Listen & tracks
5 of 19 tracks have a preview · 19 works · 52:31
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1 La vida es un pasahe Traditional (Morocco) 1:54
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2 Cuando el rey Nimrod Traditional (Bulgaria) 1:51
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3 Nani, nani Traditional (Morocco) 3:21
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4 Durme querido hijico Traditional (Greece) 3:23
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5 Üsküdara Traditional (Turkey) 3:48
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6 Por la tu puerta yo pasí Traditional (Andalusia) 2:53
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7 Morena me llaman Traditional (Balkans) 2:33
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8 Yo Hanino, tu Hanina Traditional (Balkans) 1:32
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9 La madre de la novia Traditional (Morocco) 3:08
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10 La vida es un pasahe Traditional [reprise] (Morocco) :39
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11 Por que llorax Traditional (Greece) 4:50
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12 Y una madre Traditional (Morocco) 2:51
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13 Noches, noches Traditional (Orient) 3:36
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14 Durme, durme mi angelico Leon Algazi (Balkans) 2:09
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15 Yo m'enamori d'un aire Traditional (Andalusia) 3:08
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16 Como la rosa en la guerta Traditional (Andalusia) 2:57
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17 Gerineldo Traditional (Morocco) 4:06
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18 A la nana y a la buba Traditional (Balkans) 2:36
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19 La vida es un pasahe Traditional [reprise] (Morocco) 1:16
The Melbourne medieval ensemble sets traditional melodies for voice, portative organ, recorders, cello, guitar, oud and percussion, framing the arc from birth to old age with spoken lines from medieval Spanish-Jewish poets.
All but the Turkish street song Üsküdara are sung in Ladino. Many pieces still echo Iberian romance, among them Gerineldo, kin to a sixteenth-century Spanish ballad.
Recorded at Move in 2012, the disc is both folk archive and chamber performance—songs of joy, loss and endurance carried across centuries of diaspora.
In the artist’s words
This programme, woven from music and poetry, continues Troveresse’s exploration of the ties between music written in the Middle Ages and music from the oral traditions of Europe and beyond. La vida presents a life, or various possibilities for life in the songs of the Sephardim.
These songs, of birth and death, love and hate, joy and sorrow, loss and longing, are remarkable for their poetic and musical beauty and for what they communicate of the indomitable human spirit.
All but one of the songs on this disc (Üsküdara, which is in Turkish) are in the language usually known as Ladino, a dialect of Spanish which the Sephardim retained in the new countries in which they settled after their expulsion. While the songs change as they travel, taking on musical and linguistic characteristics of their new homes, many of them retain musical and poetic links with Spain. ‘Gerineldo’, for instance, can be traced to a Spanish romance, ‘Quién hubiese tal ventura’ found in Diego Pisador’s Libro de música para vihuela.
Our readings are taken from other traditional Sephardic songs and from writings of the Jewish poets of medieval Spain: ‘My heart is in the East’ by Judah Halevi (1075?–1141?); ‘Where are the graves’ by Moses Ibn Ezra (1055?–1135?); ‘The hour in which I am’ by Samuel Ha-Nagid (993–1056).
Artists
Troveresse
ensemble
Troveresse is devoted to bringing medieval music to 21st-century audiences in a way which combines musical excellence with a vibrant, innovative presentation. Troveresse (Troves for short), combines vocal and instrumental music with visuals, stories, poetry and drama to bring the Middle Ages to exuberant life on stage.
Leon Algazi
composer
Digital booklet
Digital booklet Notes, texts and credits — read online or download the PDF Download the PDFPerformers
- Troveresse · ensemble
- Helen Dell · voice, portative organ, director
- Alex Connelly · voice, recorders
- Solveig Jankowski · cello
- Will Thompson · voice, guitar, oud
- Ami Hasson · percussion
Details
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 52 minutes 31 seconds
- Release date
- Jul 2012
- Categories
- Early music, Folk music
- Genres
- Folk, Early Music, World & Cross-cultural
- Musical work copyright
- © 2012 Troveresse
- Sound recording copyright
- ℗ 2012 Move Records
- Catalogue
- MCD 477
- EAN
- 9314574047721
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