Re: Yasmin Levy interview in Haaretz

[Joel Bresler <joel.br...>]

I enjoyed the article, but wanted to comment on a few points.

>...revival of this 1,000-year-old folk music.

The oldest age I've ever seen claimed for Judeo-Spanish songs before is 500 
years, and frankly that's a real stretch since no one has ever definitively 
traced the melody of a Judeo-Spanish song to pre-expulsion Spain or 
Portugal. It's possible that some of the liturgical melodies stretch back 
even further than that (I'll defer to others on the list more knowledgeable 
than I) but of course the thrust of this article is not the liturgical 
works but rather other songs. But 1,000 years is way over the top.

>That's why he ordered that his entire collection of (field) recordings be 
>destroyed after his death.

Whatever the motivation, destroying these irreplaceable field recordings 
struck me as cultural vandalism. I wonder how the informants (singers) 
would have felt? While singing for the head of the Kol Yisrael Ladino 
division, they must have  thought they were preserving their renditions for 
later generations.

>They thought I was audacious and asked why all of a sudden there is an oud 
>in a Ladino song.

This was laugh out loud funny. Nearly all 78 rpm versions of Ladino songs 
have oud accompaniment. It just shows how Israeli and other audiences have 
become completely accustomed to versions of these songs done -- yes genres 
can help classify music!!! -- in "folk" style (often with guitar 
accompaniment), light pops style (think Yehoram Gaon), and western art song 
style (ironically, a trend certainly accelerated by Levy's father's 
arrangements.)

Very best,

Joel

P.S.

>There were concerts all over Europe, followed by a disc (soon to be 
>released in Israel and next month in Holland, along with a thick booklet 
>in four languages)...

So far, her only solo album is "Romance & Yasmin", on Adama. Perhaps 
another is forthcoming? Could our Dutch correspondents keep us posted about 
any Dutch releases?


At 09:23 AM 5/13/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>Nice article on Ladino singer Yasmin Levy in today's Haaretz, including
>some interesting stuff about her father, thnomusicologist Yitzak Ley.
>
>http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=292540&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
>
>roger
>
>--
>r l reid        ro (at) rreid(dot)net
>
>



Joel Bresler
250 E. Emerson Rd.
Lexington, MA 02420
USA

781-862-4104 (Telephone & FAX)
joel(dot)br (at) verizon(dot)net

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