Weich Shahak--A Dance-Song in the Sephardic Repertoire

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Deutsches Volksliedarchiv A Dance-Song in the Sephardic Repertoire Author(s): Susana Weich-Shahak Source: Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung, 38. Jahrg. (1993), pp. 110-127 Published by: Deutsches Volksliedarchiv Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/848950 . Accessed: 21/06/2014 10:53 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Deutsches Volksliedarchiv is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 92.28.49.64 on Sat, 21 Jun 2014 10:53:52 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

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Transcript of Weich Shahak--A Dance-Song in the Sephardic Repertoire

Page 1: Weich Shahak--A Dance-Song in the Sephardic Repertoire

Deutsches Volksliedarchiv

A Dance-Song in the Sephardic RepertoireAuthor(s): Susana Weich-ShahakSource: Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung, 38. Jahrg. (1993), pp. 110-127Published by: Deutsches VolksliedarchivStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/848950 .

Accessed: 21/06/2014 10:53

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

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Deutsches Volksliedarchiv is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Jahrbuch fürVolksliedforschung.

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Page 2: Weich Shahak--A Dance-Song in the Sephardic Repertoire

A dance-song in the Sephardic repertoire By SUSANA WEICH-SHAHAK (erusalem)

In the rich Judeo-Spanish musical repertoire - preserved and recreated in the

Sephardic communities in the Balkan countries and in Northern Morocco during the five centuries that have elapsed since the Jews' expulsion from Spain - the relative absence of dance-songs is remarkable'. Most certainly, the Sephardic Jews used to dance at their family feasts and social gatherings. Their dances, however, were mostly learned from their non-Jewish environment and were performed to local music. My informants reported that non-Jewish musicians were often invited to play at Jewish houses on the occasions of weddings, circumcisions and other feasts: Turkish musicians

(called chalguis), Greeks (called ,,banda de gregos") and Gypsies were reported as

playing at Jewish events2. In the 20th century, Western social dances were added, such as the waltz, one-step, two-step, foxtrot, tango, pasodoble, etc3. One unique sample of

a dance-song in the Judeo-Spanish language is included in the Sephardic repertoire4. I have collected in fieldwork several variants of this song'. It appears that two versions of this song exist: one from the Eastern Sephardic oral tradition (from the Balkan

Of this repertoire I have recorded a wide collection which is catalogued at the National Sound Archives, in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem. My field-work for these recordings was carried out in the framework of the Jewish Music Research Centre at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I am most grateful to Dr. Eleazar Gutwirth (Tel Aviv University) and to Dr. Moises Orfali (Bar Ilan University) for their help in the historical aspect of this article.

2 There were also Jewish musicians who were well known for their skill as instrumentalists and singers of Turkish music, as, for instance, the cantor Isaac Algazi, who was a favorite of Ataturk. (See Seroussi 1989). Likewise, in Morocco the Jewish musicians were very much admired at the royal court and, even in 1987, while doing field-work in Tangiers (sponsored by the Tangier and Moroccan Jews Organization, ,Mabat") I had the opportunity to listen to a group of musicians led by a Jewish Moroccan singer, who often performs for the Moroccan king.

3 Some of these Western dance tunes were adapted to Judeo-Spanish texts by local Sephardic poets. (See Carracedo 1989).

4 About the Judeo-Spanish language see, for its Eastern dialects: Bunis (1980), Crews (1935) and Sala (1970), and for the Moroccan dialect: Benarroch (1978), Benichou (1945) and Benoliel (1926, 1928, 1952), The texts of the Judeo-Spanish songs presented here are transcribed according to Hassan (1970). ' The recordings of the Sephardic dance-songs presented are catalogued at the National Sound Archives (NSA) as: Y 5740/8 (Example 1), Y 5636 a/10 (Example 2) and Yc 2140/22, 23 (Example 3). The latter appears also in the author's Judeo-Spanish Moroccan Songs for the Life Cycle, as No. 29. Of example 1 there is also a video-tape, at the NSA.

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countries) and one from the Western one (Northern Morocco)'. It is the purpose of this article to present and compare these two versions and to survey some similar non-

Jewish songs still existent in the oral tradition of Spain. Such a comparison may point to a common origin in the Hispanic peninsula, in the days of the flourishing Jewish communities in Spain, prior to their expulsion in 1492.

