Sephardic Art Song A Musical Legacy of T
Sephardic Art Song A Musical Legacy of T
Sephardic Art Song A Musical Legacy of T
This dissertation explores the rich Sephardic Art Song repertoire. It comprises
songs; and the development of the genre from its emergence to the present, including
a list of all the 20th- and 21st-century composers that have contributed to the
Sephardic Art Song genre and a catalog of their works; a discussion on performance
practice, including a diction guide for Ladino; and three recital performances of a
selection of works from this repertoire. The recordings of these live performances are
can be traced back to the Iberian Peninsula, specifically to the Jews that were
expelled from Spain in 1492 as a result of the Spanish Inquisition. As they migrated
all over the world, the Sephardim carried with them their culture, traditions, Judeo-
Espagnol language, and oral literature. Traditional Sephardic songs constitute a large
portion of this literature and have been preserved to this day through oral
of a Sephardic song repertoire in the form of classical art song, as Western classical
these folksongs, and in arranging them in the Western classical tradition for voice and
forty-five 20th- and 21st-century Western classical composers that have made
significant contributions to the Sephardic Art Song genre with their arrangements of
over a hundred and ninety Sephardic folksongs, as well as their original compositions.
The composers discussed and the selection of 20th- and 21st-century works
performed in this dissertation are the following: Yehezkel Braun, Seven Sephardic
Coplas Sefardies; William Kenlon, Two Sephardic Songs; Manuel García Morante,
Songs.
SEPHARDIC ART SONG: A MUSICAL LEGACY OF THE SEPHARDIC
DIASPORA
by
Lori Şen
Advisory Committee:
Professor Linda Mabbs, Chair
Professor Martha Randall, Co-chair
Professor Carmen Balthrop
Professor Jessica Roda
Professor Rita Sloan
Professor Juan Uriagereka
© Copyright by
Lori Şen
2019
Acknowledgments
Randall and Professor Linda Mabbs for their mentorship and guidance throughout my
dissertation, but also for being intellectual inspirations and role models for me during
committee members, Professor Rita Sloan, Professor Carmen Balthrop, and Professor
Juan Uriagereka, and Professor Jessica Roda, a late but exceedingly welcome
addition to my committee. Thank you all for your enthusiasm and full support
especially found great joy in meeting and learning from friends and colleagues, who
have shared with me their passion, talent, and knowledge along the way without
Manuel García Morante, Dr. Jessica Roda, and Linet Şaul, for inspiring me and for
generously sharing their knowledge and work with me. Very special thanks to Dr.
William Kenlon and Dr. Brian T. Field, who eagerly contributed to my Sephardic Art
Song project with their original compositions. Many thanks to Sofiya Schug, who
introduced me to Rodrigo’s Cuatro Canciones Sefardíes; the work that triggered this
whole project. I would also like to thank Alex Chan, Jeremy Lyons, Emily Robinson,
Meghan Shanley, Shawn Alger, Carol Anne Bosco, Caroline Rohm, Juliana Franco,
and William Kenlon, with whom I had the pleasure of creating beautiful music on
stage. I am grateful that our paths crossed and I look forward to many collaborations
in the future.
ii
I would like to thank the Ethnomusicology division at the University of
Maryland for welcoming me so warmly in their department over the past two years.
My special thanks go to Dr. Laura Schnitker and fellow TAs, who have widened my
Some special words of gratitude go to my friends near and far, who have been
an immense support system during this exciting but challenging time in my life;
Çikurel, Aydın Cem Keser, Gökçe Başar, Tania M. Jenkins, Professor Jeanette
Thompson, Juliana Franco, Sequina DuBose, Alex Chan, Maxwell Yamane, and
Last, but not least, I would like to thank my family for their support and
encouragement over the years. None of what I have accomplished thus far would
have been possible without your love and support; I owe you an immeasurable debt of
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments........................................................................................................ iii
List of Tables ............................................................................................................... vi
List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................. vii
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1
CHAPTER 1: THE SEPHARDIM ............................................................................ 13
1.1. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ........................................................................... 13
1.2. THE LADINO LANGUAGE .......................................................................... 15
1.3. SEPHARDIM TODAY ................................................................................... 18
CHAPTER 2: TRADITIONAL SEPHARDIC SONGS ............................................ 20
2.1. CATEGORIES ................................................................................................. 20
2.1.1. Romances .................................................................................................. 20
2.1.2. Coplas ....................................................................................................... 21
2.1.3. Cantigas..................................................................................................... 22
2.2. TEXTS ............................................................................................................. 22
2.3. THE MUSIC .................................................................................................... 23
CHAPTER 3: SEPHARDIC SONGS IN THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES ........ 27
CHAPTER 4: THE SEPHARDIC ART SONG CATALOG .................................... 30
4.1. LIST OF COMPOSERS AND WORKS ......................................................... 30
4.2. LIST OF WORKS CATEGORIZED BY INSTRUMENTATION ................. 32
4.3. LIST OF SONGS ............................................................................................. 34
CHAPTER 5: PERFORMANCE PRACTICE .......................................................... 44
5.1. PERFORMANCE ............................................................................................ 44
5.2. DICTION ......................................................................................................... 48
5.3. MUSIC ............................................................................................................. 53
5.4. AUDIENCE ..................................................................................................... 56
CHAPTER 6: PERFORMANCES ............................................................................ 61
6.1. RECITAL 1 – PROGRAM NOTES ................................................................ 61
6.1.1. Lorenzo Palomo, Cinco Canciones Sefardíes (2006) ............................... 62
6.1.2. Manuel Valls, Canciones Sefarditas (1975) ............................................. 63
6.1.3. Andrew Zohn, 8 Sephardic Songs (2011) ..................................................... 64
6.2. RECITAL 2 – PROGRAM NOTES ................................................................ 65
6.2.1. José Antonio (Aita) de Donostia, Canciones Sefardíes (1941) ................ 66
6.2.2. Joaquín Nin-Culmell, Six Chansons Populaires Séphardiques (1982) .... 67
6.2.3. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Three Sephardic Songs (1959) .................. 68
6.2.4. Manuel García Morante, 40 Canciones Sefardies (1983) ......................... 70
6.2.5. Alberto Hemsi, Coplas Sefardies (1933-1973)......................................... 72
6.3. RECITAL 3 – PROGRAM NOTES ................................................................ 73
6.3.1. Joaquín Rodrigo, Cuatro Canciones Sefardíes (1965) ............................. 75
6.3.2. Yehezkel Braun, Seven Sephardic Romances (1968) ............................... 78
6.3.3. Frederic Hand, Sephardic Songs (1996) ................................................... 80
6.3.4. Wolf Simoni, Cuatro Cánticas Sefardíes (1935/36)................................. 82
6.3.5. William Kenlon, Two Sephardic Songs (2018) ........................................ 83
iv
6.3.6. Sid Robinovitch, Rodas Recordada (2005) .............................................. 86
Appendix A: RECITAL DVD TRACK LISTINGS .................................................. 89
Appendix B: TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS ......................................................... 92
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 112
v
List of Tables
Table 1: List of Composers in Chronological Order and Their Works ..................... 30
Table 2: List of Works Categorized By Instrumentation ........................................... 32
Table 3: List of Songs in Alphabetical Order ............................................................ 34
Table 4: Vowel Sounds in Ladino ............................................................................. 51
Table 5: Consonant Sounds in Ladino ....................................................................... 52
vi
List of Abbreviations
acc Accordion
alt Alto (voice)
bar Baritone (voice)
bcl Bass clarinet
bn Bassoon
cl Clarinet
db Double bass
fl Flute
gtr Guitar
hn Horn
hp Harp
mez Mezzo-soprano (voice)
ob Oboe
org Organ
perc Percussion
pf Piano
picc Piccolo
sop Soprano (voice)
str String instruments
tam Tambourine
ten Tenor (voice)
timp Timpani
tbn Trombone
tpt Trumpet
v Voice (solo)
va Viola
vc Cello
vn Violin
vii
INTRODUCTION
In the 21st century, the Western classical art song genre has secured its place
throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Around the mid-19th century, classical singers
began to include art songs in their recital and concert repertoire, which was
concert hall repertoire mainly consisted of arias, as the art song belonged to soirées in
more intimate spaces, such as the “music salons of the cultivated bourgeoisie” or
homes of the elite.1 By early to mid-20th century, it had already become quite
common for classical singers to juxtapose operatic repertoire not only with works
from the pioneers of the art song genre, the German Lied and French Mélodie, but
also the vocal literature of the United States and the British Isles. The performances
included both the operatic and the popular, ranging from duets from La Bohème to
Noel Coward’s Bitter Sweet, from film music to ballads and folk songs.2 In his article
on voice recitals in smaller cities in the United States, James F. Richardson mentions
“Luciano Pavarotti has never strayed from his Italian arias and songs. The
1
Kravitt, Edward F. “The Lied in 19th-Century Concert Life.” Journal of the American Musicological
Society Vol. 18, No. 2, 1965, p. 208.
2
Richardson, James F. “Vocal Recitals in Smaller Cities: Changes in Supply, Demand and Content
Since the 1920’s.” Journal of Cultural Economics, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1981, pp. 21-35.
1
does, this kind of semi-pop concert with style and vocal beauty. No
intellectual records are broken, but everybody has a marvelous time.” The
clear implication is that if you have that kind of voice you can get away with
In a similar manner, Spanish soprano Victoria de los Angeles was applauded for her
performances of works in German, French, and her native Spanish, in the United
States in 1950s.4 There are many more examples of classical singers’ incorporation of
vocal repertoire from their homelands and culture into their recital programs
throughout the 20th century. This way, audiences, as well as singers, became exposed
to repertoire and languages outside the canon and developed an appreciation for
musicologist, and Iberian and Latin American art song expert Patricia Caicedo draws
American art song literature, and its exclusion from curricula in schools outside Latin
however, this is about to change. Today, classical singers and teachers have a vast
repertoire to choose from, although most students and professional singers may not be
fully aware of that. The recent developments in publishing, recording, and internet
3
Ibid., p. 26.
4
Ibid.
5
Caicedo, Patricia. Los sonidos de las naciones imaginadas: La canción artística latinoamericana en
el contexto del nacionalismo musical. Barcelona: Mundo Arts and Fundación Autor, 2018, pp. 195-
196.
2
streaming, allow musicians and scholars to have access to the Western classical vocal
literature of Iberia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, the Middle
East, but also the vocal works inspired by melodies and folk literature of native and
indigenous peoples, diasporic populations, and some other ethnic and minority
groups. There seems to be a growing interest and effort in making repertoire outside
the canon more available and accessible, which perhaps is a positive outcome of the
now have access to more resources on the Latin American vocal repertoire. She
continuously shares her scholarly work with the world through her published books,
academic articles, and compilations of music scores, but also with the annual
Barcelona Festival of Song she founded in Spain, in 2005, which is a festival and
summer program dedicated to the Iberian and Latin American art song repertoire.
Presumably, the classical music world will gradually witness more of such
contributions in different art song genres, as more passionate music scholars like
Caicedo will emerge, either for personal reasons or in reaction to the increasing
identity, cultural identity, religious identity, regional identity, political identity, sexual
6
Henriques, Gregg. "Jordan Peterson: Part One of a Five Part Blog Series." Psychology Today. August
7, 2018. Accessed November 10, 2018. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theory-
knowledge/201808/jordan-peterson-part-one-five-part-blog-series.
3
identity, and more), some of which we are born into, while some are developed over
the course of a lifetime through our experiences that shape our perspectives (or more
scientifically speaking, through the plasticity of our brains). Many other psychologists
take this identity discussion one step further and suggest that however different our
identities may be, there is a universal existential issue pertaining to who we are.
Today, we are exposed to different cultures, identities, perspectives, and ideas more
than ever before; however, the outcome of such exposure (and/or globalization) is not
book, Globalisation and the Complexity of Self: The Relevance of Psychotherapy, Les
global culture”7 might be. One could ask the same question for music. The reason I
am raising this question is simply because as classical singers, our performances are
only meaningful and successful, if we are able to connect and communicate with the
audience. How can we develop new strategies in communicating with audiences that
course introduces students to different popular music genres from all around the
world through lenses of various identity categories listed in the previous paragraph.
Throughout the semester, students are expected to develop critical thinking skills
7
Todres, Les. “Globalisation and the Complexity of Self: The Relevance of Psychotherapy.” In:
Embodied Enquiry. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2007, p. 103.
4
through lectures and discussions about K-pop and gender, ska and Jamaican national
identity, heavy metal and globalization, hip hop and racial identities, and more. The
many times over the semester, while students are discouraged from branding a piece
of music simply as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based on their own taste. Regardless of the genre
as follows: “The fact or quality of being real; actuality, reality,” “The quality or fact
presented,” “The quality of truthful correspondence between inner feelings and their
artists resonated with these definitions. Whether they enjoyed an artist (or a genre or
performance) or not, they expressed an evident appreciation for those that they
accurately and sincerely, their work was worthy of attention and appreciation.
musicians. In the case of classical singers, it is one of our main goals to perform a
piece of music in the most authentic manner possible. Classical singers perform their
best in order to achieve this goal through extensive research on the work: the
historical and musical background and context, the composer, the poet, stylistic
8
"authenticity, n." OED Online. July 2018. Oxford University Press.
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/13325?redirectedFrom=authenticity (accessed November 10, 2018).
5
elements of the genre and the era, instrumentation, the text, language, diction, and
performance practice. Resources for such research are in abundance; however, this is
only true for the vocal repertoire that is considered to be among the canon, such as
frequently performed operas, the German Lied, French Mèlodie, and American and
British art songs. There seems to be a more recent proliferation of sources on Russian,
Eastern European, and Spanish vocal literature, although not as in depth. However, as
discussed previously, the 21st-century classical vocal repertoire comprises works that
represent more nations, cultures, and ethnic groups, but also Western classical
arrangements of works that belong to different genres, one of which is folk music.
include in a recital; it is quite common to encounter programs that include folk songs,
musical theater songs, and even popular songs. Being inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s
art work. She arrives at the conclusion that the viewer or consumer of a creative
work, in fact completes the creative process by being an active interpreter. Therefore,
she argues, while complying with the musical and stylistic elements, a performer can
decide to categorize a folk song or a popular song as an art song, just as Duchamp as
an artist decided when objects were merely objects and when objects were art.9
must also consider the cultural codes and customs associated with the work to be
9
Caicedo, Patricia. Los sonidos de las naciones imaginadas: La canción artística latinoamericana en
el contexto del nacionalismo musical. Barcelona: Mundo Arts and Fundación Autor, 2018, pp. 180,
191-194.
6
performed, as well as the social environment, geography, and the musical genre the
work is rooted in. I agree with Patricia Caicedo in her statement that in the 21st
literature.”10 This approach may result in incorporating various vocal styles and
perhaps a wider repertoire of gestures and body language into an art song
ever before. Going back to Pavarotti’s first recital in New York in 1973, just as his
“semi-pop concert” had received high praise by virtue of his impeccable style and
vocal beauty, classical singers today can also easily achieve success with whatever
repertoire they wish to sing, as long as they do it with style, vocal beauty, and
authenticity.
Hopefully, my discussion so far has set the scene for why I think the
draw attention to the establishment of Sephardic folk songs in the Western classical
world in the 20th and 21st centuries. To provide a brief definition, Sephardim are a
diasporic population of Jewish people, who can trace their ancestry back to the Jews
that were expelled from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition in 1492. Initially, the
larger population migrated to Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire at the time;
however, the wars and circumstances in the 19th and 20th centuries led to further
across the ocean to the Americas. Currently, the Sephardic population is spread all
10
Caicedo, Patricia. The Latin American Art Song: the sounds of the imagined nations. Maryland:
Lexington Press, 2019, p. 120.
7
around the world. What is particularly fascinating about the Sephardim is that not
only did they bring with them their traditions, culture, music, and language to
wherever they went, but they also preserved their Sephardic identities in various
adopted the identities and languages surrounding them in their new homeland, and
some were almost completely assimilated into a new culture. Still, Sephardic
traditions, Sephardic oral literature, and the Ladino language were able to survive to
this day. The language of Sephardim, Ladino, in and of itself provides a valuable
insight into the history and culture of them. Ladino is essentially 15th-century
Castilian with contributions from many languages the Sephardim were exposed to
throughout their journey in history. Ladino and the Sephardic oral literature,
including Sephardic folk songs, were orally transmitted from generation to generation
during these hundreds of years, which is how they were mainly preserved. Other
musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries. Hence, the existence of Sephardic folk songs
Sephardic folk songs, which were only preserved in oral tradition until then. These
although these works did not trigger interest or popularity among larger populations
back then. These songs were still mostly performed in the homes and intimate
8
community spaces of the Sephardim. In her article, “Re-Making Kinship. From
attention to the revivalist movement of the 1960s and the development of world music
and world art scenes in the early 1980s, and she elaborates on how Jewish music,
especially Sephardic music, attracted interest as a world music genre at the time.11
Consequently, Jewish music “was gradually showcased for the general public,”12 and
began to be heard in urban public spaces, arts events, and music festivals.
