Velvel Pasternak (October 1, 1933 – June 11, 2019)
was a musicologist, conductor, arranger, producer, and publisher specializing in
Jewish music.
In 1981, the ''
New York Times'' described him as "an expert on the music of the
Hasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
sect and probably the largest publisher of Jewish music anywhere, although he was quick to note that publishing Jewish music is a business that attracts few rivals."
Biography
Velvel Pasternak was born in Toronto in 1933 to immigrant parents from Poland. He received an Orthodox Jewish education and was a graduate of
Yeshiva University High School for Boys (class of 1951) and of
Yeshiva University (class of 1955). He also studied at the
Juilliard School, and received a master's in
music education
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...
from
Teachers College, Columbia University.
The founder of Tara Publications, he was responsible for the publication of 26 recordings and over 150 books of Jewish music since 1971, spanning the gamut of
Israeli
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ...
,
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
,
Ladino
Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to:
* The register of Judaeo-Spanish used in the translation of religious texts, such as the Ferrara Bible
*Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especi ...
,
cantorial, Hasidic and
Holocaust music.
He was a regular lecturer on the music of the
Hassidim. He died on June 11, 2019, in New York City.
Published works
* ''Songs of the Chassidim'' (1970, )
* ''Songs of the Chassidim II'' (1971, )
* ''The Best of Israeli Folk Dances'' (1997, ) (previous edition 1990)
* ''The Jewish Fake Book'' (1997, )
* ''Z'Mirot and Kumzitz Songbook'' (1997, )
* ''Beyond Hava Nagila'' (1999, )
* ''The Jewish Music Companion'' (2003, )
* ''Songs Never Silenced--The Folk Music And Poetry of the Shoah'' (2003, ) (with Shmerke Kaczerginsky)
* ''The Best of Hasidic Song: Selections from 7 Acclaimed Music Books'' (2012, )
* ''The Big Jewish Songbook'' (2014, )
* ''Shlomo Carlebach Anthology: Compiled, Edited and Arranged by Velvel Pasternak'' (2016, )
* ''Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections'' (2017, )
See also
*
Jewish music
References
External links
Tara Publications *
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasternak, Velvel
1933 births
2019 deaths
Jewish musicologists
Jewish composers
Sheet music publishers (people)
American Orthodox Jews
Hasidic music
Canadian emigrants to the United States
American people of Polish-Jewish descent