Abraham A. Schwadron "Chad Gadya" collection
By: collected by Abraham A. Schwadron
Published: 1973
Language: eng
Number of pages: 28
Subjects: Liturgy; Ladino Folk songs; Yiddish Folk songs; Jews; Tradition (Judaism); German Folk songs; Aramaic Songs; Ḥad gadya; Passover; English Folk songs; Texts; Music; Passover music; Italian Folk songs; Russian Folk songs; Hebrew Folk songs
Other titles: Chad gadya.; One kid.
Description: Collection consists of Schwadron's correspondence (1975-1985), manuscript materials, published and unpublished music transcriptions of the song, field recordings, and other materials from his research on "Chad Gadya" ("One Kid"), a Jewish song associated with Passover. It contains recordings and transcriptions of more than 160 versions of "Chad Gadya" and related songs from around the world. Some notes from and about Schwadron's informants include details about learning and transmission of the song.  Four photographic prints document the donation of the collection to the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, in 1988.
Notes: Abraham A. Schwadron "Chad Gadya" Collection (AFC 1988/026), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Duplication of the collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.

Ursula Schwadron; Donation; 1988.

Abraham A. Schwadron, musician, composer-arranger, scholar, and educator, was born in Brooklyn on December 25, 1925, where he later attended Boys' High School. He received his bachelor's degree from Rhode Island College, his master's from the University of Connecticut at Storrs, and his doctorate from Boston University. He came to UCLA in 1969, serving as Chair of the Department of Music from 1980 to 1983. The "Chad Gadya" was the focus of ten years of his research and travel to Jewish communities around the world. He died on September 23, 1987.

Sound recordings and song texts in: Aramaic, Hebrew, Italian, Ladino, Yiddish, English, German, and Russian.

Finding aid available in the Folklife Reading Room and online via the American Folklife Center web pages.

Collection includes a cassette copy of the published sound recording titled "Chad gadya," edited from field and archival recordings by Abraham A. Schwadron, Folkways FR 8920 (1982).