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 Merendjenas, Orit Perlman, 2023 From Tetuan in the north of Morocco, this song from the new repertoire criticizes the new fashions and behaviours of young women.
From Arboleras vol. 3, Sephardic songs from the 20th century, 2000 From Tetuan in the north of Morocco, this song from the new repertoire criticizes the new fashions and behaviors of young women.
From Kanta Gayiko, Judeo-Spanish songs from Bulgaria, 2025 Orit Perlman : voice Yarden Erez : accordian and arrangements This well known love song has borrowed its melody from a Bulgarian folk song, from which we...
From Decile a mi Amor, Judeo-Spanish songs from Tetuan, 2018. In Morocco, one of the favorite pastimes for girls and young women was the matesha, a swing made from a rope tied either to the...
From Ventanas Altas de Saloniki, 2013. This song criticizes the the custom of having to provide a bride with a large dowry, often exploited by grooms who are not worth it. The song was printed...
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...
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...
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...
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...
From Arboleras - De las altas mares, Ecos Sefardies de la isle de Rodas, cd 2, 2009
From Arboleras vol. 3, Sephardic songs from the 20th century, 2000 Beit Hanan was settled in 1930 by Bulgarian immigrants. This is a song about hardships along with the spirit of renewal in an agricultural settlement...
From Kanta Gayiko, Judeo-Spanish songs from Bulgaria, 2025 This song gives a portrait of the first Bulgarian settlers in their new agricultural village called Bet Hanan in the soon to be State of Israel. They...