Re: Even more on Uskudar

[Owen Davidson <owend...>]

I'm picking up this thread in the middle, so please forgive me if I
reiterate what's already been said.  I've been in love with Uskudara for
many years.  Once, on the radio, I heard a 50's recording of Eartha Kitt
singing it in Turkish.  As I understand the story of the Turkish song, the
smitten girl is in love not only with the bedroom eyes of her young clerk,
but also his top hat and morning coat.  Being western was sexy in old
Istanbul.

I played the Greek version with Sophia Bilides.  "Apo tin Athina os ton
Piraea, ekhasa mandili m'ekato flouryia." "On the way from Athens to Piraeas
I lost a handkerchief with 100 florins."  The story goes that a beautiful
lady, daughter of the priest, finds it.  The suave singer tells her to keep
the florins, but give back the handkerchief.

The great clarinetist Naftule Brandwein recorded the tune, with a grafted-on
fourth section, as "Der Terk in Amerike," and so it came into the Klezmer
repertoire.  What a great tune!  Years ago it was used as the theme music
for "The Turkish Voice" radio program in New York.

Owen

Judith Cohen wrote:

> Hi Isabelle et al., I also learned it, or rather re-learned the Fel
> Sharah version, from Emilie Levy ; what a delight! Like you, I had an
> Arabist go over the words, with some corrections further on in the text
> - the interesting thing here is that, to return to the original North
> African thread of these messages, Moroccan Hispano-Sephardi women often
> didn't understand much local Arabic and when they sing phrases in songs
> learned by ear often mis-pronounce it (Hebrew too, as in Rossana for
> Rosh Hashana).The Arabic words in Uskudara may reflect something of the
> same process. (Not that I think one need be such a purist as to avoid
> correcting clear errors, which in fact a couple of scholars have
> advocated in the past)- cheers, Judith
>
> >From: iganz <IGanz (at) compuserve(dot)com>
> >Reply-To: jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
> >To: World music from a Jewish slant. <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
> >Subject: More on "Uskudara"
> >Date: Sun, 4 Apr 1999 01:08:29 -0500
> >
> >Dear Francesco, Joel, Judith et al,
> >
> >Regarding Alhambra's recording of "Fel Sharah canet betet masha", I
> learned
> >it from Emilie Levy, the mother of Gloria Levy who recorded it on
> Folkways,
> >as you said (Joel) in 1959.  Emilie is still active in the
> >Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue in New York and also sings with the New
> York
> >Choral Artists!
> >
> >When I performed it in Jerusalem with an Israeli Arab who played the
> oud, I
> >learned the correct pronounciation of the Arabic phrases, including the
> >title.  This is a closer transliteration: "Fih sharah canet bentit
> masha".
> >
> >Chag Sameach,
> >
> >Isabelle Ganz
> >

--
Owen Davidson
Amherst  Mass
The Wholesale Klezmer Band

The Angel that presided o'er my birth
Said Little creature formd of Joy and Mirth
Go Love without the help of any King on Earth

Wm. Blake


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