Programme
Yo mi enamori - I fell in love
Esta Montana - This Mountain (Harp &Percussion)
Partos Trocados - Babes Exchanged
Salterello - 14th century Italian dance
Mansevo del Dor – I am a modern young man
Cantiga de Santa Maria (Harp solo)
La Serena - The Calm
Sa'dawi - instrumental
Interval
Lamento di Tristano - Tristan's Lament
Noches Noches – Song of the night
Porke Yorach – Why are you crying?
Una Tarde de Verano – One Sunday Afternoon
Principio di virtu 14th century dance (Double recorder & Percussion solo)
Komo el Pasharo ke Bola – Bird in flight
Paxaro d'hermozura - Bird of Beauty
Avre tu puerta – Open your door
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Joy Smith – Harps, Hammered – dulcimer, Psaltery
Layil Barr – Recorders, Viol
Andres Ticino – percussion
With Guest artists
Our programme includes music from medieval Europe and songs from the living tradition of the Sephardic Jews. 'Sephardi' (Hebrew for Spain) refers to the Jews who lived and flourished in the Iberian peninsula for many centuries, until they were expelled along with the Muslims, in 1492. Sephardi Jews took their language and musical traditions with them in to exile and absorbed other traditions from North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and countries in the Middle East where they settled. Many of the standard hymns in the Hebrew liturgy were composed by great Sephardic poets during the 'Golden Age' in mediaeval Spain. The lingua franca of Sephardi Jews was Ladino (or Judeo-Spanish) which was based on mediaeval Castilian and written in Hebrew script. The Ladino ballad repertoire was a very important song tradition transmitted through the female line.
The many cultural influences created melodic lines of immense beauty. Throughout centuries of music making the magic of the Sephardic songs prevailed. Our percussionist, Andres, grew up in Uruguay and heard many of these songs from his grandmother, and one can still hear them in the streets of Israel.
Today more than ever, this repertoire enjoys a renaissance of interest and these songs are performed in many musical styles – from the traditional ‘authentic’ way right through to pop and rock arrangements. In the process of preparing this programme we take the ancient melodic lines and create an arrangement based on our own musical traditions and backgrounds.
Our guest artists Clare Norburn and Mor Karbasi come from two different musical worlds, creating an evocative juxtaposition of cultures.
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Lyrics |
Yo mi enamori
Yo m’enamori d’un aire
D’un aire d’una mujer
D’una mugger muy hermoza
Linda de mi coracon.
Translation:
I’m in love with a song
the song of a woman,
a very beautiful woman,
the pretty one of my heart. |
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Esta Montanya
Esta montanya de enfrente
se aciende y va quemando
alli pedri al mi amor
M'asento y vo llorando.
Arvolico de menekshe
Yo lo ensembri' en mi huerta
Yo la creci' y lo engrandeci'
Otros te estan gozando.
Secretos quero descuvrir
secretos de mi vida
El cielo quero por papel
La mar quero por tinta.
Los arvoles por pendola
para escrivir mis males
No hay quien sepa mi dolor
Ni ajenos ni parientes
Translation:
This mountain in front is on fire and burning. There I
sought my love: I sit down and weep.
Flowering tree that I keep in my garden
that I grew and nurtured
others now enjoy you.
I would discover secrets
secrets of my life
i would have the sky for paper
The sea I would have for ink.
the trees for pen
to write of my ills.
No-one knows of my sorrow.
neither stragers nor kin |
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Partos tracados
La sclava pario un hijo
La ama pario una hija
Las cumadres fechizeras
Trocan a las criaturas.
Una dia de aqueyos dias
Acunar asentaria,
Cuando la cunava,
Enfazando la enfazava
Un dia de aqueyos dias
A cantar se le metia
Nani, nani la mi hija
Criada y non parida.
Parida, el Dio vos guadre,
Cuanto queren la vuestra madre
Parida stava la reina.
Translation:
The slave bore a son
The mistress bore a daughter
The wicked midwife
Exchanged the babies
One day
The slave sat to cradle
Cradling her child
Rocking the child
One day she began to sing
Sleep sleep my daughter
Baby and not born to me
May God keep you
How your mother wishes you
To be born a queen. |
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Yo so un mansevo del dor
Yo so un mansevo del dor,
Ke kamino kon onor,
Kuando veyo ija ermoza,
Ya me toma a mi tremblor.
Ayde ayde presto presto
T'echaré al sesto
Asentada en el pozo,
Kon un grande dezrepozo,
Asperando a mi espozo,
Ke es la luz de los mis ojos.
Ayde ayde touranam touranam
Ben buralarda durmam
A la franka te vistites
Pareses un direktor
Todo el mundo ya lo save
Ke sos ijo de un ladrón.
Ayde ayde...
Translation:
I am a modern young man,
and I behave honourably,
when I see a pretty girl,
I tremble with shyness.
Come on, come on,
I will throw you into the well!
Sitting at the well,
Very restlessly,
Waiting for my husband,
the light of my eyes.
You are dressed in western style,
You look like an executive,
Everyone knows that you are the son of a coal miner!
Come on, come on,
I will throw you into the well!