“Beginning at the outset of the 1960s in Europe and North America, this
enthusiasm for “World music” grew in tandem with committed political action
identities other than national ones. In this regard, stagings of musical practices
I would like to suggest that we could transfer this concept to our performances of
Western classical music as well. The increasing diversity in Western classical vocal
literature not only expands and enriches our musical palette, but it also offers us more
tools and resources to better communicate with a diverse audience, to promote peace,
11
Roda, Jessica. "Re-Making Kinship. From Community to Family: A Sephardic Experience in
France." Théologiques vol. 24, no. 2, 2016, pp. 97–120.
12
Roda, Jessica. “Jewish Performance as a Means for Constructing the Society of “Living Together.””
European Journal of Jewish Studies Vol. 8, Issue 1, 2014, p. 105.
13
Ibid.
9
One could argue that, in a way, the Sephardic folk song genre is among the
genres that represent this ideology of living together, as these songs can be traced
back to times in Medieval Spain, when Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in
harmony together for centuries—if one would overlook the peak conflict times during
the Reconquista period. These songs also represent the many cultures the Sephardim
encountered throughout their journey in history. Sephardic folk songs can be rooted
in a Jewish culture; however, they also possess the literature and music of Spain, as
well as the Middle East and Eastern Europe, to name a few. Turkish and Arabic
maqam scales are incorporated into the melodies, as frequently as Balkan rhythms.
the songs tell stories of biblical and historical figures. Some of the songs are quite
festive and simple in character, while some address the human condition. In short, the
Sephardic vocal literature encompasses a wide range of themes and musical styles.
arranging these Sephardic folk songs in the Western classical tradition. I would like to
propose that perhaps the 20th century witnessed a revival of the Sephardic song
repertoire in the form of classical art song, as Western classical composers, such as
Alberto Hemsi, showed interest in collecting and transcribing these folksongs, and in
arranging them in the Western classical tradition for voice and various instruments, in
various degrees of complexity. As of today, there are over forty-two 20th- and 21st-
century Western classical composers that have made significant contributions to the
14
Seroussi, Edwin. “From Spain to the Eastern Mediterranean and Back: A Song as a Metaphor of
Modern Sephardic Culture.” In: Music in the Jewish Experience. Bar-Ilan University Press, 2012, pp.
41-82.
10
Sephardic Art Song genre with their arrangements of over a hundred and ninety
Sephardic folk songs in the Western classical world in the form of classical art song,
and to share my research findings with musicians, who are interested in exploring this
repertoire. In Chapter I, one may find a historical and cultural overview of the
reserved for the traditional Sephardic folk songs; categories, and the elements and
stylistic features of Sephardic music. The development of the Sephardic Art song
genre in the 20th and 21st centuries is briefly discussed on Chapter III, while Chapter
IV presents a catalog of all the Sephardic vocal works created in the Western classical
tradition in these centuries by Western classical composers. The works listed on this
catalog are based on my personal research and findings up until my submission of this
world lead me to believe that there are more works out there, all of which will
presentation on Iberian and Latin American Art Song performance practice at the 14th
performance practice of the Sephardic Art Song repertoire myself. Chapter V presents
authentic performance. This chapter also includes a diction guide for Ladino, as I
noticed that such information is neglected in most of the published music scores.
11
Finally, Chapter VI offers my own program notes on the works I have performed in
my dissertation recitals.
exploring the Sephardic Art Song repertoire and the many unique flavors it offers.
12
CHAPTER 1: THE SEPHARDIM
Sephardim (singular, Sephardi) are commonly known as the Jews who trace
their ancestry to the Iberian Peninsula, specifically to the Jews that were expelled
from Spain in 1492 as a result of the Spanish Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition
was established by the Spanish Catholic Monarchs of the time, King Ferdinand II of
achieve a religious unity in the country, they gave the Muslim Moors and Jews of
Spain only two choices: convert to Catholicism or leave. As a result, some did
Catholicism continued to practice Judaism in secret; they were given the name
Marranos. About 300,000 Jews from Spain went into exile in different directions:
Portugal (from where they were also expelled); Northern Europe; Eastern Europe;
and the Mediterranean Basin (including the Ottoman Empire, Northern Africa and the
Middle East).15 Thus, the Sephardic culture spread to Greece, Turkey, North Africa,
following the Spanish expulsion. These people, unfortunately, did not get to take
many of their possessions with them as they were forced to leave, but they did carry
with them something that no one could take from them: “the 15th-century Spanish
15
Ayoun, Richard, Sephiha Haïm-Vidal, and Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki. The Judeo-Spanish
People: Itineraries of a Community = Los Djudeo-Espanyoles: Los Kaminos De Una Komunidad.
Bilingual ed. Place of publication not identified: Design Graphic France, 2003.
13
will talk about later]…[but they] also carried with them their culture, especially their
oral literature, comprising poems, tales and romansas, or poems turned into songs,
expressing the pain of being exiled and the nostalgia for their former homeland.”16
Now, what exactly is the Sephardic culture? Although the word Sephardim
comes from Sepharad, which means ‘Spain’ in medieval Hebrew,17 the term has a
much broader meaning. As Haim Henry Toledano states in his book The Sephardic
attitudes that originated in North Africa and the Middle East (especially Baghdad)
and evolved among Jews living within the orbit of the Islamic world in these areas
beginning in the early Middle Ages, before it arrived in the Iberian Peninsula.18
Jewish culture dipped in some Spanish culture. In order to have a better perception of
the Sephardic culture, the term diaspora should be well defined and understood first.
The word ‘diaspora’ comes from Greek, which means scattering and
dispersion. In his article Jewish music and diaspora, Edwin Seroussi states that
origin that became scattered throughout a wider area […and] in the past half century
16
Ibid.
17
Trivaletto, Francesca. The familiarity of strangers: The Sephardic diaspora, Livorno, and cross-
cultural trade in the early modern period. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009, pp.
ix.
18
Toledano, Haim Henry. The Sephardic Legacy: Unique Features and Achievements. Scranton and
London: University of Scranton Press, 2010, pp. 5-10.
14
homeland for multiple reasons (political, economic, racial, religious, etc.).”19 He later
adds that “diaspora is most effective as an explanatory tool when applied, simply, to
‘the existence of an identified population that feels that it is away from its homeland,
however imagined, however distant in time and space’ and more subtly, that ‘it
Based on this definition one can conclude that the Jewish populations in
Western Europe, North Africa and the Arab and Persian Near East in the early
medieval period were already diasporic populations. The forced and voluntary
Seroussi points out, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, and later Portugal, resulted
overemphasized longing for a lost homeland. … [and] music became the field of
cultural expression in which diaspora had one of its strongest showings against its
rhetorical negation.”21
As mentioned in the previous section, the Jews expelled from Spain carried
with them their most precious belonging: the 15th-century Spanish language. This
19
Seroussi, Edwin. "Jewish Music and Diaspora." In The Cambridge Companion to Jewish Music,
edited by Joshua S. Walden. Cambridge Companions to Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2015, pp. 27-40.
20
Ibid.
21
Ibid.
15
Djudezmo. As discussed by Jeffrey Malka in his book Sephardic Genealogy,
Surprisingly, there is very little presence of Hebrew in Ladino. In her book The
man, quite conservative, even “overly religious,” and this is not generally well
Hebrew of religious texts orally to children who knew Spanish in Spain and Judeo-
Spanish in the Diaspora.”23 However, strong traces of Turkish, French, Italian and
Greek can be found in Judeo-Spanish, as the Sephardim did not live self-sufficiently
in their own state. They may have had quarters in the large towns they settled in, but
they were never the only inhabitants of those towns. “It was at the end of the 19th
century that Castilian Spanish was “discovered” by the Jews and Judeo-Spanish by
the Spaniards. [And of course,] the effects would be felt on both sides.”24
[of all these languages mentioned]; but it is a complex code one of whose constituent
inherent to Judeo-Spanish, which has even been used as a vehicle for expressing
22
Malka, Jeffrey S. Sephardic Genealogy: Discovering Your Sephardic Ancestors and Their World.
New Jersey: Avotaynu, Inc., 2002, pp. 3, 58-67.
23
Varol-Bornes, Marie-Christine. Manual of Judeo-Spanish: Language and Culture. Translated by
Ralph Tarica. Bethesda, MD: University Press of Maryland, 2008, pp. 13-14.
24
Ibid, p. 17.
25
Ibid, p. 18.
16
verbal revenge, through humor, in an oppressive society. The following is an example
from Varol’s book: In the Ladino language, Doctor Maymunidis! is what one calls
someone who poses and claims to be smart. Maimonides (1135-1204), also known as
the greatest Jewish scholars of all times. Based on this information, one might
conclude that Doctor Maymunidis would be an appropriate name for someone smart;
however, that is hardly the case. In Turkish, maymun means monkey and the Greek
–idis is how the Greeks of the Black Sea area form family names. Therefore, Doctor
someone a monkey in the Ladino language. I would like to quote Varol here to better
“Irony, distance, puns, the endless plays on meanings and stylistic nuances
bouncing back and forth, make this language of quotations, double entendres,
several languages—a knowledge that gives it its strength, its richness and its
freedom.”26
The areas in which Ladino was spoken went beyond the lands of the Ottoman
Empire, where the Sephardim were accepted in great numbers under the ruling of
Sultan Bajazet II around the time of expulsion from Spain. According to Varol,
“There was a Judeo-Spanish community in Bucharest and another in Vienna that saw
a considerable development in the 19th century. Vienna even became one of the
26
Ibid.
17
principal publishing centers of Judeo-Spanish at the beginning of the 20th century.
Finally, France and North and South America became an emigration pole for Spanish
Jews between the two world wars. [After the Second World War] nothing was left of
France, Austria and Romania were decimated. The Bulgarian community managed to
immigrate, mainly to Palestine, and the Turkish community was preserved. Today
more consistent way in Turkey (in Istanbul and Izmir) and in Israel.”27 The term
Ladino refers to the more corrupt Judeo-Spanish vernacular spoken mainly by the
The Sephardim had migrated to Eastern Europe, North Africa, and the Arab
and Persian Near East after their expulsion from Spain in 1492; however, there has
been further displacements since then—some voluntary, some not. Today Sephardim
countries; the Spanish and Portuguese Sephardim of Amsterdam, London, and New
York and other U.S. cities; the Middle East Sephardim of Egypt, Iraq, and Syria; and
from an ethnical, geographical or linguistic point of view. I agree with Haim Henry
27
Varol-Bornes, Marie-Christine. Manual of Judeo-Spanish: Language and Culture, 2008, p. 12.
28
Malka, Jeffrey S. Sephardic Genealogy: Discovering Your Sephardic Ancestors and Their World,
2002, pp. 3-7.
18
Toledano in his statement that the only valid definition can be a cultural one. He
defines Sephardim as all Jews who trace their ancestry to any main historical region
of Sephardic culture and tradition mentioned above, “and who share and cherish the
another.”29 The fascinating fact is that a certain Spanish element in the Sephardic
identity endured long after any connection to Spain did. In her book The Jews of
Curaçao and Pernambuco, sang ballads about medieval Spanish knights and
29
Toledano, Haim Henry. The Sephardic Legacy: Unique Features and Achievements, 2010, p. 9.
30
Gerber, Jane S. The Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience. New York: The Free
Press, 1992, p. xv.
19
CHAPTER 2: TRADITIONAL SEPHARDIC SONGS
2.1. CATEGORIES
and themes. The secular musico-poetic Sephardic song repertoire can be divided into
three main genres: Romances, Coplas and Cantigas, and the collections of these
songs are named Romancero, Coplas and Cancionero respectively. These genres are
defined based on musical parameters, such as structure, melody and rhythm, and
based on the text and the relationship between the music and text. Their function in a
categories, most resources also mention two other types of Sephardic songs; which
are Oraciones (meaning prayer songs) and Endechas (or Oinas, meaning dirges).
2.1.1. Romances
structure, similar to the French Ballade. Each line has 16 (or 12) syllables, divided
into two 8 (or 6)-syllable parts with an assonant rhyme scheme. The order of these
mostly related to the Spanish Middle Ages – involving stories and tales of kings and
historical and biblical themes. As Susana Weich-Shahak states in her articles about
the Sephardic song repertoire, Romances are characterized by being rendered as solo
songs; they usually have no instrumental accompaniment. They are mostly sung by
20
women, who are also responsible for the preservation and transmission of this
repertoire.31
2.1.2. Coplas
Coplas are strophic poems that have definite structures and they are sung with
strophic melodies. Their distinctive characteristic is that their music clearly reflects
the influence of the surrounding musical cultures. These songs are associated with
Jewish tradition and history, values and beliefs, and social and political events. They
holidays or moral themes. Similar to romances, Coplas have coherent texts; however,
unlike the romances, they are in strophic form. This genre flourished in the 17th and
18th centuries, when they were published in Istanbul, Salonica, Vienna and Livorno –
and therefore, the texts tend to be more modern.32 According to Weich-Shahak, the
And since many Coplas appear in written sources, they belong to the realm of men,
who would be able to read the Hebrew letters used for writing Ladino in printed texts
at the time.
31
Weich-Shahak, Susana. “The Performance of the Judeo-Spanish Repertoire.” The Performance of
Jewish and Arab Music in Israel Today. Amnon Shiloah, Ed. Musical Performance, Vol. 1, Pt. 3.
Amsterdam: Harwood Academic, 1997, pp. 9-26.
Guy Mendilow Ensemble. Tales From the Forgotten Kingdom: Ladino Songs Renewed. [CD].
Mendilusian Music, BMI. Linear notes, 2012.
32
Ibid.
21
2.1.3. Cantigas
Cantigas are similar to coplas in their versatility of texts and music, but more
songs are translations or adaptations of Turkish and Balkan songs, and they can
feature dance tunes, such as foxtrot and tango, and can also quote stage works,
including operettas and zarzuelas. Cantigas differ from the other two genres in textual
and musical structure. Cantigas mostly have four stanzas and often a refrain as well.
They are set to strophic melodies with a different tune for the refrain. Unlike
romances and coplas, cantigas do not have a narrative or coherent texts. Their subject
matter is mostly lyric, dealing with love, longing, courting, mourning, and even
drinking.33
2.2. TEXTS
very common characteristic of the folk genre, as the texts of folk songs are rarely
written down and are usually orally transmitted. This creates a problem when tracing
back the origins of these texts. Some scholars of Sephardic music were able to
discover the time and origin of a large portion of these songs, although not
necessarily the authors or poets of the texts specifically. The texts of Sephardic songs
are quite straightforward and they rarely require a literary research to reveal any
themes, including the stories and tales from the Spanish Middle Ages, themes
33
Ibid.
22
associated with the Jewish culture and history, and lyrical themes. Although the
majority of these songs have anonymous texts, the origins of more recent additions
throughout the 20th and 21st centuries can be traced back to other popular music
genres that surrounded Sephardic communities during these times. Some of the texts
are simply translations of texts that were adopted from other genres, such as
zarzuelas, tangos, French chansons, and Greek and Turkish songs. Some 20th-century
Sephardic folk song musicians, such as Flory Jagoda (b.1926) and Jack Mayesh
(1899-1969), contributed to the genre with their own original compositions, as well as
adaptations of songs from other genres translating the texts into Ladino.34
the Sephardic population since their expulsion from Spain in 1492. As Samuel
Armistead, Joseph Silverman, and Israel Katz emphasize in their book, Judeo-
Spanish Ballads from Oral Tradition, “No society is static and it would be
unreasonable and unrealistic to view the Sephardim and their culture merely as some
sort of living time capsule. Over the centuries, the Sephardic communities have
undergone radical changes and have experienced a rich diversity of cultural contacts.
eclectic tradition drawn from a great variety of sources, both medieval and modern;
Jewish, Christian, and Islamic; Hispanic, but also Balkan and Near Eastern, and
34
Bass, Howard, Susan Gaeta and Tina Chancey. Trio Sefardi. Personal Interview. 20 November 2018.
