Re: Geographic Origins of D'ror Yiqra

[Sneezy Gilmore <dreyfus...>]

According to the Harvard Hillel songbook:
"'D'ror Yikra' is the oldest of the z'mirot in our songbook.  It was written
by Dunash ben Labrat (d. ca. 990), who was born in Fez, educated in Baghdad,
and lived in Cordoba.  His vast knowledge of secular Arabic poetry had a
beneficial influence on Hebrew poetry."

There are two melodies in the songbook; one is "Ashkenazic traditional" and
the other is "Yemenite traditional".  The more common one (that has been
recorded by Kol Sasson and Esta) is the Yemenite one.

Gliayfe,
--Benjamin W Dreyfus
dreyfus (at) fas(dot)harvard(dot)edu
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~dreyfus