Solo Vocal Works on Jewish Themes: A Bibliography of Jewish Composers is
a comprehensive and annotated compendium of stage, concert, and
liturgical compositions written by Jewish composers from every known
time period and country. Kenneth Jaffe has amassed nearly 3,000
large-scale musical works for solo voice(s) on Jewish themes, written by
Jewish composers. The works include over 400 cantatas, 150 oratorios,
almost 300 operas, more than 100 sacred services, 20 symphonies, and
more than 350 stage works, including Yiddish theatre, Purim and sacred
plays, multi-media pieces, and musical theatre. In addition, original
song cycles and liturgical services arranged for a modest to large
complement of instruments are also included. The works are organized by
composer and subdivided by genre, and each entry is fully annotated,
detailing the title, opus, voicing and instrumentation, text source,
commission, year completed, year and location of the premiere, the year
of publication and the publisher (if any), the location of scores, and
the duration of the work. The works are then broken down by theme, such
as Biblical themes, works for children, works of the Holocaust or Jewish
suffering and persecution, interfaith works, and wedding music. They are
then cross-referenced by voice type, arrangement, and by title. A list
of libraries and publishing houses of Jewish music rounds out this
invaluable reference.