23
indeed French and Italian as well. … For all its seeming conservatism, it is essential,
then, to view the Sephardic ballad tradition—like any other—as a vital, dynamic,
Since this repertoire represents such a wide range of cultural exchange, the
musical analyses of these songs require a vast musical knowledge, including the
Western classical music of all periods starting from Medieval; Spanish, Moroccan,
Balkan and Greek musical traditions; and Turkish folk and classical forms, including
maqam.36 Maqām (pl. maqamat) is defined as “the main modal unit of Arabic,
Turkish and Persian music, or the Middle Eastern modal practice in general.”37
Maqamat scales are melodic modal scales that do not have a rhythmic component.
This modal system differs greatly from the Western chromatic system, which can also
be referred to as the 12-tone notation system. For example, the Turkish Maqamat
system involves twenty-four pitches that are quarter tone apart from another. Each
Turkish maqam scale is consisted of seven pitches of different interval sequences and
each scale has a different melodic development. The notation of these extra pitches
require some accidentals we are not familiar with in the Western classical notation.
The Arabic Maqamat system has even more pitches, some of which are microtones,
i.e. smaller than quarter tones. There are about seventy-two maqam scales that are
35
Armistead, Samuel G., Joseph H. Silverman and Israel J. Katz. Judeo-Spanish Ballads from Oral
Tradition: Epic Ballads (Vol. 1). Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986, pp. 1-2.
36
Cohen, Judith. “Women and Judeo-Spanish Music.” Bridges, vol. 3, no. 2, 1993, pp. 113-119.
37
Apel, Willi. “Maqam,” Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1955, p. 486.
24
used in the Middle Eastern art music. Thus, composition and analyses of such music
essential to this repertoire, as they are the intervals that give the songs an oriental
flavor. In the 20th and 21st century Sephardic art songs, these intervals are
incorporated in the songs with a tonal compositional approach and the melodies are
rhythms used in complex rhythmic patterns. Rhythms such as 5/8, 7/8 or 9/8, for
example, are very unusual in Western music. This is partly a Greek and Balkan
instruments were also used at times, mostly on special occasions. When instruments
tambourine, and mandolin (or oud), which is a string instrument that belongs to the
darbuga (or dumbelek), and baraban. Castanets are consisted of two hollowed-out
38
Saltiel, Aron and Joshua Horowitz. Sephardisches Liederbuch / The Sephardic Songbook. Frankfurt;
New York: C.F. Peters, 2001, p. VII.
Apel, Willi. “Maqam.” Harvard Dictionary of Music, 1955, p. 486.
25
They are usually held in the hand and struck together.39 “Finger-cymbals are two
pairs of tiny cymbals attached to the thumb and middle finger of each hand. Darbuga
or Dumbelek is a cup-shaped drum made of clay or metal, with one skin. Baraban,
who knew the Sephardic repertoire would be hired to play the Sephardic wedding
songs, as well as Turkish dances and European dance music, such as waltz foxtrot and
The traditional Sephardic songs, as opposed to their Western classical art song
songs were transmitted orally for hundreds of years, and oral transmission encourages
personal improvisation that often consists of lavish ornamentation and relatively free
rhythm.42 Therefore, the melodies of the same Sephardic songs can differ
important to acknowledge the work of all the Sephardic music scholars, who have
spent significant amounts of time and effort to travel to all Sephardic communities all
around the world, interview the members of these communities, have them sing to
them, transcribe and study all the songs and poems collected, and publish
39
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Castanets.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., February 09, 2018. Accessed November 6, 2017,
https://www.britannica.com/art/castanets
40
Weich-Shahak, Susana. “The Traditional Performance of Sephardic Songs, Then and Now.” The
Cambridge Companion to Jewish Music. Joshua S. Walden, Ed. Cambridge, United Kingdom:
Cambridge University Press, 2015, pp. 104-118.
41
Ibid.
42
Bahat, Avner. “The Musical Traditions of the Oriental Jews: Orient and Occident.” The World
ofMusic vol. 22, no. 2, 1980, p. 48.
26
CHAPTER 3: SEPHARDIC SONGS IN THE 20TH AND 21ST
CENTURIES
The early 20th century Western Classical composers’ interest in collecting and
arranging these Sephardic songs can be traced back to the prevailing nationalist
movement in music in the 19th century. In late 19th century and the first decade of the
20th century Russia, the young Jewish composers of the time were inspired by the
nationalist movement in Russian music exemplified by the Russian Five (or the
Mighty Handful), and they became attracted to “the new universalist aesthetics of
This Jewish national revival inspired some other European Classical composers to
not the first to collect and transcribe Sephardic folksongs and poems, as there were
other musicologists that had begun similar projects. However, Hemsi not only
contributed to these transcriptions with his own field work, but he also arranged and
harmonized about sixty of these songs with a Western Classical approach. In other
words, Alberto Hemsi can be considered as the Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) or the
43
Loeffler, James. “From Biblical Antiquarianism to Revolutionary Modernism: Jewish Art Music,
1850-1925.” The Cambridge Companion to Jewish Music. Joshua S. Walden, Ed. Cambridge, United
Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2015, p. 177.
44
Loeffler, James. “From Biblical Antiquarianism to Revolutionary Modernism: Jewish Art Music,
1850-1925.” The Cambridge Companion to Jewish Music, 2015, pp. 167-186.
27
It is important to point out that the invention of the phonograph by Thomas
Edison in the late 19th century had contributed to the interest in collecting folksongs,
as well as other genres, as it was only after this invention that sound recording and
songs and the circulation of music in general. The scholars interested in exploring the
Sephardic folksong genre, were then able to record these songs in their fieldwork
across the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa regions and Israel.
Hemsi was not the only one that showed interest in arranging these songs in
the Western classical tradition. As of November 2018, there are over forty-two
Western classical composers, who have arranged over a hundred and ninety different
Sephardic songs in a variety of ways. These arrangements are for voice and various
Sephardic folk songs in the Western classical tradition, some preferred to create
original works inspired by Sephardic melodies and/or texts. The list of Sephardic Art
Song composers, the titles of their works, and the list of all songs arranged or
Here are a few definitions that are essential to better understand the distinction
between a folk song and an art song: “Song is a piece of music performed by a single
voice, with or without instrumental accompaniment. Works for several voices are
called duets, trios, and so on; larger ensembles sing choral music. Folk songs are
instrument—e.g., a guitar or a dulcimer. They are usually learned by ear and are
infrequently written down; hence, they are susceptible to changes of notes and words
28
through generations of oral transmission. Composers of most folk songs are
instrumental ensemble.”46 The notes are written down, and both notes and the text are
20th- and 21st-century composers not only brought Sephardic songs back to
life, but perhaps also initiated a new genre of Sephardic Art Song.
45
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Song”. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. Published in April
01, 2014. Accessed in April 20, 2017. < https://www.britannica.com/art/song>
46
Ibid.
29
CHAPTER 4: THE SEPHARDIC ART SONG CATALOG
The list below comprises the names and dates of 20th- and 21st-century
Western classical composers that have contributed to the Sephardic Art Song genre
with their arrangements of Sephardic folk songs and/or original compositions. The
composers are listed in chronological order, along with the titles of their works in this
30
Dates Composer Works
1991-1970 Menahem Bensussan Seven Sephardic Folksongs (?)
1901-1981 Mieczyslaw Kolinski Seven Sephardic Folksongs (1977?)
1901-1999 Joaquin Rodrigo Cuatro Canciones Sefardíes (1965)
1905-1995 Herbert Fromm Four psalms (1971)
1907-1991 Wolf Simoni (a.k.a. Louis Saguer) Cuatro C ánticas Sefardíes (1935/36)
1908-2004 Joaquin Nin-Culmell Six Chansons Populaires Séphardiques (1982)
1915-1984 Richard J. Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song,
Volume I: The Ladino Collection (2007)
The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book (1981)
1915-2004 Roberto Plá Sales Cuatro Canciones Sefardíes (1965)
1918-2007 Matilde Salvador Endechas y Cantares de Sefarad (2000)
1920-1984 Manuel Valls (Gorina) Canciones Sefarditas (1975)
1922-2014 Yehezkel Braun Seven Sephardic Romances (1968)
b.1932 Samuel Milligan Nine Sephardic Songs (2015)
b.1934 Mario Davidovsky Ladino Songs (2017)
Sefarad: Four Spanish-Ladino Folksongs (2004)
b.1937 Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs (?)
b.1937 Manuel García Morante 40 Canciones Sefardíes (1983)
b.1938 Lorenzo Palomo Cinco Canciones Sefardíes (2006)
b.1938 Simon Sargon At Grandfather's Knee: A Cycle of
Five Judeo-Spanish Folk Songs (1998)
b.1942 Sid Robinovitch Rodas Recordada (2005)
b.1942 Diane Thome Levadi (1986)
b.1945 Alexander Knapp Four Sephardi Songs (1992)
b.1947 Frederic Hand Sephardic Songs (1996)
b.1953 Daniel Akiva Jewish-Spanish Song Cycle (1999)
b.1953 Raymond Goldstein Sephardic Songs (1986, 1998, 2003)
b.1953 Roberto Sierra Cancionero Sefard í (1999)
Songs from the Diaspora (2007)
b. 1954 Betty Olivero Cantes Amargos (1984)
Juego de Siempre: 12 folk songs in Ladino (1991/4)
b.1955 Ofer Ben-Amots Kantigas Ulvidades (2010)
Songs from the Pomegrenate Garden
(Kantes del Verdgel de Granadas) (2004/5)
b.1955 Dušan Bogdanović Deux chansons Sépharades (2010)
b.1957 Turgay Erdener Adio Querida (?)
b.1960 Osvaldo Golijov Ayre (2004)
b.1967 Brian T. Field Durme, durme, kerido ijico (2018)
b.1968 Shai Cohen Two Ladino Songs* (2004)
*In Hebrew, inspired by Ladino texts
b.1970 Andrew Zohn 8 Sephardic Songs (2011)
b.1971 Renan Koen Sephardic Songs (?)
b.1978 Delilah Gutman 13 Jewish Songs (2014)
b.1983 William Kenlon Two Sephardic Songs (2018)
b. ? Ulrike Merk Sephardische Lieder (2013)
b. ? Pedro Elias Siete Canciones Sefardies (1985)
31
4.2. LIST OF WORKS CATEGORIZED BY INSTRUMENTATION
instrumentation. The categories are as follows: voice and guitar, voice and harp, voice
and organ, voice and piano, voice and tape, voice and violin, voice and chamber
ensemble, and voice and orchestra. The chamber ensemble and orchestra instruments
32
Voice & Piano (continued)
Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies Op.7
Coplas Sefardies Op.8
Coplas Sefardies Op.13
Coplas Sefardies Op.18
Coplas Sefardies Op.22
Coplas Sefardies Op.34
Coplas Sefardies Op.41
Coplas Sefardies Op.44
Coplas Sefardies Op.45
Coplas Sefardies Op.51
Alexander Knapp Four Sephardi Songs
Renan Koen Sephardic Songs
Manuel García Morante 40 Canciones Sefardíes
Richard J. Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, Volume I: The Ladino Collection
The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book
Yom Gila, Sephardic Song of Joy
Joaquin Nin-Culmell Six Chansons Populaires Séphardiques
Joaquin Rodrigo Cuatro Canciones Sefardíes
Simon Sargon At Grandfather's Knee: A Cycle of Five Judeo-Spanish Folk Songs
Wolf Simoni (a.k.a. Louis Saguer) Cuatro C ánticas Sefardíes
Vicente Emilio Sojo Nueve Canciones de los Sefardíes de Salonica
Joachim Stutschewsky Two Sephardic Prayers
33
4.3. LIST OF SONGS
The list below serves as a catalog of the Sephardic art song repertoire, i.e.
Sephardic folk songs that have been arranged by 20th- and 21st-century Western
melodies. The songs are organized in alphabetical order. Some songs have been
published under different titles, although they are arrangements of the same texts
and/or melodies. These titles are gathered within the same box, with all variations of
titles indicated when appropriate. The name of the composer, title of the song set or
song cycle, the location/order of the song within the larger work, and the information
34
Song Composer Work/Song Number Instrumentation
Ah, el novio no quere dinero Samuel Milligan Nine Sephardic Songs, No.6 v, hp
Frederic Hand Sephardic Songs, No.2 v, fl, gtr, db
Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.8, No.4 v, pf
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, pf, gtr
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Aire de mujer Pedro Elias Siete Canciones Sefardies, No.2 v, gtr
Al kenar de la nixava Roberto Sierra Cancionero Sefardi, No.3 v, fl, cl, pf,
vn, vc
Al pasar por casablanca Pedro Elias Siete Canciones Sefardies, No.3 v, gtr
Al ruido de una fuente Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.41, No.2 v, pf
Alevantéx vos toronja Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.41, No.1 v, pf
Allí en el midbar Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Alta, alta es la luna Menahem Bensussan Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.6 v, pf
Aman minnush Renan Koen v, pf
Ansí dize la nuestra novia… Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.7, No.6 v, pf
Aquel conde y aquel conde… Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.13, No.2 v, pf
Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.31 v, pf
Aquel rey de Francia Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.13, No.4 v, pf
Samuel Milligan Nine Sephardic Songs, No.1 v, hp
El rey de Francia Frederic Hand Sephardic Songs, No.1 v, fl, gtr, db
Arboles lloran por la luvia Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.51, No.2 v, pf
Ulrike Merk Sephardische Lieder, No.6 v, gtr
Samuel Milligan Nine Sephardic Songs, No.7 v, hp
Los arvoles llorosos Simon Sargon At Grandfather's Knee, No.3 v, pf
Arvoles lloran Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Arvoles joran Lucien L. Bernheim Cinq Chansons Populaires v, pf
Judéo-Espagnoles, No.4
Ariadna en su Laberinto Osvaldo Golijov Ayre, No.1 sop, fl, cl,
hn, vn, vc,
db, hp, acc,
gtr, perc, laptop
Arvolera Mieczyslaw Kolinski Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.2 sop, fl, pf
Leon Algazi Quatre Mélodies v, pf
Judéo-Espagnoles, No.3
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, pf
Arvolicos d'almendra Matilde Salvador Endechas y Cantares v, gtr
de Sefarad, No.8
Aunque me Dex mi mama Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.4 v, pf
Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.4 v, 2fl, 2ob,
2cl, 2bn, 4hn,
2tpt, 3tbn, timp,
perc, hp, str
Avre tu puerta cerrada Ulrike Merk Sephardische Lieder, No.5 v, gtr
Avrix mi galanica Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.5 v, pf
Manuel Valls Canciones Sefarditas, No.6 v, gtr
Mario Davidovsky Ladino Songs, No.3 sop, fl, ob, 2gtr,
vn, vc
Avrid, mi galanica Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.22, No.4 v, pf
Avridme galanica Roberto Sierra Cancionero Sefardi, No.7 v, fl, cl, pf,
vn, vc
Avridme galanica Matilde Salvador Endechas y Cantares v, gtr
de Sefarad, No.1
Avrij, mi galanika Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, fl, gtr
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Galanica Vicente Emilio Sojo Nueve Canciones de los v, pf
Sefardies de Salonica, No.2
Ay ke buena Betty Olivero Juego de Siempre, No.3 mez, fl, cl, per,
hp, vn, va, vc
Ay ke buena! (reprise) Betty Olivero Juego de Siempre, No.12 mez, fl, cl, per,
hp, vn, va, vc
Ay mancebo Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.34, No.5 v, pf
35
Song Composer Work/Song Number Instrumentation
Benendicho su nombre Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.18, No.3 v, pf
Bendicho su nombre Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, pf
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Bendicho su nombre Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Bueno asi biva la coshuegra Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.34, No.2 v, pf
Caminí por altas torres Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.11 v, pf
Roberto Sierra Songs from the Diaspora, No.5 sop, pf, 2vn,
va, vc
Canción de Cuna Wolf Simoni Cuatro Cánticas Sefardíes, No.3 v, pf
(Durmite mi alma)
Cantar de amanecida Matilde Salvador Endechas y Cantares v, gtr
de Sefarad, No.6
Cantar de marinero Matilde Salvador Endechas y Cantares v, gtr
de Sefarad, No.9
Cantes Amargos Betty Olivero Cantes Amargos (trilogy) v, 2fl, 2Cl, bcl,
2vn, va, vc, db,
hp, 2pf, perc
Celebrating birth Mario Davidovsky Sefarad, No.1 bar, tam, perc,
(Canta, gallo canta) fl, cl, vn, vc
Cien donzellas van a la misa Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.22, No.5 v, pf
Chichi Bunichi Betty Olivero Juego de Siempre, No.9 mez, fl, cl, per,
hp, vn, va, vc
Come la rosa en la gűerta Ulrike Merk Sephardische Lieder, No.7 v, gtr
Samuel Milligan Nine Sephardic Songs, No.9 v, hp
Komo la rosa Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, pf, gtr
