Coplas

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Coplas

Coplas are a unique Jewish genre that developed after the expulsion from Spain, flourishing mainly in the 18th century. Written my men, this genre deals with social and historical and traditional topics from biblical sources, therefor the abundance of Hebrew words. Coplas have complex literary structures, sometimes including acrostics, rhymes, and repeated choruses. Coplas were printed in booklets dedicated to holidays or other themes.

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From Decile a mi Amor, Judeo-Spanish songs from Tetuan, 2018. This copla for Shavuot, the holiday for the receiving of the Torah,  begins with a verse in Hebrew, the first line of which, Hi Torá...
From Kanta Gayiko, Judeo-Spanish songs from Bulgaria, 2025 Kobi Zarco : voice  Yarden Erez : ud, guitar, gumbush; violin, keyboard and arrangements Zeev Yaniv : darbuqa, sonaja, bendir, cajón A copla composed in nine-line stanzas,...
From Merendjenas, Orit Perlman, 2023 These are two Koplas that share a melody, from Bulgaria. Both retell biblical content, the first describes the miraculous birth of Abraham, whose mother, wife of Terah, experienced pain in...
From Merendjenas, Orit Perlman, 2023 This copla, connected to the circumcision ritual, recounts a Talmudic legend about Abraham’s miraculous birth and early years. Terah’s wife gives birth to him in a cave, and like a...
From Kanta Gayiko, Judeo-Spanish songs from Bulgaria, 2025 Orit Perlman: voice  Yarden Erez : ud, guitar, gumbush; violin, keyboard and arrangements Zeev Yaniv : darbuqa, sonaja, bendir, cajón This copla, associated with the ritual of...
From Arboleras vol. 1 - Sephardic cancionero and coplas oral tradition,1996 This is a song of good advice to the Bar Mitsvah boy as he grows into manhood: to be hard working and an early...
From Ventanas Altas de Saloniki, 2013. This is a song of good advice to the Bar Mitsvah boy as he grows into manhood: to be hard working and an early riser; he should take care...
From Merendjenas, Orit Perlman, 2023 This romance is known only in the Sephardic Moroccan tradition. It retells the story of Moses, his flight from Midian, the revelation of the burning bush and his confrontation with...
From Decile a mi Amor, Judeo-Spanish songs from Tetuan, 2018. This copla celebrates the giving of the Torah, drawing on Talmudic commentaries and legends, and interweaving numerous Hebrew expressions. It is composed in quatrains with...
From Arboleras vol. 1 - Sephardic cancionero and coplas oral tradition,1996 This copla celebrates the giving of the Torah, drawing on Talmudic commentaries and legends, and interweaving numerous Hebrew expressions. It is composed in quatrains...
From Ventanas Altas de Saloniki, 2013. In this copla, El parto feliz - The Happy Birth, emerges as a communal event, accompanied by prayers and blessings for the entire congregation, blessing the newborn and his...
From Ventanas Altas de Saloniki, 2013. One of the few Ladino songs composed during the Holocaust, this text was written by David Haim, a survivor who created the poem while working in the crematorium at...
From Arboleras - De las altas mares, Ecos Sefardies de la isle de Rodas, cd1, 2009 This special copla is from Rhodes. This version describes seven ways to prepare eggplants: Elena’s grandmother chops them before...
From Enbonora, Judeo-Spanish songs from Bulgaria, 2025 A cumulative song, structured as the well known Had Gaddia and also sung in Pesach, in order to lengthen the holy feast as required in Talmudic sources.