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: 2287/10,11       Although known in some versions from the Canary Islands and Portugal, in no tradition has this romance been preserved with as much vitality as in the Sephardic one (from...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: YCD2980/9 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Oriente, pg. 133, Editorial Alpuerto, 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak. Another ballad on the universal theme of the adulterous woman discovered by her husband...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: NSA Y2093/14 Referenced and notated in: Romansero Sefardi de Oriente 17c Editorial Alpuerto S.A. 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak La vuelta del marido chronicles the familiar motif of a husband’s homecoming, widely...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y5671/15 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Oriente, pg. 119, Editorial Alpuerto, 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak. Only the first four verses belong to the theme Casada con un viejo -...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: NSA Y 3997/7  Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marruecos, pg. 192, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. It is another ballad widely disseminated throughout the Hispanic...
Placement in the National Sound Archives: Y 2854/13 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marruecos pg. 69, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. In later epic poems like Las Mocedades de Rodrigo,...
Placement in the National Sound Archives: Yc 2262/15 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marruecos, pg. 70, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. In later epic poems like Las Mocedades de Rodrigo,...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: 5773/40 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marruecos, pg. 168, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. This is a rare fusion of the two romances: La adúltera...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y4552/25 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marruecos, pg. 159, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. Another variety of the evil mother-in-law theme occurs in the peninsula...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y 3995/2 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marruecos, pg. 70, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak.   This Romance is based on several medieval French sources,...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y5671/56 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Oriente, pg. 78, Editorial Alpuerto, 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak. Lyrics: Tres hermanicas eran,       tres hermanicas son. Las dos eran casada,   la chica la...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Yc Y4508/22 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Oriente, pg. 73, Editorial Alpuerto, 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak. This is a partial version of a Romansa that describes the sadness of...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Yc Y4508/22 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Oriente, pg. 72, Editorial Alpuerto, 2010 Susana Weich-Shahak. This is a Romansa that describes the sadness of King David on hearing...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y5832a/24 Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marruecos, pg. 82, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak. This ballad, which centers on the well-known love motif of “falling...