Visualizing the Archive: Pilot Study for the Discography of Recorded Jewish Music

• In Event: Introducing the Database of Recorded Jewish Music: A Demonstration of the Visualization and How To Use Tableau

Abstract

The Discography of Recorded Jewish Music (DRJM) project was initiated with a pilot study on the recording collection of the Milken Archive of Jewish Music. The Milken Archive was founded in 1990 to preserve and disseminate a large body of music pertaining to the American Jewish experience. It comprises nearly 800 pieces of music by 200 different composers and includes sacred, art, folk, and popular music. Among the Milken Archive’s repertoire are: symphonic and chamber works based on cantillation and folk motifs; songs from the American Yiddish theater and vaudeville tradition; dramatic works based on Jewish history and folklore; and sacred music composed for Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform religious observances. Though heavily concentrated in the twentieth century, these works span the entire history of Jewish musical life in America. The pilot study aimed to: (1) formulate a concrete and systematic analysis of the Milken Archive’s repertoire along multiple categories and criteria; (2) look for relationships among and within these different categories and criteria; (3) look for changes and trends over time; (4) formulate questions and hypotheses about the causes and consequences of these changes and relationships; and (5) create a “discovery tool” that would allow researchers and lay users to find particular musical works based on the analytical criteria. A final goal of the pilot study was to work toward a comprehensive model for analyzing other collections of Jewish music. This presentation will detail the analytical rubric developed for the pilot study (forty-one criteria across eight different categories; share the results of the final analysis of the Milken Archive’s repertoire; and discuss the application of the analytical model to other collections of recorded Jewish music.

Author

• Jeff Janeczko, Milken Archive of Jewish Music