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Finding Aids to Individual Collections in the Archive of Folk Culture
THE ABRAHAM A. SCHWADRON "CHAD GADYA" COLLECTION
AFC 1988/026
Library of Congress
American Folklife Center
September 1997
SUMMARY
The Abraham A. Schwadron "Chad Gadya" Collection consists of manuscript
materials and sound recordings compiled by Abraham Schwadron, professor
of music at UCLA, as part of his ten-year research on "Chad Gadya" ("One
Kid"), a Jewish folksong related to the Passover holiday. The research
combines historical and ethnographic perspectives, and includes field documentation
as well as bibliographic and discographic materials. It contains recordings
and transcriptions of hundreds of versions of "Chad Gadya" from Jewish
communities around the world.
The materials were donated to the Archive by Schwadron's family in 1988.
Collection materials date from 1973 to 1985. The manuscript material includes
correspondence, Schwadron's writings, informant information, background
research, and musical and textural transcriptions. The sound recordings
include more than 160 versions of the song.
Access and Reproduction: Listening and viewing access to the collection
is unrestricted. Duplication of the recorded materials may be governed
by copyright.
Primary Languages: Aramaic, English, German, Hebrew, Italian, Ladino,
Russian, Yiddish.
Physical Description:
Manuscripts 28 folders, one box index cards (1 linear foot)
Sound Recordings 16 7" reels at 7.5 ips |
AFC 1988/026:SR001A-1B
AFC 1988/026:SR002A-2B
AFC 1988/026:SR003-014 (original field recordings) |
14 90-min. audiocassettes |
(reference copies of above) |
7 90- and 60-min. audiocassettes |
AFC 1988/026:SR015-021 |
4 7" reels at 7.5 ips |
AFC 1988/026:SR022-025 |
2 5" reels at 7.5 ips and 3.75 ips |
AFC 1988/026:SR026-027 |
Graphic Materials |
4 b&w photographs |
COLLECTION INVENTORY AND DESCRIPTION
Location |
Contents |
|
Archive of Folk Culture Administrative Material |
Folder 1 |
Collection register. The collection guide (this document). |
Folder 2 |
Correspondence, 1988-89. Letters between the Schwadron family and
the Library of Congress, as well as internal Library memoranda. Arranged
chronologically. |
Folder 3 |
Public relations and promotion. Newsletter articles, photographs,
and other documentation on the gift of the collection and related activities. |
SERIES I: PRINT and MANUSCRIPT MATERIALS
Folder 4 |
Correspondence. Letters and notes written between Schwadron
and others (colleagues, informants), dated between 1975 and 1985. Arranged
chronologically. |
Folders 5-6 |
Writings by Schwadron. Published articles, paper presentations, and
other manuscripts written by Schwadron concerning Jewish music and "Chad
Gadya." Arranged alphabetically by title. Includes a copy of liner
notes to Folkways Recording FR 8920, Chad Gadya [One Kid],
1982. |
Research Materials
Box 3 |
Informant information--index to performers (cards). Names
and addresses of informants, arranged alphabetically. |
Folders 7-9 |
Informant information--informants' data sheets. Documents recording
pertinent information about each informant and his or her version of
the song, arranged alphabetically by informant. |
Folder 10 |
Informant information--performers' agreements. Releases signed by
informants concerning permission to use their singing and background
information. |
Box 3 |
Background research--bibliography (cards). Index cards listing bibliographic
information on published research, arranged alphabetically by author. |
Folders 11-13 |
Background research--collected publications and manuscripts. Copies
of articles, newsclippings, papers, and so forth concerning "Chad Gadya" and
related topics. |
Folder 14 |
Music research--index to published music. Typed citations of published
music found in folders 15- 17. |
Folders 15-17 |
Music research--published music. Copies of published music transcriptions
and lyrics of different versions of "Chad Gadya," some with annotations.
Arranged in order as listed in the index in folder 14. |
Folder 18 |
Music research--index to unpublished music. Typed index of sources
of unpublished music found in folders 19-21. |
Folders 19-21 |
Music research--unpublished music. Copies of music transcriptions
and lyrics of different versions of "Chad Gadya," some with annotations.
Arranged in order as listed in the index in folder 18. |
Folders 22-25 |
Music research--unindexed music. Copies of published and unpublished
music transcriptions and lyrics of different versions of "Chad Gadya" and
related songs. |
Folder 26 |
Indexes to recordings. Typed table of contents of field recordings
on AFC 1988/026:SR001-014. Includes traditional source, performer,
language, recording location, recordist, and location of notation (as
found in "published" and "unpublished" music). Arranged numerically
by original recording number. |
Folders 27-28 |
Notes and drafts. Miscellaneous notes, ephemera, drafts, and music
transcriptions. |
SERIES II: SOUND RECORDINGS
AFC 1988/026:SR001-014 |
16 7" reels containing original field recordings of
versions of "Chad Gadya." See folder 26 for the index to the recordings.
Reference copies are available in the Folklife Reading Room. |
AFC 1988/026:SR001-rl through 14 |
audiocassette reference copies made from above 16 original. |
AFC 1988/026:SR014-rl |
NOTE: Collector's original 1A-1B and 2A- 2B tapes were duplicated
onto reference tapes 1 and 2. For example, original AFC 1988/026:SR001A
and 1988/026:SR001B were combined into reference tape AFC 1988/026:SR001-rl. |
AFC 1988/026:SR015-027 |
13 recordings (7 audiocassettes, 4 7" reels, and 2 5" reels) containing
copies of versions of "Chad Gadya" for research purposes and lecture
demonstrations. Includes a copy of the Folkways Recording FR8920, Chad
Gadya [One Kid] (AFC 1988/026:SR021). |
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