. He is a Professor of Music and American Studies at Wesleyan University....
, who arranged and republished much of Beregovki's collection in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, has said in an interview that Beregovski "was the only person to do this for Yiddish music, and he was an excellent ethnomusicologist." He made roughly 2,000 field recordings on 700 phonograph cylinder
Phonograph cylinder
Phonograph cylinders were the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their era of greatest popularity , these cylinder shaped objects had an audio recording engraved on the outside surface which could be reproduced when the cylinder was...
s.
In 1944, Beregovksi received his Ph.D. from the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
, writing his dissertation on the topic of Jewish instrumental folk music. He was also a contemporary of such Eastern European ethnomusicologists as Bela Bartok
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
, and worked to meticulously expand the work of previous Eastern European Jewish ethnomusicologists such as A.Z. Idelsohn
Abraham Zevi Idelsohn
Abraham Zevi Idelsohn was a prominent Jewish ethnologist and musicologist, who conducted several comprehensive studies of Jewish music around the world....
, Yoel Engel, S. An-Sky, and Y.L. Cahan.
Beregovski was the head of the Cabinet for Jewish Musical Folklore in the ethnographic section of the Institute of Jewish Proletarian Culture in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. He continued his research during the period of Stalinist repression of the 1930s under what must have been great ideological pressure, as state-funded musical research in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
necessarily followed Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
lines.
The institute itself was later closed down and many of its members exiled and disgraced. In 1949, Beregovski's department was closed and he was arrested and sent to Tayshet
Tayshet
Tayshet is a town and a railroad junction in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. Population: Here the Baikal Amur Mainline begins, branching northeast from the Trans-Siberian Railway...
, in the Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
region, where he remained from 1951 to 1955. In 1956, he was “rehabilitated” and returned to Kiev, where he lived the rest of his life.
Beregovski's archive of wax cylinders was thought by many to have been destroyed during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but it was discovered in a library in Kiev during the 1990s. Some of Beregovski's collections were republished by American ethnomusicologist
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
Mark Slobin, first in 1981 as Old Jewish Folk Music and in an expanded volume in 2001 as Jewish Instrumental Folk Music. His collections of melodies have made their way into the repertoire of many current-day klezmer musicians such as Joel Rubin
Joel Rubin
Joel Rubin is a Jewish musician known for being a leading performer of klezmer music.He studied with Richard Stoltzman and Kalmen Opperman, attended the California Institute of the Arts and received a BFA from the State University of New York at Purchase. Rubin holds a Ph.D...
.
See also
- YIVOYIVOYIVO, , established in 1925 in Wilno, Poland as the Yidisher Visnshaftlekher Institut , or Yiddish Scientific Institute, is a source for orthography, lexicography, and other studies related to the Yiddish language...
- Ruth Rubin