Both Judeo-Spanish versions have texts of a similar thematic content, related to

agricultural activities such as sowing, planting, watering, harvesting, threshing the wheat, winnowing and grinding. Both texts conclude by mentioning: sifting the flour, kneading, baking and eating the bread. It is interesting to find a detailed enumeration of

agricultural tasks among the Jews who, during the centuries of their dispersion in

Europe, were not especially involved in farming but rather in trades, finances and

industry. According to Armistead and Silverman (1982: 117) the two versions from the Eastern and Western Sephardim reflect a Jewish life of farming in Medieval Spain: ... evocan una sociedad judeo-espafiola agricola y pueblerina, cuyos miembros cultivaban sus tierras, recogian sus mieses y cocian su pan, juntos con sus convecinos cristianos y musulmanes en la Espafia medieval". Other scholars, studying the history of the Jews in Spain in the Middle Ages and considering their economic and social involvement at that time, provide several documentary sources on Jewish agriculture7. Manuel Serrano

y Sanz (1918), who studied mostly the protocols of Zaragoza, states that he encounte- red only one mention of a Jewish farmer: ,,Salamon Alhaquim, lavrador", in 14578. From the same region, David Romano (1988: 5) quotes the only two documents discovered by Asunci6n Blasco9: one, a working contract dated 1347, by which Juhuda Almali received a vineyard to cultivate, and the other, dated 1399, an apprenticeship contract for Habraham Gasc6n, to serve ,,al oficio e art de la agricultura siquiera lavradoria".

Fritz Baer (1929) mentions a Hebrew text from the late 14th century, explaining that the Jews of the community of Montalbin are busy harvesting their fields, and also a document dated 1436, testifying that the Jews in Huesca engaged in farming10. Evidence of Jew's ownership of plots of land and vineyards is provided in a few documents. Angel Rodriguez Herrero (1947) transcribes the complete inventory of real

6 Armistead and Silverman (1982) presented similar texts of these songs: two variants from Morocco (pp. 110-111) and one from Turkey (pp. 111-112). A variant from Rhodes (quite similar to ours) was collected and transcribed, with music, by Alberto Hemsi in his Cancionero (now being prepared for print at the Jewish Music Research Centre) and published with his piano accompaniment in his Coplas Sefardies (1969, vol. VI, pp. 24-28).

7 On the controversial issue of Jewish involvement with agriculture in the Hispanic Middle Ages, see also Gutwirth (1981).

8 See Manuel Serrano y Sanz, Origenes de la dominaci6n espaniola en America, Estudios Hist6ricos (Nueva Biblioteca de Autores Esparioles), Madrid, 1918, pp. XXXVIII, quoted in Romano (1988: 4). I am most grateful to Prof. David Romano for providing me with the pre-prints of his articles.

9 From Asunci6n Blasco's unpublished Ph. D. Dissertation: ,Los judios de Zamora en el siglo XIV", quoted in Romano (1988: 5).

10 See Baer (1929: 858, 859), vol. I, documents No. 535 and No. 593. See also his comments added to the document on the Montjuich payment, No. 462 (p. 726).

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estate made in Valmaseda in 1487, in which there are also listed the properties bought from the Jews at the time of their expulsion from Valmaseda in 148611. Romano (1989: 6-7) mentions two documents about land donations to Jews, one dated 1193, to the

Jew Jucef Cornela, and another of 1310, to the Catalonian Jew Anoch Zabarra, as well as a source dated 1478, about a vineyard cultivated by Alubo, a Jew from Calahorra. Romano deals with the three aspects: possession of land, cultivation and habitat, and

clearly states that the existent documents indeed prove that, in the Hispanic Middle

Ages, Jews did own land (1989: 2). However, he insists on the distinction between the

ownership of land and the actual cultivation of that property, stressing that the Jews lived mostly in non-rural settlements, preferring the security and the possibility of communal religious practice offered by towns and villages. In his view, Jews were involved in agriculture mainly on small plots of Land, which were located on the outskirts of urban settlements (Ibid: 3-5).

One document from Valladolid, dated 5-6-1492, listed by Suirez Fernandez (1964: 428, 429) permits the transaction of real estate with Jews, after the edict of expulsion (which was dated 31-3-1492). Land transaction is also discussed by Beatrice Leroy (1985: 38-40) in regard to purchase and rent. Leroy is quite definite on the matter of

Jews' involvement with agriculture in Navarra: ,,A Jew of Navarra was first of all a

land-owner, at least a man who worked the land. Sephardic Jews might well have cultivated and irrigated the land since ancient Roman and Visigothic times; certainly from the time of the Andalusian domination onwards they knew how to manage water and grow olives, wheat and vines" (1985: 34-35). This is further evident in the fiscal documents attesting ,,the place of the Jews in the irrigated sectors. In the suburbs of

Tudela, during the fourteenth century, it was necessary to pay rent to the government for the canals. Although the Jews in the city were not alone, they occupied a good position among the users" (Ibid: 37). And to conclude, a general statement of Suirez Fernindez (1980: 102) should be quoted: ,,La masa fundamental de poblaci6n judia estaba compuesta por pequefios agricultores y por artesanos."

