Hannukah at the Phonoteqah
Francesco Spagnolo, who knows Italian Jewish music like none other, posts this to the Jewish-Music mailing list:
For those of you who are not (yet) familiar with the amazing collection of the Jerusalem "Phonoteqah," aka the National Sound Archives (NSA) of the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem, Hannukah is a perfect time to become acquainted with it.
I just checked the NSA Hannukah page at: jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/music/hanukkah and had the pleasure of finding a wonderful selection compiled by Ruti Freed.
Of course, the Italian-Ashkenazi "Ma'oz tzur" is included. This a very important melody, as "ancient" as they come. It takes us straight back to the time when German Jews were fleeing Germany and moving Southbound to Venice, Italy, and its environs....
You will find several tunes for candle lighting, five different versions of "Ma'oz tzur," a song in Yiddish and one in Ladino. All tunes come also as downloadable Mp3 files.