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La Serena
Si la mar era de leche
Yo me aria peshcador
Peshcaria mis Dolores
Con palavricas d’amor
Dame la mano tu palomba
Para suvir al tu nido
Maldicha che durmes sola
Vengo a durmir contigo
No me mates con cuchiyo
Ni menos con revolver
Matame con tus amores
En tus brasos murire
Translation : Calm/The Mermaid
If the sea were made of milk
I would become a fisherman
And fish my misery
With words of love
Give me your hand, my dove,
To climb into your nest
Curses upon you show sleep alone;
So I am coming to sleep with you
Don’t kill me with a knife
And not even with a gun
Kill me with your love
So I will die in your arms
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Noches Noches : Love song before 1492, originaly 12th or 13th century
Noches noches buenas noches, noches son d'enamorar.
Ay que noches la mi madre que non son de arrivar
Dando bueltas por la cama, como'l pexe en la mar
Notches buenas, notches klaras,
notches son d'enamorar,
Ay ke notches la mi madre
ke no son d'arreyevar.
- Tres ermanikas eran
eyas todas tres en un andar;
Salto las mas tchikita d'eyas
i relumbro komo el kristal.
- Durmach, durmach mis donzeyas
i si durmich rekodrad :
Manyana vos azech vyejas
i pedrech la mosedad.
Translation:
Nights, nights, good nights are nights to fall in love in.
Oh, these nights, mother, they don't come.
Tossing in my bed, like a fish in the sea.
There were three sisters
walking at once.
The youngest leapt
and shone like glass.
Sleep, sleep my maids
and if you sleep remember:
you shall turn old tomorrow
and lose your youth |
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Porke yorach
Porke yorach blanka ninya?
Porke yorach blanka flor?
Yoro por vos kavayero
ke vos vach i me dechach
Translation:
Why do you weep, white girl?
Why do you weep, white flower?
I weep since you, caballero,
go and let me alone
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Una Tarde : A Medieval Spanish "Romance" taken to Morocco by the Sephardic Jews.
Una tarde de verano pasi' por la moreria
y vi una mora lavando al pie de una fuente fria
Yo la dije mora linda yo la dije mora bella
deja beber mis caballos esas aguas cristalinas
no soy mora caballero que soy de espanya nacida
que me cautivaron moros dias de pascua florida
Si quieres venir conmigo a Espanya te llevaria
y la ropa caballero donde yo la dejaria?
lo que es de seda y grana en mis caballos se iria
y lo que no sirva nada por el rio tornaria
Al llegar an ca sus padres la ninya llora y suspira
por que lloras ninya linda por que lloras ninya bella?
Lloro porque en estos campos mi padre a cazar venia
con mi hermanito Alejandro y toda su compania
Abrid puertas y ventanas balcones y galerias
que por traer una esposa os traigo una hermana mia
Translation:
On a summer afternoon I rode through the Moorish quarter and
saw a Moorish girl laundering at a fountain cold. I told her:
- “lovely brunette girl let my horses drink at your clear waters”.
- ”I'm not moorish my knight...in Spain i was born
the Moors kidnapped me on a blooming day of Passover”.
- “If you'd come with me back to Spain I'd take you.”
- “But the laundry my knight what shall i do with it”
- ”silks and the velvets on my horses we'll carry and what
is of no use may go down to the river.”
When she saw my parents' hole the girl cried and sighed.
- “Why do you cry lovely girl
why do you cry pretty girl?”
- “I cry since on those fields my father used to hunt with my
little brother Alejandro and all of his suite.”
Open doors and windows balconies and galleries
because instead of a bride I bring back home my sister. |
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Komo el Pasharo ke Bola
Komo el pásharo ke bola
Pozava de flor en flor
Si tú me deshavas sola
No konosía yo el amor
Te amo
Te adoro
I por ti siempre yoro
Mi amor es sin mizura
Andjel sos de la ermozura
Tu amor m’enflamó
Yoro la tu despartisión...
Translation:
Like a bird that flies,
Moving from one flower to flower,
If you left me alone,
I wouldn’t know what love is.
I love you,
I adore you
For you I always cry,
My love is flawless,
You are an angel of beauty,
Your love enflamed me,
I cry for your departure…
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Pasharo d'emozura
En una caza rika
vide una hijika
de anyos era chika
le declari l'amor.
Sali delantre d'eya
ermoza komo astreya
ya me sendiuo cont'eya
sin tener piadad.
Un pasharo bolando
mi korason yorando
el me dejo aspernado
sin tener piadad.
Translation:
In a rich house
I see a maiden
young in age
and I declared my love [to her].
I came before her,
[she is]so beautiful like a star.
i came sat [close] to her
with out pitty,
A bird was flying
while my heart crying
he left me there waiting
he didn't have pity on me. |
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Avre tu puerta cerrada
Avre tu puerta cerrada
Que en tu balcon luz no hay
El amour a ti te vela
Partemos mi flor
Partemos de aqui
Yo demandi de la tu hermozura
Come te la dio el dio
La hermozura tuya es pura
Lam merezco solo yo
Translation:
Open your locked door
On your balcony, there is no light
Love becomes you
Come with me my flower
Come away with me
I was seeking your beauty
The beauty god gave you
It is pure and clear
Only I deserve it
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