In any case, if we assume the Hispanic origin of our Sephardic dance song, we must allow for two possibilities: either the text testifies directly to Jewish agriculture, or it was adopted from the repertoire of their non-Jewish Spanish neighbors. In addition to their common thematic content, both Sephardic versions of the dance-song have the same social function: they are performed at wedding feasts, perhaps viewing the

agricultural tasks of land cultivation mentioned in the text as an allusion or an omen of

fertility for the new couple. It might even be understood as a rite of passage, reflected in

" The inventory of Valmaseda in 1487, ordered by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabelle, is detailed by Rodriguez Herrero (1947) in pp. 24-177. The last page, p. 177, lists the properties of the Valmaseda Jews bought by the City Council, and includes, besides houses, also the gardens and vineyards that had belonged to Rabi Samuel and to Sant6 de Ruego. In individual statements of the Valmaseda Christian citizens appear also such properties that had been bought from the Jews at their expulsion. (See fols. 158 r, 161r, 215 r and 284 r). On the expulsion from Valmaseda see Suirez Fernandez (1964: 284, 312, 313).

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the mention of putting, one's feet into the sea, symbol of life, as an immersion rite12. Furthermore, the two Judeo-Spanish variants share the way in which they are perfor- med: both are usually sung in group performance, and they are danced to a choreogra- phy in which the movements mimic the activities described in the text. (See series of

photographies of the informant performing example 1.). Two variants of the Eastern version of this dance-song, both from immigrants from

Rhodes, are presented (see transcriptions in the Appendix): the first one (Example 1, hereafter R 1) sung by Rosa Avzaradel, and the second (Example 2, hereafter R 2), by her nephew, Issahar Avzaradel. As is evident in the transcriptions, the texts of both variants, R 1 and R 2, are similar, not only in their thematic and literary content but also in their accumulative formulation. Accordingly, they share a strophic structure, in stanzas of a variable number of isosyllabic verses (of nine syllables each, except for the first verse of R 2, to be discussed further). Each strophe consists of an exordium, in which a question (about how the task is performed) is posed (verses 1-2 of each

strophe), the answer to this question (ansi ...) revealed in the dance movements (verse 3) and a conclusion, with choreographic indications (the two last verses). However, the second variant (R 2) differs from the first one (R 1) in two aspects: - the opening verse in R 2, Dime la buena novia (,,Tell me, good bride"), is clearly linked with the social function of this song: we may safely assume that this verse is borrowed from another accumulative song that belongs to the wedding repertoire, and which starts with a similar verse: Dike la muestra novia'3; - in R 2 the term sivan appears instead of viar; the informant suggested that this might be due to the association of viar with the name of the Hebrew month yiar, which is here

replaced by the Hebrew name of the following month, sivain. (Both are months of the

early summer, in which harvesting is done.) Otherwise, for our informant the meaning of the term was completely obscure.

From a musical standpoint the two variants share a musical formal structure in which

every stanza has an opening phrase with two segments (a-b) for the two verses of the exordium, a closing one (d) for the conclusion and a middle phrase (c) for the answer, which is repeated as many times as required by the accumulative structure of the text. The last musical repetition of this middle phrase is sung always to the penultimate verse of the strophe: ansi se mete el pie en la mar (,so you put the foot into the sea") and is followed by the concluding musical phrase, sung to the words of the last verse: ansi se

12 Armistead and Silverman (1982: 116) stress this link: ,En su funci6n distintiva de cantar de boda en la tradici6n sefardi, el poemita se recarga, ademis, de interesantes implicaciones adicionales. La sugerente alusi6n a una iniciaci6n, implicita en el estribillo 'y asi metiera los pies en el mar', subraya el papel del cantar como parte de un rito de paso, obviamente cargado de potencialidades generativas. La alusi6n al mar, simbolo y fuente de vida y creaci6n, refuerza notablemente las connotaciones sexuales de nuestro poema."

1 Dide la muestra novia (or Dide la nuestra novia) is an accumulative song from the wedding repertoire, of which I have collected variants from Rhodes, Istanbul and Izmir, as well as from the Moroccan Sephardim, from Tetuin, Tangiers, Alcazarquivir and Larache. See one variant, from Tangiers, in the author's Judeo-Spanish Moroccan Songs for the Life Cycle, as No. 20, and another variant in Cohen (1987: 6).

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da la vueltedica (,,so, turn around"), indicating the choreography of the dance. The

relationship between textual and musical structures may be represented as follows: 1st stanza 2nd stanza 3rd stanza etc.

