Romancero

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Romancero

Romancero, akin to the ballad, originated in medieval Spain, often depicting royal intrigue, betrayals, and war captives, though not always tied to Jewish life. Some, however, have biblical themes from Jewish sources. Structurally, it consists of consecutive rhyming lines, with every two forming a repeating musical unit. Passed orally from mother to daughter, Romancero served various roles—accompanying women’s work and functioning as lullabies. Their soothing melodies calmed infants, while engaging narratives held older children’s attention. Often texts traveled between Moroccan and Balkan Jewish communities.

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Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: NSA Yc 2486/20    Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marruecos pg. 91, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. Text: De prisión llevan al Vergico,   el rey le...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement:Y2994/25 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Oriente, pg. 108, Editorial Alpuerto, 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak. This is a partial rendition of this romance, where the husband leaves his wife. It...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: NSA Yc1096/18 Referenced and notated in: Romansero Sefardi de Oriente, pg. 107, Editorial Alpuerto S.A. 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak This is a partial rendition of this romance, where the husband leaves...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Yc2774/7 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Oriente, pg. 109, Editorial Alpuerto, 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak. In the Sephardic tradition, the combination of two ballads is very frequent, the first...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Yc2774/6 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Oriente, pg. 92, Editorial Alpuerto, 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak. This is a song of a slave’s longing for his wife Tamar Pesá, mother...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement:Yc2287/21 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marruecos, pg. 67, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. This is a partial version of a romance based on the epic...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y 5773/44 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marreucos, pg. 94, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. This biblical romance appears in 16th-century pamphlets and collections and...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Yc1661/18 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Oriente, pg. 130, Editorial Alpuerto, 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak. This romance, La reina adúltera ("The Adulterous Queen"), recounts the story of a queen...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: NSA Yc1038/1 Referenced and notated in: Romansero Sefardi de Oriente pg. 129 Editorial Alpuerto S.A. 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak This romance, La reina adúltera ("The Adulterous Queen"), recounts the story of...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y 5426/10 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marreucos, pg. 68, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. The late epic poems of El Cid (such as Las...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y 5540/8        Referenced and notated in: Moroccan Sephardic Romancero, pg. 151, Gaon Books, House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. The romance, which tells of a couple's love despite opposition from her father,...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Yc 1620/6    The ballad is widespread throughout the Hispanic world (in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, where it is a children's song). Text: Estaba'l Señor don Gato    sentadito 'n su...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y5696a/8 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marruecos, pg. 165, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. The well-known hexasyllabic romance is widespread in the Peninsula and among...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y5627a/28 Referenced and notated in: Moroccan Sephardic Romancero, pg. 106, Gaon Books, House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. The romance tells the story of the rape of the noble Roman lady Lucretia...