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Como la rosa Daniel Akiva Jewish-Spanish Song Cycle, No.3 v, gtr
Como la rosa en la güerta
Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.8, No.1 v, pf
Como la rosa en la güerta
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Como esta asentada solitaria Raymond Goldstein v, pf
Criador hasta cuando Raymond Goldstein v, pf
Cuando el rey Nimrod Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.1 v, pf
Raymond Goldstein v, pf
Andrew Zohn 8 Sephardic Songs, No.4 v, gtr
Mieczyslaw Kolinski Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.5 sop, fl, pf
Samuel Milligan Nine Sephardic Songs, No.3 v, hp
Dalilah Gutman 13 Jewish Songs, No.11 v, vn
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, fl, gtr
Abraham Avinu Wolf Simoni Cuatro Cánticas Sefardíes, No.4 v, pf
Kuando el rey Nimrod Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, pf
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Cuando la comadre dize Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.41, No.3 v, pf
Cuatro años de amor Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.40 v, pf
De enfrente la vide venir Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.45, No.1 v, pf
De la juma sale el moro Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.51, No.1 v, pf
De las altas mares traen una cautiva Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.22, No.1 v, pf
De las altas mares Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.26 v, pf
De las mares altas Roberto Sierra Songs from the Diaspora, No.1 sop, pf, 2vn,
va, vc
De qué lloras blanca niña Roberto Sierra Songs from the Diaspora, No.6 sop, pf, 2vn,
va, vc
Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.22, No.3 v, pf
Descanso de mi vida José Antonio de Donostia Canciones Sefardies, No.2 v, pf
Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.18 v, pf
Dia de alhad Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.41, No.6 v, pf
Dicho me avían dicho… Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.7, No.4 v, pf
Dime Rozina Yehezkel Braun Seven Sephardic Romances, No.6 v, pf
Dolores tiene la reina Roberto Sierra Cancionero Sefardi, No.6 v, fl, cl, pf,
vn, vc
Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.44, No.1 v, pf
36
Song Composer Work/Song Number Instrumentation
Don Amadí Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.37 v, pf
Yehezkel Braun Seven Sephardic Romances, No.1 v, pf
Dos amantes Ofer Ben-Amots Songs from the v, pf
Pomegrenate Garden, No.1
Dos amantes tengo mama Renan Koen v, pf
Dunulá Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Durme, durme Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.27 v, pf
Yehezkel Braun Seven Sephardic Romances, No.4 v, pf
Dalilah Gutman 13 Jewish Songs, No.9 v, vn
Dušan Bogdanović Deux chansons Sépharades, No.1 v, gtr
Daniel Akiva Jewish-Spanish Song Cycle, No.2 v, gtr
Menahem Bensussan Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.1 v, pf
Durma, durme mi alma donzeya Renan Koen v, pf
Durme, durme, hermosa donzella… Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.7, No.2 v, pf
Lorenzo Palomo Cinco Canciones Sefardies, No.5 v, gtr
Mieczyslaw Kolinski Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.1 sop, fl, pf
Durme, durme Roberto Plá Sales Cuatro Canciones Sefardies, No.2 v, gtr
Durme, durme Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Durme, durme Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, pf, gtr
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Durme, durme hermozo hijico Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.25 v, pf
Manuel Valls Canciones Sefarditas, No.4 v, gtr
Samuel Milligan Nine Sephardic Songs, No.2 v, hp
Daniel Akiva Jewish-Spanish Song Cycle, No.5 v, gtr
Durme hermozo hijico Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Durme durme, kerido ijiko Renan Koen v, pf
Durme, durme, kerido ijico Brian T. Field v, 2vn,
va, vc
Durme, durme, kerido ijico Brian T. Field v, pf
Durmite mi alma : canción de cuna Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.44, No.2 v, pf
Échate a la mar y alcançalo Roberto Sierra Songs from the Diaspora, No.2 sop, pf, 2vn,
va, vc
El buen viar Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.34, No.6 v, pf
El dio grande Leon Algazi Quatre Mélodies v, pf
Judéo-Espagnoles, No.1
El Dió alto Vicente Emilio Sojo Nueve Canciones de los v, pf
Sefardies de Salonica, No.1
El Dio alto Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, pf
El mi querido bevió vino Roberto Sierra Cancionero Sefardi, No.2 v, fl, cl, pf,
vn, vc
El rey de Francia tres hijas tenía Roberto Sierra Songs from the Diaspora, No.3 sop, pf, 2vn,
va, vc
El rey por muncha madruga Roberto Plá Sales Cuatro Canciones Sefardies, No.4 v, gtr
Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.8, No.2 v, pf
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
El rey que muntscho madruga Menahem Bensussan Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.3 v, pf
Eli Eliyahu Andrew Zohn 8 Sephardic Songs, No.6 v, gtr
En la mar (ay una tore) Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.36 v, pf
En la mar hay una torre Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
En la mar Lucien L. Bernheim Cinq Chansons Populaires v, pf
Judéo-Espagnoles, No.1
Endecha Matilde Salvador Endechas y Cantares v, gtr
de Sefarad, No.4
Enriva de la tu seja Menahem Bensussan Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.5 v, pf
Entendiendo mancebico José Antonio de Donostia Canciones Sefardies, No.5 v, pf
Entre las huertas Ofer Ben-Amots Songs from the v, pf
Pomegrenate Garden, No.3
Esta armada ke viene Menahem Bensussan Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.7 v, pf
Esta montaña d'enfrente Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.35 v, pf
Esta noche es alavada Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.51, No.5 v, pf
Esta Rachel la estimoza Yehezkel Braun Seven Sephardic Romances, No.2 v, pf
37
Song Composer Work/Song Number Instrumentation
Estas casas Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.7 v, pf
Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.7 v, 2fl, 2ob,
2cl, 2bn, 4hn,
2tpt, 3tbn, timp,
perc, hp, str
Estávase la galana Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.18, No.2 v, pf
Estávase la mora Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, fl, pf,
Volume I: The Ladino Collection gtr, per
Estáve la mora en su bel estar Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.8, No.6 v, pf
Et Shaarei Razon Joachim Stutschewsky Two Sephardic Prayers, No.1 v, pf
Fel sharah canet betet masha Andrew Zohn 8 Sephardic Songs, No.7 v, gtr
Galeas las mis galeas Betty Olivero Juego de Siempre, No.5 mez, fl, cl, per,
hp, vn, va, vc
Hija mía, mi querida Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.2 v, pf
Pedro Elias Siete Canciones Sefardies, No.6 v, gtr
Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.5 v, pf
Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.5 v, 2fl, 2ob,
2cl, 2bn, 4hn,
2tpt, 3tbn, timp,
perc, hp, str
Hombre, en qué te lo contienes? Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.44, No.5 v, pf
(endecha)
Ir me kero madre Betty Olivero Juego de Siempre, No.7 mez, fl, cl, per,
hp, vn, va, vc
Ir me quiero José Antonio de Donostia Canciones Sefardies, No.4 v, pf
Manuel Valls Canciones Sefarditas, No.7 v, fl
Ir me quero la mi madre Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, pf
Ir me kero madre Betty Olivero Juego de Siempre, No.2 mez, fl, cl, per,
hp, vn, va, vc
Juego de siempre Betty Olivero Juego de Siempre, No.1 mez, fl, cl, per,
hp, vn, va, vc
Kondja mia Betty Olivero Juego de Siempre, No.11 mez, fl, cl, per,
hp, vn, va, vc
La borracha Simon Sargon At Grandfather's Knee, No.5 v, pf
La cantiga de la ley Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.51, No.3 v, pf
La mal casada Simon Sargon At Grandfather's Knee, No.1 v, pf
La rosa enflorece Joaquin Nin-Culmell Six Chansons Populaires v, pf
Sefardiques, No.3
Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.34 v, pf
Manuel Valls Canciones Sefarditas, No.1 v, fl, gtr
Andrew Zohn 8 Sephardic Songs, No.5 v, gtr
Mieczyslaw Kolinski Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.3 sop, fl, pf
Ulrike Merk Sephardische Lieder, No.1 v, gtr
Samuel Milligan Nine Sephardic Songs, No.8 v, hp
Los bilbilicos Matilde Salvador Endechas y Cantares v, gtr
de Sefarad, No.5
Los bilbilicos Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Los bilbilikos Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, pf
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Los bilbilikos Lucien L. Bernheim Cinq Chansons Populaires v, pf
Judéo-Espagnoles, No.5
La Serena Roberto Sierra Songs from the Diaspora, No.7 sop, pf, 2vn,
va, vc
Mario Davidovsky Ladino Songs, No.1 sop, fl, ob, 2gtr,
vn, vc
Daniel Akiva Jewish-Spanish Song Cycle, No.1 v, gtr
Pedro Elias Siete Canciones Sefardies, No.7 v, gtr
La soledad de la nochada Lorenzo Palomo Cinco Canciones Sefardies, No.3 v, gtr
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, pf
La vida do por el raki Renan Koen v, pf
Las estreyas Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, pf
Las estreas Lucien L. Bernheim Cinq Chansons Populaires v, pf
Judéo-Espagnoles, No.3
38
Song Composer Work/Song Number Instrumentation
Lavava y suspirava Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.33 v, pf
Levadi (Alone) Diane Thome sop, tape
Levantéis vos José Antonio de Donostia Canciones Sefardies, No.1 v, pf
Los siete Ermanos Vicente Emilio Sojo Nueve Canciones de los v, pf
Sefardies de Salonica, No.4
Malaña, tripa de madre Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.34, No.1 v, pf
Malato está el fijo del Rei Vicente Emilio Sojo Nueve Canciones de los v, pf
Sefardies de Salonica, No.6
Malato 'sta el hijo del rey Ofer Ben-Amots Songs from the v, pf
Pomegrenate Garden, No.4
Mama yo no quero Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.6 v, pf
Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.6 v, 2fl, 2ob,
2cl, 2bn, 4hn,
2tpt, 3tbn, timp,
perc, hp, str
Mama, yo no tengo visto Alexander Knapp Four Sephardi Songs, No.3 v, pf
Mañanita de San Juan Osvaldo Golijov Ayre, No.1 sop, fl, cl,
hn, vn, vc,
db, hp, acc,
gtr, perc, laptop
Me parto y me vo' Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.44, No.4 v, pf
Mercar vos quiero la mi mujer Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.18, No.6 v, pf
Mi alme triste Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.45, No.5 v, pf
Mi coracón Ulrike Merk Sephardische Lieder, No.4 v, gtr
Mi korason Ofer Ben-Amots Songs from the v, pf
Pomegrenate Garden, No.2
Mi padre era de Francia Alexander Knapp Four Sephardi Songs, No.1 v, pf
Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.45, No.2 v, pf
Mi padre era de Fransia Renan Koen v, pf
Mi sposica está en el baño... Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.7, No.5 v, pf
Mi suegra la negra Joaquin Nin-Culmell Six Chansons Populaires v, pf
Sefardiques, No.5
Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.12 v, pf
Roberto Sierra Songs from the Diaspora, No.4 sop, pf, 2vn,
va, vc
Mizmor l'David Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, fl
Montañas Altas Andrew Zohn 8 Sephardic Songs, No.8 v, gtr
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Three Sephardic Songs, No.1 v. pf
Montanyas altas Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, fl, pf
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Morena me llaman Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.16 v, pf
Yehezkel Braun Seven Sephardic Romances, No.7 v, pf
Joaquin Rodrigo Cuatro Canciones Sefardies, No.4 v, pf
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, fl
Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.3 v, pf
Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.3 v, 2fl, 2ob,
2cl, 2bn, 4hn,
2tpt, 3tbn, timp,
perc, hp, str
Morena me yama Matilde Salvador Endechas y Cantares de Sefarad, No.3 v, gtr
Morena me yaman Pedro Elias Siete Canciones Sefardies, No.4 v, gtr
Morenica a mi me llaman Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.34, No.4 v, pf
Morenika a mi me yaman Renan Koen v, pf
Morenica sos Betty Olivero Juego de Siempre, No.8 mez, fl, cl, per,
hp, vn, va, vc
Moxé suvio laxamayim Mario Davidovsky Sefarad, No.3 bar, tam, perc,
fl, cl, vn, vc
Munchos mueren de su muerte Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.51, No.4 v, pf
Nacimiento de Moxé Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.29 v, pf
39
Song Composer Work/Song Number Instrumentation
Nani, nani Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.7 v, pf
Yehezkel Braun Seven Sephardic Romances, No.3 v, pf
Lorenzo Palomo Cinco canciones sefardies, No.2 v, gtr
Andrew Zohn 8 Sephardic Songs, No.3 v, gtr
Alexander Knapp Four Sephardi Songs, No.2 v, pf
Joaquin Rodrigo Cuatro Canciones Sefardies, No.3 v, pf
Dalilah Gutman 13 Jewish Songs, No.12 v, vn
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, fl
Betty Olivero Juego de Siempre, No.4 mez, fl, cl, per,
hp, vn, va, vc
Nanni Osvaldo Golijov Ayre, No.5 sop, fl, cl,
hn, vn, vc,
db, hp, acc,
gtr, perc, laptop
No paséch por la mi sala… Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.7, No.3 v, pf
No paseis por la mi sala Roberto Plá Sales Cuatro Canciones Sefardies, No.3 v, gtr
No vo comer ni vo beber Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.28 v, pf
Noches buenas Leon Algazi Quatre Mélodies v, pf
Judéo-Espagnoles, No.2
Noches, noches, buenas noches Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.8 v, pf
Mieczyslaw Kolinski Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.7 sop, fl, pf
Noches, noches Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Noches, noches Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, pf
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
O! que nueve mezes Vicente Emilio Sojo Nueve Canciones de los v, pf
Sefardies de Salonica, No.5
O que mueve mezes Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, pf
Ondi vas djoyiha miya Menahem Bensussan Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.2 v, pf
Onete bonete Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.45, No.6 v, pf
(cantiga de pasatiempo)
Para qué quero yo más bivir Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.38 v, pf
Partos trocados Pedro Elias Siete Canciones Sefardies, No.1 v, gtr
Paxarico tú te llamas Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.24 v, pf
Paxaro d'hermozura Manuel Valls Canciones Sefarditas, No.5 v, fl, gtr
Paxaro de hermozura Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, pf
Pasharo d'ermozura Renan Koen v, pf
Pájaro de hermosura José Antonio de Donostia Canciones Sefardies, No.3 v, pf
Por la puerta yo pasi Ulrike Merk Sephardische Lieder, No.9 v, gtr
Por que llorax blanca niña Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.22 v, pf
Yehezkel Braun Seven Sephardic Romances, No.5 v, pf
William Kenlon Two Sephardic Songs, No.2 v, pf, cl
(or v, pf, va)
Pregoneros Betty Olivero Juego de Siempre, No.6 mez, fl, cl, per,
hp, vn, va, vc
Pregoneros van y vienen Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.9 v, pf
Roberto Sierra Cancionero Sefardi, No.4 v, fl, cl,
pf, vn, vc
Psalm 1 Herbert Fromm Four Psalms, No.1 v, org
Psalm 42 Herbert Fromm Four Psalms, No.3 v, org
Psalm 121 Herbert Fromm Four Psalms, No.2 v, org
Psalm 149 Herbert Fromm Four Psalms, No.4 v, org
Puncha, puncha la rosa huele Samuel Milligan Nine Sephardic Songs, No.4 v, hp
Puncha, puncha Renan Koen v, pf
La rosa huele William Kenlon Two Sephardic Songs, No.1 v, pf, cl
(or v, pf, va)
El punchon y la rosa Simon Sargon At Grandfather's Knee, No.2 v, pf
¿Quen es este paxarico? Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.45, No.3 v, pf
Quen supiense es entendiense Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.51, No.6 v, pf
Quien quiere tomar consejo Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.18, No.4 v, pf
Rahel Dušan Bogdanović Deux chansons Sépharades, No.2 v, gtr
Reina de la gracia Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.41, No.4 v, pf
40
Song Composer Work/Song Number Instrumentation
Respóndemos Joaquin Rodrigo Cuatro Canciones Sefardies, No.1 v, pf
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, pf
Rodas Recordada Sid Robinovitch sop, alt, bar,
cl, gtr, vc
Salerica de oro Leon Algazi Quatre Mélodies v, pf (fl, vc)
Judéo-Espagnoles, No.4
Scalerica de oro Raymond Goldstein v, pf
Scalerica de oro Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, fl, gtr
Skalerika de oro Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, fl, gtr
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Secretos quero descuvrir Joaquin Nin-Culmell Six Chansons Populaires v, pf
Sefardiques, No.6
Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.19 v, pf
Sentada en mi ventana Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.44, No.3 v, pf
Sephardic Chant Richard Neumann v, pf
(Mizmor le David, Psalm 29)
Sephardic melody Paul Ben-Haim Three Songs Without Words, No.3 v, pf
Sí savias, gioya mía Mieczyslaw Kolinski Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.6 sop, fl, pf
Siete hijos tiene Haná Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.15 v, pf
Los siete hijos de Hanna Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Los siete ijos de Hanna Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, pf, gtr