Text: 12345 123456 1234567 123..(n-1)(n) Music: abccd abcccd abccccd abc...c d

The West Mediterranean version is one of several very similar variants recorded

among immigrants from Northern Morocco. The present example (See Example 3, hereafter T) was sung by Ester Davida, from Tangiers. Its text shares with the former

examples the unclear wording of the opening verse: in this case, the opening words Viva Orduefia, whose meaning is unclear for the informants themselves. I have adopted this transcription, but it could also be transcribed otherwise: Biba Ordueia (as does Larrea Palacin 1954: nos. 70, 71), Viva Erduefa (Alvar 1971: L) or Vivarduefa

(Armistead and Silverman 1982: 110)'4. However, Orduef~a appears as a name used for

Jewish women in the 14th and 15th centuries in documents from Valladolid (Carrete Parrondo 1981: no. 121), from Ciudad Rodrigo (Ibid: no. 213) and from Navarra

(Baer 1929: 976)15. By contrast to the Eastern variants (R 1 and R 2) the dance-song from Tangier is not

accumulative but rather a parallelistic song, changing only one word in the text of each

strophe: the term for the agricultural activity presented in that strophe. However, despite the structural and literary differences between the texts, there is a correlation between the third verses in all the stanzas in the Tangiers variant and the penultimate verse of all the stanzas in the Rhodes version:

Tangier (T): asi metira sus pies en el mar Rhodes (R 1, R 2): ansi se mete el pie en la mar

Furthermore, the last verses in the strophes of both versions relate to the mere fact of

dancing: Tangier (T): asi me ensefiaran a bailar - or: asi me ensefiara a mi a bailar Rhodes (R 1, R 2): ansi se da la vuelte'ica

In the strophic structure and parallelistic formulation of the Moroccan variant (T) each

strophe consists of four Lines of eleven and nine syllables alternately. Each verse is sung twice consecutively with its corresponding musical phrase, thus the music of this song has only two different phrases which are repeated consistently throughout the text. verses 3 and 4, although sung to the same melody as the others (1 and 2, 5 and 6, etc.) serve as a refrain:

Text: 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5/1 5/1 6/2 6/2 3 3 4 4 etc. Music: aabbaabb a a b b a a b b

The meter in all three variants, R 1, R 2 and T, is duple, but in the variants from Rhodes there is a change in tempo, namely slowing down (ritardando): in R 1, in the

14 It could also have been transcribed as Viva Arduefia, or Bivardueria or even Bibar Duefia. All

possibilities were unsuccessfully checked as family name in Corcas (1970) and Laredo (1978). In Rodriguez Herrero (1947: 18, 198, 199, 203, 228-231) a similar name, Ordura, appears as a toponym.

is See Baer (1929: 971-977) in document No. 596, regarding Samuel Evenay6n and his wife

Ordueyna's workshop.

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last phrase, and in R 2, both in the first and in the last. The scalar organization of the melodies is varied, each of the versions having a different mode: major in T, and maqam Sigah in R 2 and in R 1, the latter ending on its third degree, the basis of the Rast tetrachord.

The choreography of all versions from Rhodos and from Tangier is most certainly similar: the movements of the dance follow and imitate with arm and body movements the rural activities mentioned in the text. While, at the end of each stanza, in the

penultimate Line/phrase, the feet are alternately sent forward and, in the last verse/

phrase, the dancers turn around. This is the choreography in which these dance-songs are always performed: non-dancing performance took place, on request, only for

recording purposes. The co-existence of related songs in the repertoire of both the Eeastern and the

Western Sephardic communities may point to a common origin in pre-exilic Spain. It is therefore tempting to compare the Sephardic versions with related songs in the Spanish (non-Jewish) oral tradition16. Three such variants are compared here: two from Santander and one from the Canarian Islands17. The two variants from Santander

(Examples 4 and 5, hereafter S 1 and S 2) were collected and transcribed by Don Sixto C6rdova y Ofia in his Cancionero Infantil Espafiol (1948: 58, 59). They are children's

ring-dances in which, according to the indications included in the transcriptions, the little girls imitate what the words of the song are saying18. The version from the Canary Islands (Example 6, hereafter C) was collected in the village of Barlovento in the North East of the La Palma Island, by Fernando Diaz Cutillas around 197819. All three

Spanish variants have a strophic structure and a parallelistic formulation of the text. However, the structure of the strophes is different: in S 1 each strophe has six

decasyllabic verses (except for the fifth, which has eight); in S 2, four verses, the first

decasyllabic and the others octosyllabic; and in C, three dodecasyllabic verses, with caesura and isometric hemistiches.

