Re: Musiques Judeo-Francaises, Buda Musique

[Sam Weiss <SamWeiss...>]

At 10:13 PM 3/30/04, Joel Bresler wrote:
>Hi, has anyone else heard this interesting release, edited by Herve Roten? 
>I am wondering whether the Jewish musis from the Comtat Venaissin 
>(Carpentras, Avignon, Caviallon and l'Isle sur la Sorgue) should be 
>categorized as Sephardic, or is it a tradition unto itself? Az yachir 
>Mocheh is definitely mainstream Sephardic. Ditto for Mizmor leDavid.

Yes, I've very much enjoyed this recording, "French-Jewish Music of the 
18th & 19th Centuries," 26 liturgical pieces divided into 3 categories: 
Provencal, Portuguese-Sephardic and Ashkenazic (Alsace).  The liturgy of 
the first group, which you're asking about, is sometimes classified as a 
separate rite (the Arba Kehillot), but musically it obviously shares much 
with that of Western Sephardim, which is logical insofar as many of the 
latter settled in Avignon and Carpentras over the years.  Probably the 
para-liturgical tunes on the recording, for Brit-Milah and Had Gadya, 
preserve the regional musical characteristics.  BTW this section of the CD 
(Musiques de Comtat Venaissin) is my favorite; the harpsichord 
accompaniments are very well-matched to the tunes and the singing style.

Many of the pieces in the Portuguese-Sephardic group were also on the 
previous recording in this series ("Musiques de la Synagogue de Bordeaux: 
Rite Portugais") but are well worth hearing again as sung here by Adolphe 
Attia.  The Ashkenazic section, accompanied by organ, includes some very 
interesting Alsacian settings along with the more familiar pieces by 
Naumbourg and Lewandowski.  While Attia's singing is just as lovely here, 
one cannot help comparing it to the more substantial voices associated with 
this repertoire.  The CD is very well-produced, with ample liner notes in 
French and English.

http://www.hatikvahmusic.com/cgi-bin/details.pl?key=1337


_____________________________________________________________
Cantor Sam Weiss === Jewish Community Center of Paramus, NJ


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