Use these resources to find Yiddish music online and in libraries and archives: search for sheet music, audio recordings, catalogs, and print anthologies.
Yiddish Sheet Music Online
| Name | Description | Search terms | Access |
| Brown University | 700 pieces of digitized Yiddish sheet music | Author, title, keyword. | Free access and download |
| HathiTrust | 98 digitized books with or about Yiddish songs | Author, title, keyword, subject. | Free access and download (where copyright allows) |
| Internet Archive | 11K+ digitized Yiddish books, audio and video from the Yiddish Book Center; also materials from YIVO and other libraries | Author, title or keyword. Use Yiddish, English and transliterated terms such as “Yidishe lider” and “Yiddish songs” for best results. | Free access and download |
| Library of Congress | 950 pieces of digitized Yiddish sheet music | Author, title, keyword. | Free access and download |
| Tara Publications | Yiddish and Jewish sheet music, books and ebooks for sale | Search the category “Yiddish” - arrangement is alphabetical by title | Downloads and print books for sale |
Audio Recordings Online
| Name | Description | How to use | Access |
| Judaica Sound Archives, Florida Atlantic University | Hundreds of albums and individual tracks of Yiddish and other Jewish music. | Search or browse by artist, title or genre. | Free streaming access for many items, others are excerpted or require an authorized “listening station.” |
| Milken Archive of Jewish Music | American Jewish music archive and publisher | Search for articles and artists by name and subject | Some free content; digital and physical recordings for sale |
| National Jukebox Collection, Library of Congress | 60 commercial Yiddish song recordings. | Sort by author, title, location, and more. | Free streaming access |
| Stonehill Jewish Song Collection | Ben Stonehill’s field recordings of Holocaust survivors with texts and notes, edited by Dr. Miriam Isaacs. | Browse by song title or theme. | Free streaming access |
| Yiddish Song of the Week (An-Sky Institute, Center for Traditional Music and Dance) | Field recordings with texts and notes by researchers, edited by Dr. Itzik Gottesman (ongoing). | Search by keyword or artist. | Free streaming access |
Libraries and Archives: Shared Catalogs
- ArchiveGrid - Shared archival database for collections worldwide
- Digital Europeana - Shared European library catalog
- Judaica Europeana - Shared European Judaica project
- WorldCat - Shared worldwide library catalog
Library and Archival Collections Search tips:
- Use the subject heading “Songs, Yiddish”
- Search in Yiddish (using the Hebrew alphabet) as well as transliteration (try UYIP for more information about Yiddish word processing)
- Vary your spelling—most publications use non-standard orthography
- Delve into archival finding aids to uncover deeper content; song titles and lyricists/composers may not be immediately apparent
| Name | Description | How to search |
| American Jewish Archives | Judaica library and archives | Search by author, title, subject in catalog; also search finding aids for archival collections. |
| Robert and Molly Freedman Jewish Sound Archive, UPenn | 4,000+ Yiddish and Hebrew recordings | Search by author, title, keyword or the first line of the song. |
| Hebrew Union College | Books, sheet music, manuscripts, recordings | Search by author, title, subject in catalog; also search finding aids for archival collections. |
| Jewish Theological Seminary | Major Judaica library and music collection with printed music and sound recordings | Search by author, title, subject in catalog; also search finding aids for archival collections |
| National Library of Israel | Books, sheet music, manuscripts, recordings | Search by author, title, subject in catalog; also search finding aids for archival collections. |
| New York Public Library | 800+ pieces of Yiddish sheet music, plus manuscripts, song collections and recordings | Search by author and title in English, Yiddish or transliteration. Browse call numbers *PVO and **P (Sheet Music) - limit language to Yiddish |
| YIVO Library,Sound Archive and Music Archive | Books, printed music, manuscripts, and sound recordings | Search by author, title, subject in catalog; also search finding aids for archival collections. |
Popular Yiddish Song Collections (Print)
Available at the reference desk in the Dorot Jewish Division.
| Author(s) | Title | Description |
| Heskes, Irene | Yiddish American popular songs, 1895 to 1950: a catalog based on the Lawrence Marwick roster of copyright entries | Catalog of Yiddish sheet music in the Library of Congress. |
| Mlotek, Eleanor and Joseph | Mir Trogn a Gezang! Songs of Generations. Pearls of Yiddish Song. New York: Workmen’s Circle | Anthologies of Yiddish songs. Arranged thematically. Texts in Yiddish, transliteration and English translation. Combined index is online: A-K and L-Z |
| Mlotek, Eleanor and Gottlieb, Malke | Yontevdike teg: liderbukh far di yidishe yontoyvim New York: Jewish Education Press, 1972 | Anthology of Yiddish songs organized by Jewish holidays. With Yiddish, transliteration and English translation. |
| Mlotek, Eleanor and Gottlieb, Malke | Mir zaynen do = We are here : songs of the Holocaust New York: Arbeter-ring bildungs-komitet, 1983 | Anthology of Yiddish songs of the Holocaust. With Yiddish, transliteration and English translation. |
| Mlotek, Zalmen (music editor), Warembud, Norman (selector); | The New York times great songs of the Yiddish theater. (foreword by Molly Picon) New York: Quadrangle/New York Times Book Co., c1975. | A classic selection of Yiddish theater songs, arranged for voice, piano, and guitar. Lyrics are transliterated. |
| Vinkovetsky, A. et al. | Anthology of Yiddish Folksongs Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1983. | In Yiddish, Hebrew and English. Arranged thematically. Includes volumes for Mordecai Gebirtig, Mark Warshawsky and Itzik Manger. |
Need additional help? Contact us at dorotjewish@nypl.org or view the full Yiddish Research Bibliography.