Songs

Home /  

Songs

Sephardic songs accompanied life from beginning to end—love and courtship, pregnancy, childbirth, weddings, and mourning. They also marked the yearly cycle with songs rooted in Jewish traditions and historical events.
Ladino, originating from 15th-century  Spanish, was the language of Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. As they dispersed across the Mediterranean, Ladino song absorbed local linguistic and musical influences.
There are two main dialects:
Ladino (Español) – Spoken in Turkey, Greece, Sarajevo, Bulgaria, Rhodes, and beyond.
Haketia – The dialect of northern Morocco.

Filters

Filters
Song
Academic title
Congregation
Genre
Life Cycle
Yearly Cycle
Lyric/love Songs
Informant / Performers
From Arboleras vol. 3, Sephardic songs from the 20th century, 2000 This song criticizes the the custom of having to provide a bride with a large dowry, often exploited by grooms who are not worth...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Yc6536c/2 Referenced and notated in: El ciclo de la vida, pg. 144, Editorial Alpuerto, 2013 Susana Weich-Shahak. Naming the features of the child's face: chin (barba), teeth (dientes), nose (nariz),...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y5773/10 Referenced and notated in: En Buen Siman, Panorama del Repertorio Musical Sefardi, pg. 101, Pardes Publishing House, 2006 This a a humorous and festive copla from North Morocco, celebrating...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y7888/2 This a a humorous and festive copla from North Morocco, celebrating the downfall of Haman and the joy of the Jewish people. Haman here is the protagonist, foreseeing all...
From Decile a mi Amor, Judeo-Spanish songs from Tetuan, 2018. This a a humorous and festive copla from North Morocco, celebrating the downfall of Haman and the joy of the Jewish people. Haman here is...
From Arboleras vol. 1 - Sephardic cancionero and coplas oral tradition,1996 This a a humorous and festive copla from North Morocco, celebrating the downfall of Haman and the joy of the Jewish people. Haman here...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y5842a-C 232 Referenced and notated in: El ciclo de la vida, pg. 103, Editorial Alpuerto, 2013 Susana Weich-Shahak. One of the Coplas de Parida (Songs for the mother of the...
From Arboleras - De las altas mares, Ecos Sefardies de la isle de Rodas, cd1, 2009 One of the Coplas de Parida (Songs for the mother of the newborn), sung during the last night before...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: NSA Y 2854/17 Referenced and notated in: Judeo-Spanish Moroccan Songs for the Life Cycle, pg. 76, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1989 Susana Weich-Shahak This Romance is used as a...
From Decile a mi Amor, Judeo-Spanish songs from Tetuan, 2018. This Romance is used as a wedding song in Tangier despite its theme of adultery. The song blends secular and para-liturgical elements, incorporating blessings from...
From Arboleras Vol. 2 - Romances Sefardies Tradicion Oral This Romance is used as a wedding song in Tangier despite its theme of adultery. The song blends secular and para-liturgical elements, incorporating blessings from Psalms...
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...
From Arboleras - De las altas mares, Ecos Sefardies de la isle de Rodas, cd 2, 2009
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Yc 1332/21 Referenced and notated in: El Ciclo de la Vida, pg. 245, Editorial Alpuerto S.A. 2013 Susana Weich-Shahak A song of praise to the house in which the wedding...