Taco Tuesday #115: Sephardic Tacos
Danny Johnson
Well, yes, we’re late, but only a little bit; besides, last week was Amplify and we thought we should leave you be on Tuesday in order to rest up for Wednesday! And wow, did you ever come through! Thank you!
So I thought we should listen to something completely different for this edition of Musical Tacos! These pieces were plucked from concerts between 2009-2012!
The Exiled: Songs of the Sephardim
February 7, 2009
and
Siren Song: Sephardic Songs of Fantasy and Love
May 6 & 7, 2011
and
Noches, Noches: Sephardic Songs of Love & Life
October 20 & 21, 2012
Sephardic music bears many of the aspects of ‘world music’, ‘folk music’, and maybe even art song and pop. Though our interpretations tend to be strongly Westernized, we do make use of Arabic rhythmic and melodic modes. Since the provenance of Sephardic music stretches some 600 years, it is not strictly ‘early music’, but it is music that we, an early music group, love to research, arrange, and perform.
(Arrangements and polyphony by D Johnson except as noted)
La serena (Salónica & Egypt)
Stephanie Prewitt, soloist
This is one of the most popular Sephardic songs with many musical and poetic variants, most of which contain both surrealistic and erotic verses.
At the sea is a tower,
In the tower is a window,
There sits a girl
Who sings to the sailors.
If the sea were made of milk,
And the boats made of cinnamon,
I would stain myself completely
To save my banner.
If the sea were made of milk,
I would become a fisherman,
I would fish for my sorrows
With little words of love.
Give me your hand, my dove,
To bring me up to your nest.
It is a curse to sleep alone,
I come to sleep with you.
Una matica de ruda (Turkey) –
Larisa Montanaro, soloist
Una matica de ruda (Bosnia) –
Gitanjali Mathur, soloist
Another of the oldest and most popular texts is Una matica de ruda, the Sephardic version of the early Renaissance Spanish ballad La guirinalda de las rosas, and it survives today as a popular wedding song with a wide diversity of tunes. No matter which century adopts the song, the theme remains the same: the rue twig will deflect the evil eye and will therefore bring luck to the newlyweds. We present two versions, one dating from several centuries ago and a second one from 19th or 20th century Bosnia.
“A sprig of rue, a flowering sprig;
A young man gave it to me,
One who is in love with me.”
“My dear daughter,
Do not throw yourself into ruin;
There is more value to a bad husband
Than to a new love.”
“A bad husband, my mother:
There is no greater curse;
A new love, my mother,
Is like the apple and the lime.”
La prima vez (Turkey, Balkans)
Daniel Johnson, soloist
The first time I saw you
I fell in love with your eyes.
From that moment I loved you:
I will love you to the grave.
Come close, my beloved,
Salvation of my life,
Speak to me and reveal
The secrets of your life.
Rahelica baila
Instrumental
Rahelica baila is based on a simple children’s song and we have added some polyphony and improvisations to add to the fun!
There! We hope you liked that – there will be more!!
Thanks for your support, again! We will be back in approximately exactly two weeks with a brand-spankin’ new Taco for you!
As always, stay safe, stay sane! We’re trying to help.
Danny