sephardic etc

[Judith R. Cohen <judithc...>]

Hi, thanks, Carol, for your accurate comments on vocal style. I
certainly was not suggesting for a single instant that Sephardic (or as
you say "Yiddish but let me not get started" or for that matter
medieval-but-let-me-not-get-started!!) songs should be sung "in an
operatic or airy voice with Westernized scales"!!! Perish the thought!!!
Just that they weren't sung - and Joel is right in identifying the
Renaissance Band I was referring to - in either one of a number of
Balkan village styles (as Carol correctly says, there is not just one)
or in Kaufman or Koutev-like arrangements. 
To answer Lucy - it depends. By and large I'd say the vocal production
is very clear and forward, louder for wedding songs and less so for
ballads. Ballads are/were sung solo and unaccompanied, usually with
considerable ornamentation; few women still sing in maqam,
unfortunately. Wedding songs are more typically sung as a group, with
percussion. It's not impossible, but certainly not easy, to find women
who still sing these repertoires in the former Ottoman areas: to a large
extent they've given way to love songs and topical songs many (not all)
of which do have their origins in Western rather than Turkish or Greek
music. Also, many women have actually re-learned songs from recordings
by Yehoram Gaon and others and their singing style reflects this. 
Take care, Judith

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+