It is clear that the three Spanish variants, S 1, S 2 and C, are related in their texts, mentioning the different stages in the production of grain: in S 1, referring to oats

(avena), in S 2, to wheat and corn (el trigo y el maiz), and in C, to wheat (trigo). Despite the similarity in thematic content, there are differences in formulation and inner organization of the strophes in the three variants:

'6 Armistead and Silverman (1982) correlate the texts of these Sephardi dance-songs with other, non-Jewish versions from the Canary Islands and Salamanca (quite similar to those compared here) as well as with other texts from Ciceres, Catalunya, Mexico, France and Italy.

17 The variants from Santander and the Canary Islands used in the present study were kindly provided by two Spanish folklorists, Jose Manuel Fraile Gil and Gustavo Cotera, for whose collaboration I am deeply thankful.

18 See C6rdova y Ofia (1948: 59): ,Mientras las nifias cantan, imitan con la acci6n lo que dicen las palabras." Indications of the choreographic movements appear also along the text: ,se anudan la cintura", postura c6mica", ,,golpeindose", as well as in the musical transcription: ,imitin- dolo" (p. 58).

19 I transcribed this song from a recorded performance by a popular folk-song group called ,Echentive", in their cassette SEC-547 H Stereo, Mtsica Tradicional de la Isla de La Palma (also on record SED-5047 C & P) SAGA, 1987.

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- in S 1, the strophe consists of three parts: question (verses 1-2), answer (... asi, verses 3-4) and refrain (ay, avena . . ., verses 5-6); - in S 2, the strophe has only two parts: question (verses 1-2) and answer (es asi ..., verses 3-4); it also mentions, in the last strophe, how the protagonist, Tio Tintaina, rests after his hard work; - in C, there is an introductory strophe presenting the protagonist, Cho Juan Perenal; each of the subsequent fourteen strophes consists of three parts: the first, stating the

agricultural tasks (verse 1), the second, mentioning the foot put into the sea (verse 2) and the third, indicating that the dance is taught (verse 3). In all three variants asi. ..., ansina ... indicate that the answer is given by movements.

In the music of the Spanish variants, as was the case among the Sephardic ones, we find no close resemblances other than in the two variants from Santander, in which the melodic line of the first phrases is identical, and the other phrases are related crosswise but with different meters, in what may be considered a rhythmic variation. The scale is

major in all three variants, with an open-end final cadence on the fifth degree in S 1.

Considering textual and musical features, it seems that in the three variants presented here there are two versions of this Spanish song, clearly linked to their geographical distribution: one version for Santander and one for Canarias. The following compari- son of all six variants (the three Sephardic and the three Spanish) is based (as in the definition of all genres in the Judeo-Spanish repertoire) on the analysis of the text

(content and structure), the music (structure and performance), interplay of text and music, and social function of the songs. In such a comparison the following features

emerged:

1. the continuity of the text, with unity of content all along, in all six variants; 2. the mention of species of grain and similar agricultural tasks (all variants); 3. the parallelistic formulation (in T, S 1, S 2, and C - in the latter except for the

introductory strophe) or accumulative (in R 1 and R 2); 4. the strophic structure of music and text, the latter strophes built of long Lines

(mostly ranging from eight to twelve syllables per Line), with assonant rhyme, caesura

(isometrical hemistiches in C and anisometrical in the others) and different numbers of Lines per strophe (ranging from three to six, and obviously increasing in the accumula- tive songs); 5. in each strophe, there is an inner division into: - question (R 1, R 2, S 1, S 2) or statement of task (T, C), - answer, in mimic movements, introduced by ,,in this way", or ,,like that": asi (T, S 1, S 2), ansi (R 1, R 2), ansina (C), - indication: ,,put feet into the sea" (R 1, R 2, T, C), - allusion to dance: ,,turn around" (R 1, R 2), or ,teaching the dance" (T, C); 6. the music shows a variety of tunes, except for similarity among variants from the same geographical origin. However, there are some melodic resemblances of phrases or melodic segments between the Spanish and the Sephardic variants. (See melodic

comparison in Examples 7 to 12); 7. the scalar organization is Major in T, S 1, S 2 and C, and Maqamatic in R 1 and R 2;

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8. the rhythmic organization is varied: in duple meter in R 1, R 2 and T, in triple meter in S 2 and C, and in/8 in S 1; 9. the interplay of music and text is closely related to the repetition of verses: in T each verse is repeated, in S 1 the first and second verses, in S 2, each verse, and in C, the third verse. See the following correspondence of music and text in the strophe, according to the repetition of verses and musical phrases:

R 1: Music: abc ... c d Text: 1 2 3 ... (n-1) (n)

R 2: Idem T: Music: aabbaabb ...

