Re: Sephardic shul

[Mark Kirschbaum <mkirschb...>]

An update on a previous thread:

On Fri, 8 Jan 1993, Benla Den wrote:

> I have gone to services at that Shul. I've also performed there. I didn't
> find the melodies they used that "arabic" sounding. Certainly not like the
> Yemenite stuff I've heard. It was a while ago though...deserves a revisit
> since by now neither I or the Shul is the same.

      I was chatting with an ethnomusicologist recently and inquired about
this particular synagogue. Apparently it was one of the original
"Portuguese" congregations in the United States ( the term Portuguese is
used interchangebly with "Spanish" to refer to "Pure" Sepharadic
communities- the term pure is in quotation marks for the amusement of
those who recall the Limpieza edicts regarding Nuevo Cristianos), much
like the Spanish-Portuguese Congregation in NYC. I am told that any
current resemblance to Sepharadic culture, living or dead, is purely
accidental.
                                             Mark

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