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Los siete fijos de Hanna Vicente Emilio Sojo Nueve Canciones de los v, pf
Sefardies de Salonica, No.8
Sivdá de mi chikés Ofer Ben-Amots Kantigas Ulvidades, No.3 v, pf
Soldadito, Soldadito Mario Davidovsky Sefarad, No.2 bar, tam, perc,
fl, cl, vn, vc
Solo kon ti Ofer Ben-Amots Kantigas Ulvidades, No.1 v, pf
Tanto fuites y venites Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.18, No.5 v, pf
This mountain in front Mario Davidovsky Sefarad, No.3 bar, tam, perc,
(Esta montaña d'enfrente) fl, cl, vn, vc
Torondón Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.45, No.4 v, pf
Tres hermanicas eran Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.34, No.3 v, pf
Tres ermanikas eran Renan Koen v, pf
Tres Hermanicas Wolf Simoni Cuatro Cánticas Sefardíes, No.2 v, pf
Tres hijas tiene el buen rey Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.8, No.3 v, pf
Tres hijas tiene'l buen rey Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.30 v, pf
Roberto Plá Sales Cuatro Canciones Sefardies, No.1 v, gtr
Triste está la infanta Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.18, No.1 v, pf
Un cabretico Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.44, No.6 v, pf
(canción de noche de Pascua)
Una hija tiene el rey Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.13, No.1 v, pf
Una madre comió asado Osvaldo Golijov Ayre, No.2 sop, fl, cl,
hn, vn, vc,
db, hp, acc,
gtr, perc, laptop
Una matica de ruda Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.40 v, pf
Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.22, No.2 v, pf
Roberto Sierra Cancionero Sefardi, No.5 v, fl, cl,
pf, vn, vc
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Una matika de ruda Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, fl, gtr
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Una muchacha en Selanica Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.1 v, pf
Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.1 v, 2fl, 2ob,
2cl, 2bn, 4hn,
2tpt, 3tbn, timp,
perc, hp, str
Una niña que yo amo Mieczyslaw Kolinski Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.4 sop, fl, pf
Una ventana enfrenti di otra Menahem Bensussan Seven Sephardic Folksongs, No.4 v, pf
41
Song Composer Work/Song Number Instrumentation
Una noche yo me armi Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Three Sephardic Songs, No.3 v, pf
Una noche Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, pf
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Una noche Vicente Emilio Sojo Nueve Canciones de los v, pf
Sefardies de Salonica, No.3
Una pastora yo amí Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.20 v, pf
Joaquin Rodrigo Cuatro Canciones Sefardies, No.2 v, pf
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Una tadre fresquita de Mayo Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.6 v, pf
Vamos para la urilla Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.41, No.5 v, pf
Ven querida Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.3 v, pf
Manuel Valls Canciones Sefarditas, No.2 v, fl
Ven mos amaremos Ofer Ben-Amots Songs from the v, pf
Pomegrenate Garden, No.5
Ven y verás Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Three Sephardic Songs, No.2 v, pf
Vengáx en buen'hora, Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.8, No.5 v, pf
Siñora coshuegra
Ya abaxa la novia Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.13, No.6 v, pf
Daniel Akiva Jewish-Spanish Song Cycle, No.6 v, gtr
Ya salió de la mar la galana Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.13, No.3 v, pf
Joaquin Nin-Culmell Six Chansons Populaires v, pf
Sefardiques, No.4
Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.10 v, pf
Ya salió de la mar Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, fl, pf
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Ya salió de la mar Vicente Emilio Sojo Nueve Canciones de los v, pf
Sefardies de Salonica, No.9
Ya viene el cativo Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.21 v, pf
Manuel Valls Canciones Sefarditas, No.8 v, fl, gtr
Mario Davidovsky Ladino Songs, No.2 sop, fl, ob,
2gtr, vn, vc
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Ya vien el cativo Daniel Akiva Jewish-Spanish Song Cycle, No.4 v, gtr
Yah, Anna Emtzacha Osvaldo Golijov Ayre, No.10 sop, fl, cl,
hn, vn, vc,
db, hp, acc,
gtr, perc, laptop
Yéndome para marsilia Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, pf
Yo boli de foja en foja Joaquin Nin-Culmell Six Chansons Populaires v, pf
Sefardiques, No.1
Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.23 v, pf
Yo boli Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, pf
Yo boli Vicente Emilio Sojo Nueve Canciones de los v, pf
Sefardies de Salonica, No.7
Yo kon amor Ofer Ben-Amots Kantigas Ulvidades, No.2 v, pf
42
Song Composer Work/Song Number Instrumentation
Yo m'enamorí d'un aire Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.13 v, pf
Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.14 v, pf
Ulrike Merk Sephardische Lieder, No.3 v, gtr
Alexander Knapp Four Sephardi Songs, No.4 v, pf
Richard Neumann The Nico Castel Ladino Song Book v, gtr
Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.2 v, pf
Shimon Cohen Seven Sephardic Folk Songs, No.2 v, 2fl, 2ob,
2cl, 2bn, 4hn,
2tpt, 3tbn, timp,
perc, hp, str
Linda de mi corasón Lorenzo Palomo Cinco Canciones Sefardies, No.1 v, gtr
Yo m'enamorí d'un ayre Renan Koen v, pf
Yo m'enamorí d'un ayre Richard Neumann Anthology of Jewish Art Song, v, gtr
Volume I: The Ladino Collection
Yo me alevantí un lunes Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.13, No.5 v, pf
Yo me levantara un lunes Manuel Garcia Morante 40 Canciones Sefardies, No.17 v, pf
Yo me levantí un lunes Matilde Salvador Endechas y Cantares v, gtr
de Sefarad, No.7
Yo tomí una muchacha… Alberto Hemsi Coplas Sefardies, Op.7, No.1 v, pf
Yom gila (Sephardic Song of Joy) Richard Neumann v, pf
מה שואל Shai Cohen Two Ladino Songs, No.1 mez, vn, va,
vc, fl, cl,
tpt, 2tbn
איך בין הגיבורים Shai Cohen Two Ladino Songs, No.3 mez, vn, va,
vc, fl, cl,
tpt, 2tbn
43
CHAPTER 5: PERFORMANCE PRACTICE
5.1. PERFORMANCE
speaking, musical performance, and psychology seem to agree that when it comes to
communication, what matters is not necessarily what one says, but how one says it.
The content is, of course, significant; although, perhaps only valuable when
timing, and content.47 Thus, one can conclude that communication is not merely a
verbal and intellectual endeavor, but also a physical one. Similarly, a musical
standard – to be ‘expressive.’”48
with the art song performance practice, which are deeply rooted in the Western
47
Alberti, Robert E. "It's Not What You Say-It's How You Say It!" Psychology Today. November 19,
2013. Accessed November 13, 2018. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-and-
sensibility/201311/it-s-not-what-you-say-it-s-how-you-say-it.
48
Clarke, Eric. “Understanding the Psychology of Performance.” Musical Performance: A Guide to
Understanding, edited by John Rink. Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp. 59-72.
44
European classical, or more specifically, German Lied tradition. When comparing and
contrasting this tradition with the performance practice of the Latin American and
Iberian Art Song, Patricia Caicedo draws attention to the more rigidly structured and
perspective values the intellectual experience more than the physical, and therefore,
happens then when Lied is produced and interpreted in contexts where the body has
the culture-specific elements that contribute to a musical genre and its performance
practice, how could a singer possibly exhibit authenticity when performing a Latin
American song in the Lied tradition? Likewise, how can one possibly perform the
multicultural aspect, which comprises Jewish, Iberian, Eastern European and Middle
Eastern elements?
particular culture and/or geography, is studying that culture and/or geography, but
also the people, their gestures and body language. One could argue that folk music is
one of the genres that reflect the people and culture of a region (or nation) in the most
visible way. A folk singer represents their culture and environment; “their
49
Caicedo, Patricia. The Latin American Art Song: the sounds of the imagined nations. Maryland:
Lexington Press, 2019, p. 119.
50
Ibid., pp. 143-144.
45
neighborhood, customs, and social-cultural-historical-geographical milieu.”51 Perhaps
this characteristic of the folk genre makes it suitable for political expression. In any
case, when preparing a Western classical vocal work that represents non-Western
European regions and cultures, minority groups, and diasporic populations, a singer
may want to consider studying the folk music of that region or population. YouTube
offers many wonderful videos of performances that are simply one click away;
performance analysis is an effective way to assess some of the key elements pertinent
to performance practice.
concerts and festivals, although the Western classical audience might not be familiar
with it. Some notable singers associated with traditional (but popular) Sephardic
vocal music are Flory Jagoda (b.1926), Yasmin Levy (b.1975), and Gerard Edery
(b.1958). There are also numerous Sephardic music ensembles that regularly perform
in music festivals around the world and contribute to the genre with their recordings.
Although the names mentioned above do have a Sephardic heritage, most musicians
that for Sephardic people, an authentic Sephardic music performance evoked a feeling
51
Ibid., p. 126.
52
Seroussi, Edwin. “From Spain to the Eastern Mediterranean and Back: A Song as a Metaphor of
Modern Sephardic Culture.” In: Music in the Jewish Experience. Bar-Ilan University Press, 2012, pp.
41-82.
53
Roda, Jessica. The singularity of performers in the revival of Judeo-Spanish music and language in
France. Selected Papers from the Fifteenth British Conference on Judeo-Spanish Studies. Department
of Iberian and Latin American Studies, Queen Mary, University of London, 2012, p.189.
46
“During and after these performances, this common sephardicness is
touch, words and stories related to the shared past. During the event, it can be
argued that the singer embodied the figure of the Sephardic mother who
In another article, Roda shares with the reader her ethnographic observation of the
Tres Culturas festival in Murcia, Spain, and her ethnography of the Sandra Bessis
Trio performance at the festival. Roda remarks Sandra Bessis’s gestures and body
movement throughout the trio’s performance of Sephardic songs, such as, “Gesture is
at the heart of Sandra’s performance, resembling an actual score in which we can read
the meaning of the text…Bessis sits down to perform the song Ven kerida…leading
Sandra to move her hands even more, along with her lower body, in a few dance
Her observations suggest to me that the gestures and body language used in
Sephardic music performances are closer to those employed in Iberian and Latin
than the German Lied or French Mèlodie. Considering the many cultures that formed
the Sephardic culture, the folk elements of the music, as well as the non-Western
musical elements that give the music its unique flavor, it would only be appropriate to
allow the body to have more freedom when performing the Sephardic Art Song
54
Roda, Jessica. "Re-Making Kinship. From Community to Family: A Sephardic Experience in
France." Théologiques vol. 24, no. 2, 2016, p. 114.
55
Roda, Jessica. “Jewish Performance as a Means for Constructing the Society of “Living Together.””
European Journal of Jewish Studies Vol. 8, Issue 1, 2014, pp. 115-118.
47
within the cultural codes and styles associated with Sephardic music, and must serve
5.2. DICTION
words in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), as well as the ones such as the
Nico Castel books full of IPA translations of Italian, German, and French operas, and
online sources that provide IPA translations of classical vocal works in various
languages. The emergence of publications of vocal works that the Western Classical
world was less familiar with, enriched the vocal literature in the 20th century; these
vocal works had texts in less common languages. Now, we are able to access IPA
out that most of the languages we are dealing with in classical music are standardized
Espagnol), Hispanic studies scholar Dr. Isaac Jack Levy emphasizes how each
Sephardic community spells and pronounces Ladino in their own way.56 After
reminding his audience that although considered a Romance language Ladino was
56
Lévy, Isaac J. “The Challenges of Working with Judeo-Espanyol.” Judeo Espaniol: The Evolution
of a Culture. Edited by Raphael Gatenio. Thessaloniki: ETS Ahaim Foundation, 1999, pp. 79-88.
48
uniformity in the transcriptions of Ladino into Latin characters. Due to the differences
in consonant and vowel sounds between Ladino and modern Spanish, Ladino and
Hebrew, and Ladino and Arabic, the consonant and vowel sounds in Ladino were
example, the sound [k] could be written with a c, q, qu, k, or ch, depending on the
person transcribing it. One Sephardic community could use the letter j for the [x]
sound, while others used the same letter for other sounds, such as [ʎ] or [ʒ]. Similarly,
one could find the word [diʃo] written as disho, dixo or dišo.58 A similar complexity
presents itself in the case of a diphthong as well. Dr. Levy describes how some
Eastern Sephardic communities avoid the diphthong [ei] in written form, although it
exits in Ladino. For example, the word reina, meaning queen, could be spelled rena,
words and sounds from other languages that different Sephardic communities were
exposed to, such as Turkish, Italian, French, Serbo-Croatian, Greek, Arabic, etc. The
surrounding these communities. In his presentation, Dr. Levy discusses in detail the
but also the challenges in translating texts from Ladino into other languages.
57
Ibid.
58
Ibid.
59
Ibid.
60
Ibid.
49
The information above is crucial for those who are interested in performing
Sephardic songs, since the texts of these songs will reflect the lack of uniformity in
the spelling and pronunciation of the Ladino language. In her fieldwork, Jessica Roda
observed that the members of the Sephardic community in France found Sephardic
song performances to be more authentic when the Ladino text was pronounced
accurately.61 Some of the music scores offer help in how to pronounce the Ladino
texts of the songs. While few composers have included IPA transcriptions of the
Ladino texts they used in their published works, some others preferred to add a table
of vowels and consonants to serve as a guide for diction; however, most published
Sephardic Art Song works do not come with any information on how to pronounce
the texts. I have created the following tables (Table 4 & Table 5) to serve as a diction
guide for those who are interested in performing Sephardic songs. I would like to
emphasize that the consonants and vowels listed below, as well as their IPA
pronunciation system for Ladino. I acknowledge the complexity of the task and the
not sufficiently equip me with the appropriate tools to even propose a standardized
spelling system, especially for such a complex language as Ladino. My intention here
is merely to help singers, who would like to perform this repertoire, in deciphering
the texts.
61
Roda, Jessica. The singularity of performers in the revival of Judeo-Spanish music and language in
France. Selected Papers from the Fifteenth British Conference on Judeo-Spanish Studies. Department
of Iberian and Latin American Studies, Queen Mary, University of London, 2012, p.189.
50
It should be noted that there are exceptions to the rules presented below, as
community.
VOWELS
VOWELS
Spelling
Spelling IPA
IPASymbol
Symbol Ladino
Ladino Spanish
Spanish English
English Other
Other
ii [i]
[i] mi,
mi, ija,
ija, amariyo
amariyo mi,
mi, ija
ija // beet
bee t finiti
finiti (Italian)
(Italian)
ee [e]
[e] de,
de , el,
e l,kero
ke ro de,
de, ella,
e lla,pero
pe ro __ legale
le gale(Italian)
(Italian)
aa [ɑ]
[?] espanyol
espanyol español,
español,almaalma __ bas,
bas, âme
âme (French)
(French)
oo [o]
[o] boka
boka boca,
boca, oro,
oro, canción
canción __ dolce,
dolce, sospiro
sospiro (Italian)
(Italian)
uu [u]
[u] komunidad
komunidad comunidad
comunidad boot
boot fugare (Italian)
fugare (Italian)
uu [w]
[w] fuego,fui,
fuego, fui,agua
agua puesta, cuarto
puesta, cuarto __ guerra (Italian)
guerra (Italian)
öö [ø]
[ø] mösyö
mösyö __ __ hören (German)
hören (German)
üü [y]
[y] büro
büro __ __ für, grün
für, grün (German)
(German)
Table 4 Vowel Sounds in Ladino
62
Edery, Gerard. “The Gerard Edery Sephardic Song Book: for Voice and Guitar.” Owings Mills,
MD.:Tara Publications, 2003.
Harris, Tracy K. Death of a Language: The History of Judeo-Spanish. London and Toronto:
Associated University Presses, 1994, pp. 279-280.
Horowitz, Joshua & Saltiel, Aron. Sephardisches Liederbuch: 51 Judenspanische Lieder = The
Sephardic Songbook: 51 Judeo-Spanish Songs. Frankfurt: C.F. Peters, 2001, p.XII.
Meizel, Katherine Lynn. Eastern Mediterranean Sephardic Tradition in Art Song. Ann Arbor,
Michigan: UMI Dissertation Services, 2004, pp. 59-62.
Varol, Marie-Christine. Manual of Judeo-Spanish: language and culture. Bethesda, MD: University
Press of Maryland, 2008, p. 27.
