Bob Berkman Collection (Archive ID 2004.11) - Currently consists of 114 ethnic piano rolls. More deposits are expected. See article below to learn more about the collection.

Ineze C. Caston Collection (Archive ID 2004.13) - Consists of Gospel related audio and video recordings. Primarily commercial recordings.

Cyprus Music Network (Archive ID 2004.14) - Consists of several hours of recordings of Cypriot folk music. Donated by Panikos Giorgoudis.

Barbara Krader Collection (Archive ID 2004.01) - Consists of Barbara Krader's handwritten notes, photographs, manuscripts, and original field recordings. Made while conducting research in the former Yugoslavia between 1951 and 1977. Deposited by Dr. Ankica Petrovic.

Tony Panchenko Collection (Archive ID 2004.07) - Consists of approximately 800 commercial recordings of Russian and Eastern European folk musics.

Cheick Tidiane Seck Collection (Archive ID 2004.16) - Consists of audiovisual recordings and student papers documenting Seck's tenure as a visiting lecturer during the Department of Ethnomusicology's Year of African Music (1999-2000).

Herb and Jo Shelley Collection (Archive ID 2004.03) - Consists of 571 sound recordings (78rpm and 45 rpm discs). Includes folk dance music from the United States, Mexico, Israel and Europe. Primarily commercial recordings. Click here to view a preliminary finding aid for the collection.

Janos Sipos Collection (Archive ID 2004.02) - Consists of recordings of the Baktashi people living in Thrace. Made by János Sipos and his wife Éva Csáki in 2003.

written by Bob Berkman

"As an antique phonograph buff, I've long been intrigued by the role the early phonograph played in collecting and preserving the world's musics. I'm also actively involved in the player piano industry, and have noted that this medium has been largely ignored by ethnomusicologists---despite the fact that hundreds of so-called "foreign" selections were recorded on American piano rolls between 1910 and 1930.

Two reasons for overlooking this material come immediately to mind: The scarcity of the pianos, and the scarcity of the rolls. Actually, player pianos are only perceived of as scarce. Except for the period from the Great Depression through the mid-1950's, new player pianos were manufactured in the U. S. all century long, ceasing only very recently. And thanks to a devoted network of collectors and hobbyists, many older instruments have been restored and maintained.

Perhaps more significant for researchers, who may not wish to master the arcane skills required for maximum utilization of a traditional player piano, is the advent of MIDI technology. Rolls can now be digitized into MIDI files by scanning and played back through electronic keyboards. Though certain details are obscured by this process and some performance characteristics diminished, the basic musical data on the rolls can be heard, preserved, disseminated, and studied without a player piano.

The problem, then, is the scarcity of the rolls. What is needed, it seemed to me, is a repository where the scattered surviving examples could be gathered and made available for study. I expressed this belief to Maureen Russell of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive and she responded enthusiastically. I'm very happy that the rolls I offered will become part of the Archive.

Few roll collectors have made a specialty of collecting this type of roll, but many have acquired a few here and there which reflect their own ethnic heritage or which were unavoidably purchased as part of a lot. I hope they too will consider culling their holdings of these unwanted rolls and donating them to the Archive. With their cooperation, a truly wide range of works will eventually be available.

It is true that, with rare exceptions, these rolls are not "snapshots" of live performances by native practitioners. There was no such thing as "live" roll recording in the U. S. until about 1912, and it was never practical for field recording. Instead, most rolls were "drafting table" arrangements by men and women trained in the craft but not necessarily in the "authentic" musical styles. Indeed, rendering some of this music on the piano in the first place could be considered inauthentic.

I see it differently. The rolls are fascinating documents for what they are: Hybrids reflecting the trends that re-shaped "foreign" musics on these shores, created for all those teeming immigrant populations struggling to adjust. We can hear in them the sounds of Old World music meeting New World technology and commerce. We can hear what perished, as well as what survived and penetrated and continues to reverberate. And we can enjoy them, as did their original owners, for their amazing variety and vitality."

Click here to view a preliminary finding aid for the Berkman Collection. To view images of items within the collection visit the following links:

Title: 1,2,3 and a zing, zing, zing sound recording : street songs & games of the children of New York City / recorded and edited by Tony Schwartz. Published/distributed: N.Y.C. : Folkways Records, c1953. Publisher number: FC 7003 Folkways Records. Physical description: 1 sound disc : analog, 33 1/3 rpm, microgroove ; 10 in.

Archive Call Number: ARLP 2949.

1, 2, 3 and a Zing, Zing, Zing is an anthology of field recordings made by early urban folklorist Tony Schwartz. While conducting research in his hometown of New York during the summer and fall of 1952, Schwartz compiled a large number of recordings in west Midtown Manhattan (his particular research area was two blocks wide and 20 blocks long). As Schwartz describes in his liner notes, the material on 1, 2, 3 and a Zing, Zing, Zing is meant to represent a sampling of what a person might have heard while listening to children in this community at that time.

As children from diverse cultural backgrounds are sampled, a wide variety of songs and games are presented to the listener. From clapping games played by children between the ages of eight and 12 to camp songs sung at a housing project by preteen youngsters, the breadth of these recordings is broad and the words are entertaining. For example, one young girl rattles off the following passage with a relaxed, swinging lilt: "I never went to college, I never went to school, but when it comes to boogie I'm the educated fool." Another track features the following string: "Policeman, policeman, do your duty/here comes Diane, the American beauty, she can wiggle, she can woggle, she can do the splits, but I bet you any money she can't do this."

Though the title implies that the sole subject of the recordings are New York children's street songs and games, a couple of cuts of adults playing drums and talking about playing drums made their way onto the record. Maybe Schwartz just liked the sound of the drums or maybe he considered drumming youthful. Whatever the case, and despite derogatory remarks leveled in one song, 1, 2, 3 and a Zing, Zing, Zing is an outstanding glance into the world of play, wonderment, and exploration. Reviewed by John Vallier (Copyright AMG)

Tony Schwartz, New York City, 1962 (NPR).