Re: Spanish-Jewish Romance Songs

[Lori Cahan-Simon <lsimon...>]

I come from an Ashkenaz family and, even so, grew up with only minimal
exposure to Yiddish.  In the last 3 years I have been teaching myself
through songs that I teach children at the I. L. Peretz Sunday school at
the Cleveland Workmen's Circle and through those that I sing with our
Circle Klezmer Orchestra.  I am woefully ignorant as to the Sephardi
repertoire and eagerly look to learning more.  I am a Spanish teacher on
the middle school level, you know, the age where they already know
everything ;-) , and have studied many things Spanish.  My maternal
grandfather's sister (my great-aunt) wrote that her grandmother was
supposed to be some sort of a Sephardi Princess, whatever that means, so
perhaps I come by it honestly.

At 08:33 PM 7/14/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Welcome, indeed.
>
>Please tell us more about your interest in Romances and whether it extends 
>to the Sephardic repertoire.
>
>Buena fortuna,
>
>Joel
>
>At 07:40 PM 7/14/99 -0400, you wrote:
>>Sholem Aleykhem, everyone,
>>
>>I'm new here and you just happen to have hit upon something I know a bit
>>about!  Unfortunately, I'm not familiar yet with the lyrics to La Rosa
>>Enflorece (Los Bilbilicos), however, I can tell you something about the
>>Romance form of the end of the 14th century and beyond.
>>
>>The Romance is a poem originally recited or sung accompanied by a musical
>>instrument to entertain an audience or for a dance, or unaccompanied in a
>>more intimate setting.  It is comprised of an indeterminate series of
>>octosyllabic verses with asonant rhyme (vowels, not consonants, in the
>>ultimate and penultimate syllables) in the even-numbered lines.  The odd
>>lines are free rhyme (that is to say, they don't necessarily rhyme).  There
>>are other forms with 6, 7 or 11 syllables.  Since the 16th c.  the Romance
>>tended to group the verses in four line units, but the rhyme scheme
>>remained the same.  It is the most typically Spanish form of versification,
>>living in popular tradition, as well as in erudite poetry and in narrative
>>poetry such as is used in the theater.
>>
>>You have to take into account the joining of proximal syllables where one
>>ends in a vowel and the next begins with one; they are counted as one.
>>Does the pattern fit with the above?  If so, there you have it!
>>
>>Lori
>>
>>At 04:09 PM 7/14/99 -0400, you wrote:
>>
>> >La Rosa Enflorece is one of the most widely recorded Sephardic songs.
It is
>> >also known by its alternate opening stanza, Los Bilbilicos (The
>> >Nightingales.) I know of 120 examples, and this is just of the Ladino
>> >version. I don't begin to attempt a count of its use as a melody for Tzur
>> >Mishelo. BTW, I believe "La Rosa Enflorece" is not actually a romance
>> >(which is a ballad which always comes in a particular format) but rather a
>> >lyric song.
>> >
>> >Anyway, happy surfing! Let us know what you uncover.
>> >
>> >Best,
>> >
>> >Joel
>> >
>>
>
>
>
>Joel Bresler
>250 E. Emerson Rd.
>Lexington, MA 02420 USA
>
>Home:           781-862-2432
>Home Office:    781-862-4104
>FAX:            781-862-0498
>Cell:           781-622-0309
>Email:          jbresler (at) ma(dot)ultranet(dot)com
>
>
>
>

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