Wall, Joan, et al. Diction for Singers: A Concise Reference for English, Italian, Latin, German,
French, and Spanish Pronunciation. Second ed. Redmond, WA: Diction for Singers.com, 2012.
51
CONSONANTS
Spelling IPA Symbol Ladino Spanish English Other Explanation
b [b] barko, bever, djumba barco boy batti (Italian)
b [β] debasho tubo, haba _ _ between [b] and [v]
c [s] recintados, haces cerrar, cielo save souffler (French) preceding i, e
c [k] cuando, calleja, con castillo, corason carpet café (French) preceding a, o, u
ç [s] coraçón cerrar, cielo save souffler (French)
ch [tʃ] chiko, noche, muncho _ church certo (Italian)
d [d] despues, danyo, bodre después dog diva (Italian)
d [ð] dedo, boda mido, verdad those _
dj [dʒ] djente, djénero, adjile _ gender gentile (Italian)
f [f] fransé, faktor, bafo factor fair fato (Italian)
f [x] fui, esfuenyo gente _ Bach (German) between [k] and [h]
g [g] grande, guay, godro grande gallon gala (Italian)
g [dʒ] gente, género, gentil _ gender gentile (Italian) if a word begins with ge
g [ɣ] agua, djugueves fraguar, juego _ _ between [ɡ] and [h]
h [x] haham, hazino gente _ Hanukah (Hebrew) sometimes as [X]
j [ʒ] ijo, kaleja, mojado _ vision journal (French)
ǰ [dʒ] ǰusto _ just, gender gentile (Italian)
k [k] kuanto, ke, asukar cuanto, que carpet café (French)
kh [k] zekhut, malakhim cuanto, que carpet café (French)
ky [kj] kyöshé, kyuprí _ thank you _
l [l] luna, leche, kale luz leaf libertà (Italian)
ll [j] or [ʎ] ella, lluvia llama yes soleil, brillant (French)
m [m] mamá, kome, meza llama, mesa mother mentre (Italian)
n [n] numero, nada, lonso número never numero (Italian)
ny [ɲ] anyo, inyervos, Espanya año _ champagne (French)
ñ [ɲ] montañas año _ champagne (French)
p [p] papú, premio premio pebble porto (Italian)
r [ɾ] ratón, bodre, karo caro _ tesoro (Italian)
rr [r] perro, karro, borracho carro _ guerra (Italian)
s [s] sielo, sin, lonso cielo, sin save souffler (French)
s [z] rosa, casa musgo, hazlo zebra rosa, casa (Italian) between two vowels
s [z] frutas, noches musgo, hazlo zebra rosa, casa (Italian) if a word ends in s
sh [ʃ] kosho, disho, bushkar _ share scena (Italian)
š [ʃ] dišo _ share scena (Italian)
t [t] tadre, todo, tambien, pato también tender tanto (Italian)
v [v] bever, vozós, livro, vedre _ victory voce (Italian)
x [ʃ] kosho, disho, bushkar _ share scena (Italian)
y [j] yerva, luvya, ya, boyo llama year soleil, brillant (French)
z [z] meza, kaza, razon musgo, hazlo zebra rosa, casa (Italian)
ž [ʒ] ižo, mužer _ vision journal (French)
Table 5 Consonant Sounds in Ladino
52
5.3. MUSIC
classical tradition, as well as the original Sephardic vocal works of the 20th and 21st
centuries, are rooted in the folk song genre. Performances of traditional Sephardic
songs encourage creativity, as ornamentation and rhythmic freedom are two of the
essential musical characteristics of the genre. The Sephardic song repertoire was
concludes that the main stylistic elements of the traditional Sephardic songs were
naturally removed in the process of arranging them in the Western classical tradition.
A similar consequence is observed in the Spanish Art Song genre. While working on
a song64 by the Spanish composer Montsalvatge with the Latin American and Iberian
singing the motives that represented ornamentations. These motives were usually
groups of sixteenth notes, grouped in fours or fives. The feedback I got from her was
that I was simply singing them too accurately, in terms of rhythm. The notation was
there to provide the pitch sequence of that specific ornamentation; however, the
63
Seroussi, Edwin. “Reconstructing Sephardi Music in the 20th Century: Isaac Levy and his “Chants
judeo-espagnols.” The World of Music, Vol.37, No.1, 1995, p. 45.
64
The song was “Chévere” fromCinco Canciones Negras by Xavier Montsalvatge (1912-2002).
53
rhythm was meant to serve as a guide only and was supposed to be much freer. She
“Even when songs are printed in scores, in performance there are elements
intonations, character, and pauses. All these subjective elements are derived
from the knowledge that the performer has of the work and its context; these
melodies by ear, their ability to imitate vocal inflections and, in general, they
lose spontaneity and skills folk musicians have to learn by ear and imitation.
limits them to producing only sounds that are written on paper, losing sight of
the fact that musical notation was from the beginning, an attempt to capture
the music made by ear and the notation itself can not contain all the twists,
Catalan composer and pianist Manuel García Morante supported this argument in my
personal interview with him on his 40 Canciones Sefardíes. Morante’s late wife,
Argentinian mezzo-soprano Myriam Alió, had a Sephardic heritage and sang many of
the traditional Sephardic songs in their home. Having collaborated with great classical
singers of his time, such as Victoria de los Ángeles, Conxita Badia, Carmen
65
Caicedo, Patricia. The Latin American Art Song: the sounds of the imagined nations. Maryland:
Lexington Press, 2019, pp. 122-123, 133-134.
54
Busamente, and Myriam Alió, Morante was thoroughly familiar with the Western
classical vocal repertoire. Thus, as his wife sang these traditional Sephardic songs, he
enjoyed creating his original accompaniments to them, which were based on his
Western classical training and knowledge on the art song repertoire. Eventually, he
decided to notate these arrangements and publish them under the title 40 Canciones
Sefardíes. During our conversation about his work, Morante mentioned how these
rigid structure as a result of limitations that come with the Western classical notation.
When I inquired about how to approach singing them, he responded that the
ornamentations were meant to be sung in free and flexible rhythm, in accord with the
style.66
My research and observations suggest that both the singer and the
Sephardic Art Song genre, albeit within a stylistic context. Singers interested in
performing this repertoire should familiarize themselves with the stylistic elements
and performance practice of the Iberian Art Song repertoire, but also those of
zarzuelas, French foxtrots and chansons, tangos, Turkish songs, Greek tragoudis, and
other genres that influenced the Sephardic repertoire.67 This may result in
incorporating different vocal styles into the performance and experimenting with
vocal gestures and timbre. This goes without saying that healthy vocal production
66
Morante, Manuel García. Personal interview. 3 July 2018.
67
Seroussi, Edwin. “The Growth of the Judeo-Spanish folksong repertory in the 20th century.”
Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies, Vol. Division D, Volume II: Art, Folklore and
Music, 1989, pp. 174-175.
55
5.4. AUDIENCE
Any performance can only be meaningful and successful, if the performers are
able to connect and communicate with the audience. It was argued in the introduction
of this dissertation that it is more likely for the audience to enjoy a musical
performance when they are able to identify themselves with some aspect of the
performance, and when they find the performance to be authentic. If so, in selection
of recital repertoire, it is worth taking into consideration who the audience might be.
In their book, Art of the Song Recital, Shirlee Emmons and Stanley Sonntag divide
the art song recital audience into two; the musically sophisticated, more
comprehending listeners, and the popular audience. They further categorize the
“… (1) those who have been attracted by the program because the music is
most important to them; (2) those who are supporters of the singer—fans,
relatives, students; (3) those who are, at best, curious to hear and assess the
singer’s skills; (4) those who have been brought to the concert by someone
else, perhaps even against their will; and (5) those who are basically inimical,
Art of the Song Recital was published in 1979 and the book highlights some salient
points that are still appropriate in the 21st century; however, I would argue that the
positive result of the more diverse and continuously expanding art song repertoire in
our current day. As mentioned before, today, the Western classical recital repertoire
68
Emmons, Shirlee & Sonntag, Stanley. The Art of the Song Recital. New York: Schirmer Books,
1979, p. 24.
56
encompasses opera, operetta, oratorio, art song, musical theater, and sometimes even
the folk songs and popular music genres. Art song in and of itself is now a rather rich
genre, sometimes adopting works and melodies from other genres. Folk songs have
In her book, Caicedo describes the audiences of different song genres, such as
art song, folk song, and popular song. She discusses how the art song audience tends
are rather familiar with the literature, characteristics of the genre, and performance
practices. The art song audience also refrains from actively participating in the
The folk song audience, on the other hand, tends to belong to middle or lower social
groups, and they tend to actively participate in the performance by singing along,
clapping hands, and moving their bodies.69 Thus, Caicedo concludes that folk song
flexibility. Throughout the centuries, these songs were only sung in intimate spaces,
such as the homes of the Sephardim and small community spaces, and mostly in life
cycle events, such as weddings. Hand-clapping and singing along have always been
69
Caicedo, Patricia. Los sonidos de las naciones imaginadas: La canción artística latinoamericana en
el contexto del nacionalismo musical. Barcelona: Mundo Arts and Fundación Autor, 2018, pp. 185-
189.
57
“Throughout the performance, I observed the active participation of the
audience as they sang and swayed to the music, chattered enthusiastically with
one another, smiles and interacted with the artists on stage. The interaction
and dialogue that occur between the artists and the audience facilitated the
artists, these moments of sharing and communicating with the community are
extremely significant because they not only validate their art, but also
art song performance that do not allow such flexibility? At this point, it might be a
good idea to go back to the question, “who is the audience?” Questions, such as the
following, may help in determining who might be attending the performance. Are the
Sephardic songs being programmed with some other art song repertoire, such as Lied
and mélodie? Are they programmed as a section of an Iberian and Latin American Art
70
Roda, Jessica. "Re-Making Kinship. From Community to Family: A Sephardic Experience in
France." Théologiques vol. 24, no. 2, 2016, pp. 113-114.
58
Western tradition? What is the instrumentation of the selected repertoire? Is the
recital repertoire consisted of exclusively Sephardic songs? Where will this recital be
intimate space? Is the stage leveled above the audience or at the same level as the
audience? Is the recital a part of a festival? Does the festival have a theme?
The Sephardic Art Song repertoire not only consists of works for voice and
one accompanying instrument, such as piano, guitar, harp, violin, and viola, but also
of works for voice and chamber ensemble and voice and orchestra. These works also
form a hypothetical spectrum with the folk song genre on one end and the
conventional Western European art song genre on the other; some of the Western
classical arrangements are closer to the folk genre in sound, range, instrumentation,
and simplicity, while some are closer to the art song end of the spectrum in similar
can be selected from this variety to better serve the audience. Perhaps the works on
the folk song side of the spectrum could be performed in a more flexible manner,
even with contributions from the audience, whereas the conventional art song
performance practices could be preserved for those works that are on the other end of
the spectrum.
In my own Sephardic Art Song recitals, I observed that the audience members
were intrigued by this unique and beautiful repertoire; although many were not
familiar with the Sephardic culture, nor the music. I have also experienced a certain
connection with the Jewish audience members, who have expressed a feeling of
nostalgia, home, and belonging after listening to these songs. Without doubt, this
59
repertoire is unique and fascinating for many, and will certainly add a different flavor
60
CHAPTER 6: PERFORMANCES
~
Lecture: Sephardic Art Song: A Musical Legacy of the Sephardic Diaspora – Part I
~
71
Text and translations can be found in Appendix B.
61
6.1.1. Lorenzo Palomo, Cinco Canciones Sefardíes (2006)
lives in Berlin, Germany, where he had been a member of the music staff of the
Berlin Opera (Deutsche Oper Berlin) as conductor and pianist from 1981 to 2004. As
a composer, Palomo’s works display strong influences of his native Córdoba, as well
as the life-style and music of Andalusia that embrace many diverse cultures. He
further enjoys combining these diverse musical elements with the passionate
flamenco style. Palomo has become a musical ambassador for Spain with his more
than 200 works for piano, chorus, orchestra, voice and guitar, which have been
performed all around the world. One of his most famous works is his Spanish Songs,
which was premiered by Montserrat Caballé (b.1933) at the Carnegie Hall in New
York, in 1987. His Madrigal y Cinco Canciones sefardíes was premiered by Ofelia
Sala (soprano) and Maria Smirnova (harp) at Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2004.
I will let Palomo present you the following work in his own words: “Writing
the present work, I primarily intended to preserve its magic, simplicity and traditional
character. Canciones sefardíes are melodies, which have been left Spain by Jewish
music. They especially captivate by their enormous simplicity. Subject is always love,
pain of unrequited love, the history of a young love or a lullaby. All of these songs
72
Palomo, Lorenzo. Madrigal y Cinco Canciones Sefardíes. Score. FH 3251. Leipzig: Friedrich
Hofmeister Musikverlag, 2006.
62
6.1.2. Manuel Valls, Canciones Sefarditas (1975)
Manuel Valls (1920-1984) was a Catalan composer, pianist, music critic and
works, as well as operas, art songs, and works for solo piano, while simultaneously
teaching composition at the University of Barcelona and writing music reviews for
Sephardic tunes arranged for voice, flute and guitar. Just like Lorenzo Palomo, Valls
clearly intended to preserve the simplicity of these folk tunes and to evoke a medieval
Although each song has multiple verses, Valls preferred to treat his
arrangements more as little appetizers instead of entire meals. The set includes one of
the most popular Sephardic love songs, La rosa enflorece (Los bilbilicos), and a
farewell to the loved one, Adio querida, among other love songs, songs of longing
and a lullaby. Those who are familiar with Verdi’s La Traviata may find similarities
between Adio querida and the aria Addio del passato. Although some suggest that
Verdi may have been inspired by this beautiful Sephardic song, it is quite the
opposite. A portion of the Sephardic song repertoire can be traced back to the
medieval times; however, a large number of these songs were altered or created (or
recreated) throughout the history under the influence of the surroundings of the
73
Madsen, Catherine. “In Search of Sephardic Music.” Pakn treger No. 48, Summer 2005/5765.
Retrieved 17 March 2017, from http://www.klezmershack.com/articles/madsen/bresler/
63
6.1.3. Andrew Zohn, 8 Sephardic Songs (2011)
School of Music (Columbus State University) in Georgia. Zohn began composing for
the guitar in 1998 and published his 8 Sephardic Songs for voice and guitar in 2011.
The reason I picked the following two songs among the eight is because I
think that they will provide a different flavor when compared to the previous
yearning and desire for the beloved. Fel sharah canet betet masha, on the other hand,
with many names, a tune that can be traced all over South Eastern Europe and in
some parts of the Mediterranean area, the Middle East, Caucasus, Central Asia, the
Far East and North America.” It has not yet been proved where it exactly came
from—or when and by whom it was originally written—and it has been suggested
that the origins of the melody are either Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Bosnian,
or that the song was brought by the Crusaders. There is even a documentary named
Whose is this song? in which a lady named Adeela Peeva follows the route of this
song, which she had thought to be Bulgarian until she is told one day in Istanbul that
it is Greek (by a Greek) - Serbian (by a Serb) or Turkish (by a Turk) respectively.
Throughout the film, she traces the tune in Greece, Turkey and all over the Balkans.74
74
Peeva, Adela. "Adela Media Film and TV Production Company." Whose is This Song? - Adela
Media. Accessed April 25, 2017. http://www.adelamedia.net/movies/whose-is-this-song.php.
64
6.2. RECITAL 2 – PROGRAM NOTES75
Lecture: Sephardic Art Song: A Musical Legacy of the Sephardic Diaspora – Part II
~ intermission ~
75
Text and translations can be found on Appendix B.