Text: 11223344... S 1: Music: a b b cc d d

Text: 1223456 S2: Music: a a b b cc b b

Text: 112233 44 C: Music: a a b b

Text: 1 2 3 3

10. the performance in dance movements which mimic the tasks mentioned in the text, in all six variants; except for recording purposes, rendered in group performance; 11. the social function of this dance-song as a wedding song is only documented for the

Sephardic variants (R 1, R 2, T) while the variants from Santander belong to the children's repertoire; 12. the Canary Island variant (C) seems to be the most similar to the Sephardic versions in its textual formulation, sharing the indication of ,,putting the foot into the sea" and the explicit mention of dance, and even the term for ,,sandpit" (arenal), as in T (in the first verse of both C and T). Furthermore, it shares with the Moroccan Sephardic variant the scalar organization and the formal structure of the musical stanza. This relatedness could be linked to the recognized fact that in the Canary Islands, due to their isolation from the Hispanic mainland, the oral tradition was better preserved than in the rest of Spain, keeping alive medieval songs that were elsewhere forgotten20. Incidentally, this is an observation also made in regard to the preservation of Medieval

Hispanic songs among the Sephardic Jews, who kept in their heritage some songs and romances that were lost in the oral tradition of the Iberian peninsula.

It should be pointed out, in conclusion, that until now only a handful of musicologi- cal studies have dealt with the comparison between the Eastern and the Western Sephardic repertoires21. Likewise, only a few studies comparing the Sephardic musical 20 See Trapero (1989: 11): ,En Canarias se refugi6 una rama de la tradici6n muy arcaica y

conservadora: afin hoy es posible oir aqui romances que han desaparecido por muchas partes, romances de los mis raros de la tradici6n oral moderna, conservados s61o fuera de Canarias por algunas comunidades sefardies del norte de Africa o de Oriente de Europa, que se han demostrado siempre como los guardianes mis celosos del viejo patrimonio 6pico-lirico espafiol." What Trapero says in regard to the preservation of the romances may be assumed to be true also for other genres in the repertoire.

21 Weich-Shahak (1989) includes textual and musical comparison between life-cycle songs from the Eastern and from the Western Sephardic traditions. For comparison of romances from both Sephardic repertoires see Katz (1982, 1984) and Weich-Shahak and Etzion (1988 b).

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heritage with the Iberian (Peninsular) tradition have been completed, and then almost

exclusively on the corpus of the romances (ballads)22. In the research of non-romance

genres, this study is a first attempt at a detailed comparison. As such it encompasses, on the one hand, the musical traditions of both geographical areas - where the Sephardic Jews lived for almost five centuries and were obviously influenced by the musical cultures of the peoples among whom they dwelt (Turkish, Greek, Bulgarian, Yugosla- vian, Moroccan) - and, on the other hand, the living oral tradition of Spain. It is

hoped that such comparative studies may indeed lead to broader horizons.

Examples

Example 1: R 1 (text) - El buen viar, el buen viar, ic6mo se ensembra el buen viar? - ansi se ensembra el buen viar, ansi s6 mete el pie en la mar, ansi s6 da la vueltedica.

- El buen viar, el buen viar, ic6mo dispunta el buen viar? - ansi dispunta el buen viar, ansi s6 ensembra el buen viar, ansi s6 mete el pie en la mar, ansi s6 da la vueltedica.

- El buen viar, el buen viar, ic6mo si arrega el buen viar? - ansi s6 arrega el buen viar, ansi dispunta el buen viar, ansi se ensembra el buen viar, ansi se mete el pie en la mar, ansi s6 da la vueltedica.

- El buen viar, el buen viar, ic6mo si corta el buen viar? - ansi se corta el buen viar, ansi s6 arrega el buen viar, ansi dispunta el buen viar, ansi s6 ensembra el buen viar, ansi se mete el pie en la mar, ansi s6 da la vueltedica.

- El buen viar, el buen viar, ic6mo se muele el buen viar? - ansi se muele el buen viar, ansi se corta ...

22 See examples given by Querol (1984: 682-685) one of which (ex. 115) presents versions from the Eastern and Western Sephardic sources, comparing them with Spanish songs. On the

comparison of the music of the Sephardic romances of oral tradition with the ,romances viejos" found in written sources from 16th century's Spain, see Weich-Shahak and Etzion

(1987 and 1988 a).

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A dance-song in the Sephardic repertoire

- El buen viar, el buen viar, ic6mo s6 amasa al buen viar? - ansi s6 amasa el buen viar, ansi s6 muele el buen viar, ansi se corta ...

