The 2023 Recipient of the Brayndl Prize was Isabel Frey for her article "Sharpening the Ear: Postvernacular listening to field recordings of Yiddish folksongs." Congratulations, Isabel! 

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Abstract: This article is an ethnographic study of the contemporary pedagogical approaches to Yiddish folksongs, focusing on the engagement of contemporary Yiddish singers in singing lessons with archival field recordings of Yiddish folksingers from postwar North America. It introduces the concept of “postvernacular listening,” a listening practice that emphasizes the vocal and sonorous qualities of the performance style heard in these recordings, rather than listening for the purpose of transmitting text and melody. I argue that this shift represents a broader change in the transmission and reception of Yiddish folksongs within the global Yiddish music community, resulting from the loss of vernacular fluency and oral tradition, towards new forms of aural and oral transmission in a postvernacular pedagogical context. Drawing on ethnomusicology and sound studies, this ethnography shows that listening to field recordings is not merely an educational tool but as a deliberate cultural practice that encapsulates political and ethical dimensions, reflecting the complex negotiations involved in contemporary Yiddish cultural transmission.