65
6.2.1. José Antonio (Aita) de Donostia, Canciones Sefardíes (1941)
can be found in scholarly resources by various names (Aita Donostia, José Gonzalo
Zulaica Arregui, Father Donostia, and Father San Sebastian). I found out about
Donostia through a Basque soprano friend, Olatz Saitua, whom I met this past
mentioned my dissertation to her, she told me about Donostia and his Sephardic
songs, and generously sent me the musical score of Canciones Sefardíes (1941) later
on.
composition, at the Capuchin College in Lecároz, in the late 19th century; however, he
was a largely self-taught composer. Upon his ordination as a priest in 1908, he began
teaching at the Capuchin College. During this time, he also collected and studied
Basque popular songs and pursued his interest in composing. He supplemented his
musicians, but he also studied Gregorian chant, the influence of which is prevalent in
his Sephardic songs. In 1918, he travelled to Madrid and Paris in pursuit of a musical
career. It is notable that he got to meet Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) and Albert
Roussel (1869-1937) during his travels, and to study with Vincent d’Indy (1851-
with French Impressionism “led to a more personal and refined language, with a
66
concise expressiveness.”76 He has numerous sacred vocal works; however, he
achieved more popularity through his Basque choral music and Preludios vascos for
The songs you will hear today are from his Canciones Sefardíes, which is a
set of five songs, although there are ten songs mentioned in Donostia’s introduction to
the set. They are simple in character and speak of love and pain of unrequited love.
born into a musical family in Berlin, Germany. His father was the Cuban composer
and pianist Joaquín Nin (1879-1949) and his mother was Rosa Culmell, a Cuban
singer of French and Danish descent. Nin-Culmell moved to New York at the age of
six with his mother, only to return to Europe nine years later. He began his studies in
music in Barcelona with Conchita Badía (1897-1975), who was a Spanish pianist and
Falla (1876-1946), and Pablo Casals (1876-1973). Nin-Culmell later studied piano,
harmony, counterpoint and fugue, and composition at the Schola Cantorum and the
Paris Conservatory, where his teachers included Paul Dukas (1865-1935), Alfred
Cortot (1877-1962), and Ricardo Viñes (1875-1943). He also had the opportunity to
76
Itziar Larrinaga. "Donostia, José Antonio de." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford
University Press, accessed November 1, 2017,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/08009.
77
Ibid.
67
study with Manuel de Falla, and premiered his Pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas in
composed in 1982. Nin-Culmell dedicates the set to the Jewish martyrs in Latin: “In
memoriam omnium martyrum iudaeorum,” which also serves as his description of the
set. These songs are also simple in character and quite straightforward dramatically
and stylistically. Although the songs are vocally simple as well, the melismatic vocal
lines with little ornaments of grace notes and intervals of augmented seconds create a
music critic and essayist of Sephardic descent. Throughout his lifetime, he credited
his musical talent to his maternal grandfather, who had a great influence on
his formal training in piano and composition at the Cherubini Royal Institute of
Music in Florence and Liceo Musicale of Bologna. Even in the early years of his
gifts. In 1925, many years after his grandfather’s death, he found a small book of
68
manuscripts became a source of both musical and philosophical inspiration for
compositions.78 In 1939, he moved to New York with his family due to the increasing
anti-semitic activity in Italy. About a year later, he moved to California and signed a
choral and orchestral works, works for guitar, piano, and chamber ensembles. His
Classicism; however, there were four major influences in his work: works of
Shakespeare, Jewish music, Tuscan folksongs and poetry, and his devotion to his
His Three Sephardic Songs for voice and piano (or harp) was published in
1959. The first song in the set, Montañas altas is a love song of yearning and desire.
According to Israel J. Katz, the song does not exist in any of the published Sephardic
translation of a Turkish or Greek song.81 The second song, Ven y verás, is more
commonly known as Arboles lloran por luvia. This particular tune exists in multiple
versions, some of which are clearly interpreted as love songs, whereas some
78
Lakeway, Ruth. C. and Robert C. White. Italian Art Song. Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
1989, pp. 258-260.
79
Westby, James. "Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Mario." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford
University Press, accessed November 6, 2017,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/05128.
80
Lakeway, Ruth. C. and Robert C. White. Italian Art Song, 1989.
81
Meizel, Katherine L. Eastern Mediterranean Sephardic Tradition in Art Song. Thesis, Ph.D.,
University of California, Santa Barbara, 2004, pp. 41-45.
69
emphasize elements of lament. I have included Alberto Hemsi’s arrangement of this
song in the program today to present two different interpretations of the same song.
Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s setting is a song about love and longing for the loved one.
The third and last song, Una noche yo me armí, is more commonly known as
found out that this song is documented as a wedding song among the Jewish
communities. Moreover, the melody of this song is derived from a popular Greek
song carried by Salonikan immigrants to Jerusalem in the 19th century, and the text is
a combination of this song from Salonika and text from another song, Ni blanca ni
morena.82 The original traditional version of Ventanas altas has a very rhythmic
this song and creates an entirely different atmosphere with his arpeggiated chords and
Upon completion of his musical studies in Barcelona, and then Paris, he began his
to focus more on composition from 1979 on and worked on his vocal compositions
with his wife, the Argentinian mezzo-soprano Myriam Alió. His vocal compositions
include five operas and 554 art songs. About half of Morante’s art songs are
82
Ibid.
70
arrangements of traditional Catalan, Asturian, Sephardic, Mallorcan, Andalusian,
collection has received some criticism by the great scholars of Sephardic song, such
as Israel J. Katz and Samuel G. Armistead, for not being truly original, as Morante
has made some changes in the original texts and has altered prosody as well. The
significantly. Despite the fact that the arrangements are rather westernized and
possess less of the traditional Sephardic flavor, I think they are still quite unique in
character. Instead of displaying the folky attributes of these songs and keeping the
simplicity of them, Morante prefers to paint atmospheres and scenes with the piano
accompaniment. He enhances the text with some rather haunting harmonies and
desire to present you songs from a wide range of the Sephardic repertoire. I tried my
best to pick the songs that I thought would complement the rest of the program in
terms of theme and character. Cuando el rey Nimrod is a very popular narrative song
on the birth of Abraham, the biblical prophet. Pregoneros van y vienen is a rather
haunting war song. These two songs will be followed by Una tadre fresquita de
Mayo, which Israel Katz refers to as a modern and picaresque song. The light, lyrical
83
Tritó Edicions (n.d.). Manuel García Morante (1937). Retrieved November 02, 2017, from
https://www.trito.es/en/composers/30252/manuel-garcia-morante
71
character of this song will lighten up the mood before the somber, but beautiful Adío
Sephardic Art Song genre, if not the most. His contribution to the genre goes well
arrangements of Sephardic songs in ten opuses. In the early 20th century, a number of
Sephardic folk songs of the Ladino-speaking Mediterranean Jews. Hemsi was one of
the handful of them, who traveled from country to country and town to town to
fragments and texts. What puts Hemsi apart from the other scholars is his more
these songs to be considered among the classical art song repertoire. Irene Heskes
states in her review of Hemsi’s songs that “Hemsi refers to a strong historic
continuity with the Iberian past as inherent to the song texts. Melodically, however,
he was from Turgutlu (a.k.a. Cassaba in the Ottoman Empire), a district in Manisa, in
Turkey, which is just outside my hometown, Izmir. Hemsi was born into an Italian
84
Heskes, Irene. Notes, vol. 56, no. 2, 1999, pp. 496–500. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/900052.
72
Sephardic family in Turgutlu, and he studied composition with Shemtov Shikayar and
cantorial music with Isaac Algazi (1889-1950, also a collector of Sephardic folk
composition, and piano, until his studies were interrupted by war service. After
serving in the Italian army during World War I and getting severely injured, he
returned to Izmir in 1919, and began his career as a pianist, choral conductor, and
music teacher. By 1920, he had already begun to collect and transcribe the Sephardic
songs and poems in Izmir and Rhodes. He then extended his research to Thessaloniki,
Hemsi’s Coplas comprise both romances (ballads) and cantigas (songs). His
collection is rich of themes and characters, and includes life-cycle songs, lullabies,
serenades, dirges, and love songs, as well as Biblical, religious and paraliturgical
compositions. The selections you will hear today are two wedding songs (No.1 & 3)
85
Text and translations can be found on Appendix B.
73
~
Seven Sephardic Romances Yehezkel Braun
I. Don Amadi (1922-2014)
II. Esta Rachel la estimoza
IV. Durme, durme
VI. Dime Rozina
VII. Morenica a mi me llaman
~
Sephardic Songs Frederic Hand
I. El Rey de Francia (b.1947)
III. Adio Querida
IV. A la una yo naci
Meghan Shanley, flute & Jeremy Lyons, guitar & Shawn Alger, double bass
~ intermission ~
~
Rodas Recordada Sid Robinovitch
(b.1942)
Juliana Franco, soprano & William Kenlon, baritone & Emily Robinson, clarinet
Jeremy Lyons, guitar & Carol Anne Bosco, cello
74
6.3.1. Joaquín Rodrigo, Cuatro Canciones Sefardíes (1965)
began. Therefore, it is only appropriate for my final dissertation recital to begin with
this set. As I had mentioned in my previous recitals, I found out about this set of four
songs through a student in the undergraduate Vocal Literature class I was assisting in
three years ago. I have to thank Sofiya Schug (student then, friend now), who knew
these songs someday. This finding led me to further investigate whether there were
other 20th- or 21st-century vocal works in the Western classical music tradition that
could be traced back to a Sephardic influence. Not only have I found sufficient
amount of works to create a dissertation out of them, but I have also discovered so
many vocal works in this genre that I ended up having to create a catalog to be able to
keep track of them. Through my dissertation work, I hope to draw attention to the
revival of Sephardic ballads in the 20th and 21st centuries as Sephardic Arts Songs.
Valencian family. He lost his eyesight at the age of three as a result of a diphtheria
epidemic. He began studying music at a young age with Eduardo López Chávarri
throughout Europe in 1920, he had already become an excellent pianist and a good
student of Paul Dukas (1865-1935). He lived mainly in France until after the Spanish
75
Civil War and returned home in 1939.86 While in Paris, he developed friendships with
other Spaniards living there, including Manuel de Falla (1876-1946). Falla was the
one to encourage Rodrigo “to compose nationalistic music that would employ
Spanish dance rhythms, gypsy and Moorish melodies, and accompanimental effects
of the guitar.”87 Another name that influenced Rodrigo’s career and compositional
style was Victoria Kamhi (1905-1997), whom he met in Paris in the late 20s. In his
“turbulent romance,” and mentions the many obstacles they faced before their
war, and exile.88 Evidently, Victoria Kamhi was a Turkish pianist of Sephardic
descent and was born into a cosmopolitan, well-to-do Istanbul Jewish family. Loeffler
conceal her religious background,” who found it challenging to share the household
with Rodrigo’s traditional, rural Spanish family. After World War II, Rodrigo
emerged as the leading Spanish composer as a result of the tremendous success of his
works. He composed in a wide spectrum of genres for voice, guitar, orchestra, choir,
piano, and other instruments. When Spanish folklorist and literary scholar Ramón
Menédez Pidal (1869-1968) suggested that Rodrigo arrange some Sephardic ballads,
he composed his choral work Dos Canciones Sefardíes del Siglo XV in 1950.89 This
86
Cockburn, Jacqueline, and Richard Stokes. The Spanish Song Companion. Lanham, MD: The
Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2006.
87
Draayer, Suzanne R. A Singer’s Guide to the Songs of Joaquín Rodrigo. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow
Press, 1999.
88
Loeffler, James. “Piety and Passion: The Musical Legacy of Jewish Spain” Program notes for
Rodrigo’s Cuatro Canciones Sefardíes. The Amernet Quartet with special guests. Washington, D.C.:
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Terrace Theater, November 23, 2015.
89
Ibid.
76
was followed by his Cuatro Canciones Sefaradíes (1965) for voice and piano, which
1965.
texts adapted by Rodrigo’s wife Victoria Kamhi, who was familiar with the Ladino
dedicates the song to Victoria’s father Isaac Kamhi. Loeffler argues that this
disapproved of his daughter’s marriage outside the faith. The second song, Una
pastora yo ami, is a lament of unrequited love and a fairly modern song that is a
translation from Modern Greek.90 Nani, nani is an old romance, a classic Sephardic
lullaby. The set ends with an old, traditional lyric song about a Moorish girl,
“Morena” me llaman, which was documented in Spain as early as the 16th century
and in Sephardic tradition from the late-18th century.91 Loeffler presents this song as
“a complex folk meditation on the links between community and violence among
conveyed through the speaker’s description of walking through the town’s streets.
legends as well as modern poetry, set in traditional art song style. … Rodrigo’s songs
meld the old with the new—supreme lyricism, harmonic as well as nonharmonic
90
Armistead, Samuel, et al. “Another Anthology of Sephardic Folksongs (Review Essay).” Musica
Judaica vol. 7, no. 1, 1985, pp. 58-72.
91
Ibid.
77
dissonance, and a fine sense of poetic line.”92 Cuatro Canciones Sefaradíes is an
excellent representation of his compositional approach in the art song genre, as well
known as Wroclaw and belongs to Poland. When he was two, his family immigrated
to Palestine, where he began his musical studies at an early age. He studied at the
University) in Tel Aviv, under the tutelage of Alexander Uriah Boskovich (1907-
1964). He later taught at his alma mater between1953-1990, during which time he
also served as the director for three years (1979-1981). In addition to his musical
studies, Braun also earned a Master’s degree in Greek and Latin philology at Tel
Aviv University. His interest in Hebrew and Gregorian chant led him to spend a year
Braun is now known as an Israeli composer and scholar, who belongs to the
Lavry (1903-1967).93 Ben-Haim and Lavry were immigrant composers that had
escaped Nazi Germany and they had actively sought ways to create a national sound
92
Draayer, Suzanne R. A Singer’s Guide to the Songs of Joaquín Rodrigo, 1999.
93
Levin, Neil W. “Yehezkel Braun.” Retrieved January 15, 2018, from
https://www.naxos.com/person/Yehezkel_Braun/26223.htm
78
music. Sharing a similar approach, Braun’s fascination with medieval chant,
traditional Jewish and Eastern-Mediterranean music, Israeli folk music, and Hebrew
poetry is evident in his works. His catalogue comprises vocal and instrumental works,
as well as music for film, theater, and dance.94 He also compiled and edited an
Although Braun has several works that has elements of 12-tone style, his
songs are quite simple in character. His Seven Sephardic Romances (1968) are also
Antonio de Donostia (1886-1956) and Joaquín Nin-Culmell (1908-2004) that you had
heard in my previous recital. Similarly, the melismatic vocal lines with little
ornaments of grace notes and intervals of augmented seconds create a Middle Eastern
Don Amadi is a version of the Medieval ballad La vuelta del marido (the
return of the husband), in which we encounter a hopeless wife faithfully waiting for
estimoza, the story of another honest and faithful wife. I decided to exclude the third
song in the set, Nani, nani, as the setting was very similar to that of Rodrigo’s you
have just heard. However, I kept the second cradle song in the set, Durme, durme,
pretty little song, an expression of passionate love for a lady named Rozina. The set
94
The National Library of Israel. “Yehezkel Braun.” Retrieved January 15, 2018, from
http://web.nli.org.il/sites/NLI/English/music/archives/detailed_archives/Pages/Yehezkel_Braun.aspx
95
Levin, Neil W. “Yehezkel Braun.”
96
Armistead, Samuel, et al. “Another Anthology of Sephardic Folksongs (Review Essay).” Musica
Judaica vol. 7, no. 1, 1985, pp. 58-72.
79
ends with Morenica a mi me llaman. Although you have just heard Rodrigo’s
arrangement of this song, I decided to keep it, as Braun’s setting is rather different in
lutenist, from Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the Mannes College of Music
in New York, where he has been a faculty member since 1972. Hand also received a
Fulbright scholarship to study with English virtuoso classical guitarist and lutenist
Julian Bream (b.1933) in England. Since then, he has toured both as a soloist and with
his ensemble, Jazzantiqua, throughout North and South America, as well as Europe,
served as head of the guitar departments at SUNY Purchase and Bennington College,
and taught masterclasses and had residencies at the New England Conservatory of
University and University North Carolina. Hand has also been the appointed guitarist
and lutenist with the Metropolitan Opera since 1984, having performed with
As a composer and arranger, his works have been published throughout the
world. His catalogue comprises vocal and instrumental works in a variety of genres,
including music for film and television. According to New Focus Recordings, Hand’s
97
Hand, Frederic. Biography, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2018, from
http://www.frederichand.com/biography/
80
compositions are difficult to categorize, as they “draw from various styles including
early music, Irish music, new age, contemporary composition, and jazz.”98 In 1995,
group of Sephardic songs. His Sephardic Songs for soprano, flute, guitar and double
bass was published in 1996, and comprises four songs, although the original
instrumentation had cello instead of a double bass. The cello part was transcribed for
the double bass later by double bass virtuoso and composer Norman Ludwin
(b.1956). In his notes about this set, Hand mentions his performance of Manuel
last year. One particular song among Valls’s arrangements had stayed with Hand over
includes an extra verse that is often excluded in other settings. Today, we will also
perform the first and last songs of the set. El Rey de Francia is a traditional, narrative
Sephardic song about one of the daughters of the King of France. In the story, she
shares her dream with her mother, who interprets it for her. Hand’s setting only offers
the introductory verse of the ballad. A la una yo naci is another popular Sephardic
song that can be found under different titles and in various arrangements. Wolf
Simoni’s setting of it will offer a different flavor, which you will hear after the
intermission.
