Halphen library

With more than 80.000 audio files of Jewish music, 380.000 pages of sheet music, 1.000 books, 500 photographies, 200 monographs by artists and composers, 300 videos, the Halphen library is open for the public from Monday to Thursday from  9h30 to 13h and from 14h to 17h30, by taking an appointment.

Situated in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, close to subway and bus stations (subway lines 7 and 14, bus 83), the library can welcome approximately ten people. It is equipped with two computers where one can listen to or watch various documents.

On May 27, 2010, the European Institute of Jewish Music joined the Rachel network, a center associated with the French National Library, which gathers the main Jewish libraries in France (Bibliothèque de l’Alliance israélite universelle, de la Maison de la culture yiddish, du Séminaire israélite de France, de la médiathèque du Musée d’art et d’histoire du judaïsme…)..

Jewish music

From instrumental klezmer music to Chasidic or Yiddish songs, from Judeo-Arab and Judeo-Spanish songs to liturgical or art music, the field of Jewish music is as wide as it is varied. It is characterized by the experience of the diaspora, the meeting point of ideas and cultures. Thus there is not one Jewish music but several Jewish music, each one of them resulting of a specific history and environment.

To safeguard this music, to make them known, in order to enrich tomorrow’s musical heritage, this is the goal of the European Institute of Jewish Music.

An overview of our collections