[[{“type”:“media”,“view_mode”:“media_large”,“fid”:null,“attributes”:{“class”:“media-image alignright size-full wp-image-1613”,“typeof”:“foaf:Image”,“style”:“”,“width”:“100”,“height”:“100”,“alt”:“Vermont Public Radio”}}]]The Dartmouth Jewish Sound Archive was a project started by Lewis Glinert, professor of Asian and Middle Eastern languages and literatures, and Alex Hartov, a professor of engineering at the Thayer School, ten years ago. The archive’s database includes sound files of religious services, children’s holiday stories, radio shows, and Yiddish folk songs, among others.

The two professors spoke with VPR’s Vermont Edition about the range and rarity of the recordings in the collection, including their personal favorites from the archives. “I have one that I brought back from Israel that is a recording of Jewish children in Morocco …that was made I believe somewhere around ’48 or ’49,” says Hartov. “It is an interesting relic of a time that has gone, when there was a thriving Jewish community in Morocco and they had the opportunity to sing as a community and make recordings of it, which I don’t think happens much any more.”

Glinert told VPR that over 6,000 users have accessed the archives over the past ten years, including high school and college students as well as cantors and rabbis. The interview also includes the professors’ commentary on the role the archive plays in preserving Jewish cultural history.

Listen to the full story, broadcast 4/4/12 on VPR’s Vermont Edition.