98
Hand, C. W. Frederic Hand: Odyssey | Catalogue. Retrieved January 17, 2018, from
http://www.newfocusrecordings.com/catalogue/frederic-hand-odyssey/
81
6.3.4. Wolf Simoni, Cuatro Cánticas Sefardíes (1935/36)
more commonly known by the name “Louis Saguer,” as he took this name after he
fled the Nazi Germany and became a French citizen in 1947.99 He began his musical
studies in piano and composition with two students of Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924),
studied orchestration with Louis Aubert (1877-1968) and composition with Arthur
1933, he returned to Berlin to study with Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) and worked as
Boulez, Dutilleux, and Messiaen, and accompanied renowned singers of his time.100
He has also made important contributions to the classical music world with his
Grove Music dictionary, “his most notable awards include the Grand Prix de Monaco
(1964) for the opera Mariana Pinéda, the first prize of the American Association of
99
Olivier, Philippe. “The Fate of Professional French Jewish Musicians Under the Vichy Regime.”
Articles & Essays, 1 December 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2018, from
http://orelfoundation.org/journal/journalArticle/the_fate_of_professional_french_jewish_musicians_und
er_the_vichy_regime
100
Desarbres, Hervé. Louis Saguer, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2018, from
http://brahms.ircam.fr/louis-saguer
82
Negro Music (1973) for a series of melodies on texts by Langston Hughes and the
His fascination with complex rhythm is evident in his Cuatro Cánticas Sefardíes
(1935/36). I can say that this particular set of four songs has been the most
challenging to prepare among the works for voice and piano that I have performed in
my dissertation recitals, due to the frequent rhythm changes and unusual harmonies in
these songs. However, they are also among my favorites. The set begins with Alma y
vida y coraçon, a different setting of A la una yo naci you have just heard. The
influence of oral transmission in these songs can be observed through the differences
in text, as melodies and words of same Sephardic songs can differ from community to
the doomed sister, who was unable to find love, and therefore, was banished from the
family. Canción de Cuna is a rather sad lullaby, in which the mother sings about her
husband’s unfaithfulness. The last song, Abraham Avinu, more commonly known as
Cuando el rey Nimrod, is a popular narrative song about the birth of Abraham, the
biblical prophet.
and Boston areas. He specializes in music for chamber, choral, and jazz ensembles,
although his catalogue also includes works for orchestra, solo piano, and for solo
101
Musk, Andrea. “Saguer, Louis.” Grove Music Online, 2001. Retrieved 17 Jan. 2018,
fromhttp://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/om
o-9781561592630-e-0000024292.
102
Ibid.
83
voice with instrumental accompaniment.103 William is also a friend, whom I met at
the University of Maryland (UMD) about four years ago, when we began our doctoral
studies at the School of Music. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in
Composition at UMD last year and holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts
respectively. He has also studied at McGill University and at the New England
backgrounds.104
mainly for performances of new music with the UMD TEMPO New Music
William is also an excellent baritone and performs frequently as a singer in the D.C.
area. We will be performing the next piece in the program together, as he gladly
agreed to sing the baritone part when I approached to him about it. However, he is
William recently expanded the existing Sephardic song repertoire with his brand new
set of two songs, Two Sephardic Songs for mezzo-soprano, clarinet and piano.
During a conversation last November, I had told William about my dissertation and
how I kept finding new 20th- and 21st-century works in this genre. When I asked him
collaborate on, he was intrigued. About two months later, I was holding the score to
his Two Sephardic Songs, beautiful original settings of Puncha, puncha, la rosa huele
103
Kenlon, William. Biography, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from
http://www.williamkenlon.com/about.html#
104
Ibid.
84
and Por que llorax blanca niña. Although these two texts can be found in the
‘original,’ as they are entirely different than the folk versions you may be familiar
the style by using elements of Sephardic music, while keeping his own voice.’ He
found commonalities between his own established harmonic voice and the Sephardic
style. William’s compositional style often draws upon polytriadic harmonies and
described as follows: “"pointed and groovy" (New Music Box), Kenlon's music has
garnered praise for its "lyrical personality that is original and strong" (Boston
Musical Intelligencer), and for its sophisticated tonal explorations: "solid without
being dense, clear without being sparse, and ever-changing without being random"
(ibid).”105
In choosing the songs, although the two folk songs are possibly centuries
loved ones. The speaker in La rosa huele is rather mournful. The last verse “If you
wish to see me again, come outside and I will speak with you. Look to the sea and
there you will find me.” implies suicide. Por que llorax blanca niña is a romance of
medieval Hispanic origin combined with a Sephardic ballad that originated in the
protagonist is clearly abandoned by her (perhaps) husband and has to take care of her
children, instead of accepting her fate, she challenges the man angrily.
105
Ibid.
106
Armistead, Samuel, et al. “Another Anthology of Sephardic Folksongs (Review Essay).” Musica
Judaica vol. 7, no. 1, 1985, pp. 58-72.
85
We will be premiering only the first song of the set today due to time
constraints. The songs will be performed together at a later time this spring (2018).
to have had quite an interesting journey towards his career in music, considering his
brief music education at Indiana University, and his background in social sciences
He has taught social sciences at York University in Toronto, while also studying with
contemporary flavor.”108 His catalogue includes works for piano, guitar, orchestra,
band, chamber ensembles, as well as vocal and choral works. He has also composed
Sephardic folksongs under the titles Canciones Sefardies and Mosaic of Jewish
Folksongs, and has also contributed to the genre with his original composition Rodas
Recordada for soprano, alto, baritone, clarinet, guitar, and cello. This beautiful
107
Sid Robinovitch, composer. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2018, from
https://www.sidrobinovitch.com/
108
Ibid.
109
Levin, Neil W. “Sid Robinovitch.” Retrieved January 17, 2018, from
http://www.milkenarchive.org/artists/view/sid-robinovitch/
86
chamber piece is a setting of a poem by Spanish literary historian and author
Guillermo Diaz-Plaja (1909-1984). I will let the piece speak for itself, but I would
highly recommend that you read the poem before the performance. Robinovitch’s
with you the story behind this touching poem, I would like to quote Tomás L. Ryan
de Heredia, who has provided the notes about the poetry and the translations in the
musical score:
Some forty years after his first visit, Prof. don Guillermo Díaz-Plaja,
now a celebrated literary critic and member of the Royal Spanish
Academy, returned to the Sephardic community where his literary
career had been born. As he well knew, a tragic change had taken
place. After the capitulation of Italy to the Allies in 1943, the Germans
occupied Rhodes, and on July 23, 1944 shipped off to Auschwitz 1,673
Jews who were living on the island. All but 151 perished. Don
Guillermo tried to find again the house of Mazaltó de Jacob Israel in
the ‘calle ancha,’ the street running through the old ‘juderia’ (Jewry),
now called “Street of the Jewish Martyrs.” He took out his notebook
and, instead of a ‘romance’ wrote a poem in prose of his own,
hauntingly interwoven with memories of his first visit and the ballad of
the “Three Doves.”110
110
Robinovitch, Sid. Rodas recordada (Rhodes remembered): based on a poem by Guillermo Díaz-
Plaja. Toronto: Canadian Music Centre, 2005.
87
Upon reading about Diaz-Plaja’s poem and the story behind it, I found a
personal connection to this piece that made it much more meaningful for me. My
paternal grandfather’s side of the family is from Rhodes. Although the majority of the
family had moved to Turkey long before the Second World War, two of my
grandfather’s aunts remained in Rhodes until Germans occupied Rhodes and they
were sent to Auschwitz. My grandfather used to tell me this heartbreaking story when
I was a kid; the story of Mazaltó de Jacob Israel reminded me of it. Perhaps Mazaltó
de Jacob Israel and my great-aunts were friends, and perhaps, they shared their last
moments together. Today, I would like to perform this piece in remembrance of them.
88
Appendix A: RECITAL DVD TRACK LISTINGS
Tracks
6. Lecture (25:53)
Sephardic Art Song: A Musical Legacy of the Diaspora – Part I
89
Recital 2 DVD (Audio and Video)
Tracks
1. Lecture (24:03)
Sephardic Art Song: A Musical Legacy of the Diaspora – Part II
90
Recital 3 DVD (Audio and Video)
Tracks
91
Appendix B: TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
Ay, ay, dúrmite, mi alma, dúrmite, Ah, ah, sleep, my soul, sleep,
mi vida, my life,
que tu padre viene con mucha alegría. For your father is coming with great joy.
Ay, avrimex la puerta, avrimex, mi dama, Ah, open the door, open it for me, my lady
que vengo muy cansado de arar las For I come home weary from plowing the
huertas. fields.
Ay, la puerta yo vos avro que venix Ah, I’ll open the door for you, for you
cansado come home weary,
y verex durmiendo al hijo And will see the child sleeping
en la cuna. in his cradle.
111
111
Translations by G. J. Racz.
Racz, G. J. Liner notes for Lorenzo Palomo: My Secluded Garden, Madrigal and Five Sephardic
Songs, Concierto de Cienfuegos, María Bayo, Pepe Romero, The Romero Guitar Quartet, Seville
Royal Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Editorial de Música Boileau, Barcelona
(tracks 1-11); Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag, Leipzig (tracks 12-17); EMEC/SEEMSA, Madrid
(tracks 18-20), 8.572139, 2001, 2008.
92
Romance sefardí Sephardic romance
La rosa enflorece en el mes de mai. The rose blooms in the month of May.
Mi alma se escurece sufriendo del amor. My soul darkens suffering from love.
112
112
Translations by Gerard Edery and Lori Şen.
Edery, Gerard. “The Ladino Song Project.” Retrieved January 17, 2018, from
http://www.sefaradrecords.com/lyrics.php
93
Adio, querida Farewell, my love
Tu madre cuando te parió Your mother when she gave you birth
y te quitó al mundo, and brought you into the world,
corazón ella no te dió she did not give you a heart
para amar segundo. to love another.
Mi padre ‘sta meldando, mos oyera My father is studying, he will hear us.
Amatalde la luzezica, si se dormira Put out the light, so he will go to sleep.
Amatalde la luzezica, si s’echara Put out the light, so that he will fall asleep.
94
Irme quiero, la mi madre I wish to go mother
Fel sharah canet betet masha The girl with beautiful dark eyes
la signorina aux beaux yeux noirs was strolling down the street,
come la luna était la sua faccia her face, lovely as the moon,
qui éclairait le boulevard lit up the boulevard.
113
113
Translations taken from Zohn, Andrew E. 8 Sephardic Songs. Saint-Romuald, QC: Productions
d'OZ, 2011.
95
José Antonio (Aita) de Donostia, Canciones Sefardíes (1941)114
114
114
Translations by Lori Şen and Dr. Moris Şen, 2017.
96
Joaquín Nin-Culmell, Six Chansons Populaires Séphardiques (1982) 115
Con vuestra licencia, madre buena, With your consent, my good mother
Yo me vo a l’ora buena. I will leave with my heart at ease
Ven y veràs viaremos Come and you will see, we will see
Lo amor que tenemos los dos The love that we two have
ven lo gustaremos and will enjoy.
115
115
Translations by Lori Şen and Dr. Moris Şen, 2017.
97
Una noche yo me armi One night I prepare myself
Cuando el rey Nimrod al campo salía, When King Nimrod went to the fields,
miraba en el cielo y en la estrellería, He looked at the sky and the stars,
vido una luz santa He saw a holy night
en la judería, in the Jewish quarters,
que había de nacer A sign that Abraham,
Avraham abinu. our father was to be born.
116
116
Translations by Lori Şen and Dr. Moris Şen, 2017.
98
Una tadre fresquita de Mayo, No.6 A cool afternoon on May
Tu madre cuando te parió Your mother when she gave you birth
y te quitó al mundo, and brought you into the world,
corazón ella no te dió she did not give you a heart
para amar segundo. to love another.
99
Alberto Hemsi, Coplas Sefardies (1933-1973)117
Arboles lloran por luvia, Op. 51-2 Trees cry for rain
Ven veras y ven veremos Come and see, come and let us see
Amor que tenemos los dos, The love we share,
ven nos aunaremos, come and let us unite,
Amor que tenemos los dos The love we share,
ven nos ajuntaremos. come and bring us together.
117
117
Translations by Lori Şen and Dr. Moris Şen, 2017.
100
Ansí dize la nuestra novia, Op.7-8 So says our bride
Respóndemos Respond to Us
118
118
Translations by Suzanne Rhodes Draayer.
101
Una pastora yo amí I loved a shepherdess
Ay, la puerta yo vos avro, Oh, I will open the door to you,
que venix cansado, since you are so tired,
y verex durmiendo al hijo en la cuna. and will see the sleeping boy in the cradle.
102
Yehezkel Braun, Seven Sephardic Romances (1968)119
119
Translations taken from “Together as one.” Program notes. Waukesha Choral Union. Wisconsin:
119
103
Durme, durme Sleep, sleep
Que tu ‘sclavo que tanto dezea, We are all slaves to our desires,
ver tu sueño we must follow our dreams
con grande amor. with great love.
104
Frederic Hand, Sephardic Songs (1996)120
El Rey de Francia tres hijas tenía The King of France had three daughters
La una lavrava One of them embroidered
y la otra cuzía and the other sewed
La mas chica de ellas bastidor hazía The youngest one was making a tapestry
Lavrando, lavrando sueno le callo While working she soon fell asleep
Tu madre cuando te parió Your mother when she gave you birth
y te quitó al mundo, And brought you into the world
corazón ella no te dió She did not give you a heart
para amar segundo. To love another
Dime niña donde vienes Tell me little girl where do you come from
Que te quero conocer For I wish to know you
Si tu no tienes amante And if you have no lover
Yo te hare defender I will defend you
120
Translations by Gerard Edery, from - Edery, G. (n.d.). The Ladino Song Project. Retrieved January 17,
2018, from http://www.sefaradrecords.com/lyrics.php
105
Wolf Simoni, Cuatro Cánticas Sefardíes (1935/36)121
Alma y vida y coraçon Soul and life and heart
Dime niña donde vienes? Tell me little girl where are you from?
Que te quiero conocer. For I wish to know you.
Y si no tienes amante, And if you have no lover,
Yo te haré defender. I will defend you.
121
121
Translations by Gerard Edery and Lori Şen.
106
Canción de Cuna Cradle Song
Cuando el rey Nemrod al campo salía, When King Nimrod went to the fields,
mirava en el cielo y en la estrellería. He looked at the sky and the stars,
Vido luz santa He saw a holy night
en la Judería, in the Jewish quarters,
que había de nacer A sign that Abraham,
Abraham Avinu. our father was to be born.
107
William Kenlon, Two Sephardic Songs (2018)
Por que llorax blanca niña Why are you crying fair girl
¿Porque llorax blanca niña, Why are you crying fair girl,
Porque llorax blanca flor? Why are you crying fair flower?
Venderes viñas y campos, You wıll sell your vıneyards and your fıelds,
Media parte de la ciudad. And half the city,
De la parte de la mar. From the border to the sea.
108
Sid Robinovitch, Rodas Recordada (2005)122
-Que lloras blanca y liña? -Why do you weep, my pale young thing?
Que lloras, blanca y flor? Why do you weep, flower white?
Si lloras por el tu padre, If for your father you weep,
mi gortelano es; my gardener is he;
si lloras por la tu vuestra madre, If for your mother you weep,
mi cocinera es; my cook is she;
si lloras port us hermanos If for your brothers you weep,
yo los maté a todos tres. I killed them all three
-Yo no lloro por padre y madre -I do not weep for father or mother
ni por mis hermanos tres, or for my brothers three;
lloro por la mi ventura, it is for my fate that I weep
que no sé quen ha de ser. for I know now what it shall be.
-Si lloras por la tu ventura -If for your fate you weep,
Al lado vos la tenés. you have him here at your side.
122
122
Translations by Tomás L Ryan de Heredia.
109
Una vez que era esto: Then she says:
-Dame el cuchillo en el vel! -Give me the knife that is at your waist!
Este que ya no soy y soy yo mismo No longer am I as I was, and yet I am still the
(mil novecientos treinta y tres) same, (nineteen hundred and thirty-three)
caminando la judería walking through the Jewry
de Rodas al atardecer. of Rhodes at twilight
110
Ahora he vuelto preguntando… Now I have come back inquiring –
Mazaltó de Jacob Israel? Mazaltó de Jacob Israel?
La judería esta desierta The Jewry is deserted,
hay acibar donde hubo miel. there is bitterness where once was honey.
Vinieron bárbados del norte From the North came barbarians –
Mazaltó de Jacob Israel. Mazaltó de Jacob Israel.
Los crematorios de Alemania The crematoria of Germany
consumieron toda la grey. have destroyed them all.
111
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