Various - History Beyond Recall (11-CD & 1-DVD)

11-CD/1-DVD (NTSC) boxed set (LP-size) with 516-page hardcover book, 256 tracks. Playing time approx. 829 mns. 


"The whole idea behind ‘Beyond Recall’ is that nothing recorded should ever be totally beyond recall. This prodigious BEAR FAMILY boxed set is like a chunk of the planet Krypton crashing our atmosphere – and not just because the accompanying 500-page, German and English book weighs almost eight pounds." - J. Hoberman, Village Voice (May 28, 2002)


After Hitler's seizure of power in 1933, anti-Semitism became a state doctrine. The National Socialists' aim was the physical destruction of the Jews. Every memory of the sound and voice of Jewish artists was to be consigned to oblivion in the same way as the Yiddish language. On being liberated from Theresienstadt concentration camp, the Berlin Rabbi, Leo Baeck, stated his conviction that the 1,000 year history of the Jews in Germany had come to an irrevocable end. This documentation is proof of the victory of life over death - priceless sound documents have been rescued, then restored with a great expenditure of technological effort and, after sixty years, made available once more for all time. 

Under constant surveillance by the Gestapo, the members of a Jewish Cultural League (Jüdischer Kulturbund) in Berlin were able to pursue their artistic activities and make and distribute records. Some of the titles recorded in Berlin were released in Palestine from 1934 to 1936 - forming part of the early history of Israel's record industry. These records that are scattered throughout the world for the most part exist only as single copies or test pressings. The repertoire is wide and includes classical music, Yiddish comedians, German cabaret, Palestinian folk songs and, above all, cantorial singing of enormous eloquence.

This edition consists of 11 CDs with a total playing time of more than 14 hours of music and a DVD with a reconstructed version of the sound film 'Hebräische Melodie' (Hebrew Melody) featuring the violinist Andreas Weissgerber - this film was believed lost, but is now presented here for the first time. The accompanying hardback book is profusely illustrated and presented in both German and English. The text has been jointly prepared by the biographer Horst H. J. P. Bergmeier, the historian Ejal Jakob Eisler and the discographer Rainer E. Lotz, and also contains an introduction by Rabbi Andreas Nachama, a foreword by Henryk Broder, an 'Introduction to the Jewish Liturgy' by Rabbi David Polnauer as well as an explanation of sound recording techniques by the sound engineer Robert M. Laue.


A letter from Michael Spudic Forest Hills, NY


Michael Spudic Forest Hills, NY