Fiesta Sefarad
1998
Sefarad, the beloved Spain, embraced a large Jewish community that lived in peace with her Muslim and Christian brethren for more than a thousand years. In 1492, the Spanish monarchs, Isabella of Aragon and Ferdinando of Castille decreed the expulsion of the Jewish people. The Sepharadim settled around the Mediterranean Sea, the Balkans, in North Africa and areas of the Ottoman Empire. Many of their descendants have maintained their distinctive heritage for five centuries while absorbing some of the characteristics of their new place of residence.
A common element among the music of the Sepharadim is the assimilation of beautiful tunes from secular sources into the liturgy. It comes as no surprise that the music of “Hija mía,” a dialogue between a father and his daughter about her refusal of getting married, is applied to a famous religious poem for the Sabbath called “El Adon.”
Sephardic Jews are always enthusiastic in singing. Throughout the centuries paytanim, poets-musicians, took upon themselves to revitalize the liturgy creating new poems and/or melodies to draw upon that popular love for singing. “Deror Ykera,” “Yah Ribon ’Alam,” “Ki Eshmera Shabbat” or “Tzuri Goali Yah” are songs created to praise God and the Shabbat. Religious poems were written in Aramaic, Hebrew or Judeo-Arabic and most follow Arabic form and meter including the use of the popular pizmon or refrain. For this recording we have chosen melodies originating in Iraq.
Muslim and Jewish music evolved together in medieval Spain and one aspect of this commonality is the growth of Andalucía music. Our example of “Shir Hashirim” (Song of Songs) illustrates this trend. This brief excerpt is chanted first in the original Hebrew followed by its commentary in ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language spoken by the Sephardic Jews.
“Yom Ze Le Israel” was identified as a popular
melody among the London families. Some of them were expelled from Portugal
in 1497 and resettled in Amsterdam first and London later. The melody
chosen for this selection is strongly influenced by Western music in its
use of the major mode.
“Yigdal” was written in Rome during the fourteenth century.
This liturgical poem is a thirteenth-line, [metrically constructed poem]
that paraphrases Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles of Faith. The melody
used here became popular in Jerusalem at the beginning of the century.
Judeo-Spanish songs are sung in Ladino or Haketia, a Moroccan variation of Ladino. Their subjects vary. There are traditional ballads of unrequited love such as “En el café del amanecer” and “Avre este abajour,” or songs reflecting life during the crusades as portrayed in “A la una yo nací.” “La vida do por el raqui” is a humorous tale on the power that alcohol may hold on people.
Songs are also classified as paraliturgical, songs in the vernacular that are thematically related to different holidays. Some Purim songs mock Haman’s family and their fate as is the case with “Esta noche de Purim.” We have paired this song with “Hi Torah Lanu Nitana,” a Tangierian version of a song for Simhat Torah and Shavu’ot (Feast of Tabernacles) emphasizing the covenant between God and the people of Israel.
“Waamartem Zebah Pesah” is a famous Iraqi religious poem that focuses on the animal sacrifice for Passover. This sacrifice is symbolic of "God's passing over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses” (Shemot-Exodus 12:27). The refrain of this song quotes the biblical verse mentioned above.
CREDITS
George Mordecai
tenor and guitar
Allan Minton
acoustical bass
Steve Bloom
percussion
Sammy Feldman
guitar and mandoline
Ramón Tasat
Director, voice and guitar
Executive producer: Ramón Tasat
Recorded at Bear Productions, Falls Church, Virginia
Sound engineer: Scott Twiford
Mixed at Gizmo Recording Productions
Sound engineer: Gantt Mann Kushner
Hija Mia was mixed at CopyRight Studios, New York City
Mastering: Wolf Productions Inc.
Cover design: Avrum Ashery
Duplication: Sound Recorders Inc., Austin, Texas