- El buen viar, el buen viar, ic6mo s6 enforna el buen viar? - ansi s6 enforna el buen viar, ansi se amasa el buen viar, ansi se muele ...

- El buen viar, el buen viar, ic6mo s6 come el buen viar? - ansi s6 come el buen viar, ansi se enforna el buen viar, ansi s6 amasa el buen viar, ansi s6 muele el buen viar, ansi s6 corta el buen viar, ansi s6 arrega el buen viar, ansi dispunta el buen viar, ansi s6 ensembra el buen viar, ansi se mete el pie en la mar, ansi s6 da la vueltecica.

Example 2: R 2 (text) - Dime, la buena novia, ic6mo se asembra el buen sivin? - ansi se asembra el buen sivin, ansi se mete el pie en la mar ansi se da la vuelte'ica.

- Dime, la buena novia, ic6mo se arrega '1 buen sivin? - ansi se arrega '1 buen sivin, ansi se asembra '1 buen sivin, ansi se mete el pie en la mar ansi se da la vuelte'ica. - Dime, la buena novia, ic6mo se corta '1 buen sivin? - ansi se corta '1 buen sivin, ansi se arrega '1 buen sivin, ansi se asembra '1 buen sivin, ansi se mete el pie en la mar ansi se da la vuelte'ica.

Example 3: T (text)

Viva Orduefia, lo afeja en su arenal, (x 2) y asi lo afeja, viva Orduefia. (x 2)

Y asi metira sus pies en el mar, (x 2) y asi me ensefiaran a bailar. (x 2)

Viva Orduefia, lo sembra en su arenal, (x 2) y asi lo sembra, viva Orduefia. (x 2)

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Y asi metira sus pies en el mar, (x 2) y asi me ensefiaran a bailar. (x 2)

Viva Orduefia, lo planta en su arenal, (x 2) y asi lo planta, viva Orduefia. (x 2)

Y asi metira sus pies en el mar, (x 2) y asi me ensefiaran a bailar. (x 2)

Viva Orduefia, lo corta en su arenal, (x 2) y asi lo corta, viva Orduefia. (x 2)

Y asi metira sus pies en el mar, (x 2) y asi me ensefiara a mi a bailar. (x 2)

Viva Orduefia, lo coge en su arenal, (x 2) y asi lo coge ...

Viva Orduefia, lo lieva en su arenal, (x 2) y asi lo lleva ...

Viva Orduefia, lo seca en su arenal, (x 2) y asi lo seca ...

Viva Orduefia, lo mole en su arenal, (x 2) y asi lo mole ...

Viva Orduefia, lo amasa en su arenal, (x 2) y asi lo amasa ...

Viva Orduefia, lo come en su arenal, (x 2) y asi lo come ...

Example 4: S 1 (text) - Quien desea poder escuchar de que modo se siega la avena? (x 2) Pues mi hermano segibala asi. y en seguida quedibase asi. Ay, avena, ay, avena, cuinto quiero poderte liar.

- iQuien desea poder escuchar de que modo se lia la avena? (x 2) Pues mi hermano liibala asi y en seguida quedibase asi. Ay, avena, ay, avena, cuinto quiero poderte liar.

- Quien desea poder excuchar de que modo se trilla la avena? (x 2) Pues mi hermano trillibala asi y en seguida quedibase asi.

Ay, avena, ay, avena, cuintas vueltas te tengo que dar.

Example 5: S 2 (text) - iQuieren ver c6mo el tio Tintaina (x 2) siembra el trigo y el maiz? (x 2) - Es asi como el trigo siembra, (x 2) siembra el trigo y el maiz.

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- iQuieren ver c6mo el trigo crece (x 2) crece el trigo y el maiz? (x 2) Es asi como el trigo crece, ( x 2) crece el trigo y el maiz.

- iQuieren ver c6mo e1 lo riega (x 2) riega el trigo y el maiz? (x 2) Es asi...

- iQuieren ver c6mo e1 lo ata (x 2) ata el trigo y el maiz? (x 2) Es asi ...

- Quieren ver c6mo e1 lo lieva (x 2) Ileva el trigo y el maiz? (x 2) Es asi ...

- iQuieren ver c6mo e1 almuerza (x 2) despues de madrugar? (x 2) Es asi ...

- Quieren ver c6mo e1 descansa (x 2) despues de trabajar? (x 2) Es asi ...

Example 6: C (text)

Cho Juan Perenal tiene un arenal, con grano de trigo lo quiere sembrar, lo siembra en la cumbre, lo coge en la mar. (x 2)

Ansina lo siembra Cho Juan Perenal, ansina ponia su pata en la mar, ansina se ensefia mi danza a bailar. (x 2)

Ansina lo escarba Cho Juan Perenal, ansina ponia su pata en la mar, ansina se ensefia mi danza a bailar. (x 2)

Ansina lo siega ... Ansina lo cierne ... Ansina lo enfeja ... Ansina lo empefia ... Ansina lo carga ... Ansina lo tuesta... Lo bota en la era ... Ansina lo muele ... Ansina lo trilla ... Ansina lo amasa... Ansina lo aventa... Ansina lo come ...

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Example 1: R1 (Rhodes 1)

A J=92

El buen vi- ar at buen vi- ar co- mo se on-som-braelI buen vi- ar Qco- mo dis- pun-ta el b4en vi- arJ

51.

a n- si so

n-s"m-bral

beni - r n- s se me-t

,l p i n la mar Can- sr is- pun-ta el buen vi- arJ

an- $s

se da Ia vuel- te- ci- ca

Example 2: R2 (Rhodes 2)

r 3 -

a J I

all, Ill, iF 111 1if

Di-:e la bue-na no- via co-mo so a-sam-bra e

buen si-van

an- sI se a- sem-bra el uen si-v n an- s 5 me-te el peen an- si seJa- rre-ga el buen 5i-van

A ir, m .... .I .. an- si se da la vuel- te- ci- ca

Example 3: T (Tangier)

J.=1 12

Vi- valOr- due- na vloa- le- aen su a- re- nal Ya- : me- ti- ra aus pies anr el mar Vi- vea,.Ore-due- Ka lo sem-brar,en su,a- re- nal -Va- ai me- ti- ra sus pies en el mar

SW. i. V a- S l( x a-le- j Vi

,a ' -s

Io a- oPe- La vi- v

yr- due- e- y

a-

si na V a- si me en- se- na- ran a bai- lar ya:- sr lar V a- a t o sa-bra vvi- va Or- due- na y a- % na V a- s( me en- se- rIt- ran a bai- lar ya- Si lar

Example 4: SI (Santander 1)

Ale Iro J.=140

Quien de- se- a po-der es-cu- char de cue mo-do se aie-ga la%,a-ye-na ye-na

A IL- I

pues mijher-ma-no se-g!-ba- las- s" y en- se- gui-da que-da- ba-se %a- s•

A I ,I ,L I I" PII I I N I I: I , , U N N , ,i , , , -

Ay a- ve- na Ay a- ve- na cuon- to quie-ro po- der-te ti- or

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A dance-song in the Sephardic repertoire

Example 5: 52 (Santander 2)

AI legro J=140

Quie-ren ver co-moel tio Tin-tai- na quie-ren ver co-moel t'o Tin-tai- na

Ki ?h I-I -.L

siem-bra el tri- go y , l ma- Iz siem-bra I tri- go yelI ma- Iz

IID

Es a- s" co-mo el tri-go siem- bra siem- bra.el tri- go y el ma- iz

Example 6 : C (Canarias)

Cho Juan Pe- re nal tie ne un a- re- n con gra- no de tri- go lo quie- re Sam- braLr

io siem- braen la cm- bre o co- go en la m

Example 7: Paradigmatic comparison of S and T

S1

Quien de- s--a po-dQr escu-char de que mo- do se Zia- ga la-a-

ve- na

Ay a- ve- na ay a- ve- na cunto qui--ro po- der- to. li- ar

Vi- va Or- due- 1a lo af e a en su a- re- nal

Example 8: Paradigmatic comparison of S1 and R1

A S - Si

de u4, mo- do s s e- 9ga la a- ve- na

A RI

an - s e4 en-sem-brca el buen v i- ar

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Susana Weich-Shahak

Example 9: Paradigmatic comparison of S1, S2 and T

S1

Pues mi her- ma- no se- ga- ba- la a-

S2 y en- se- gui- da que- d - ba se a - s1

siam- bra el tri- go y el ma-

"z AT

Y a- s I to a- fe- a vi- va Or- due na

Example 10: Comparison of C and R2

Cho Juan Pe-re-nal tie- ne un a- re- nI

la vueI- to- c•- ca

Example 11: Comparison of C, S2 and Ri

Cho Juan Pe-re- nal tie- ne un a- re- ni

AS2 Le- Es a- sr co- mo el tr-igo siem- bra

R1

como se en-sem- bra el buen vi- ar

Example 12: Comparison of C and T

•C

Io siam- bra on la cum-bre Io co- ge en la mar

AT V a- se Io a- fe- Ja vi - va Or- due-

ia

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Phographies of Rosa Avzaradel performing ,El buen viar"

ansi si arrega el buen viar c6mo si ensembra el buen viar?

ansi si ensembra el buen viar ansi si corta el buen viar

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