Ballads, Wedding Songs and Piyyutim of the Sephardic Jews of Tetuan and Tangier, Morocco

The songs on this 1983 Folkways release are both soulful and haunting, reminders of a "golden age" prior to 1492, when Jews were expelled from Spain. The Jews of Tetuan, which became one of the most important Jewish communities in North Africa, preserved the old ballads in Medieval Spanish, and for daily use spoke an updated idiom. Here women sing romance and ritual songs a cappella, while a cantor from Tangier performs the piyyutim, the religious poetry written in Hebrew by the great Medieval Jewish writers and sung in the synagogue during services.

Liner notes include song lyrics in Spanish and their English translation as well as a history of the Jewish presence in Morocco and northern Africa.

Track Listing

101	So Says the Bride	Alicia Benassayag	03:14
102	In the House of My Father	Flora Benamol	03:25
103	Although I Gave Him My Hand	Flora Benamol	01:14
104	I Bathed at the River's Edge	Flora Benamol	02:14
105	One Kid	Alicia Benassayag	03:00
106	I Arose on a Monday	Flora Benamol	02:55
107	Moses Left Egypt	Alicia Benassayag	02:29
108	The King Has a Daughter	Alicia Benassayag	02:24
109	Our Lord, Elohenu	Alicia Benassayag	03:15
201	La Gallarda	Flora Benamol	03:50
202	I Am a Human Being	Female singer, Tétouan, Morocco	02:09
203	Briana	Ester Kadosh Israel	04:11
204	City of Joy	Solomon Siboni	02:50
205	The Overseer	Solomon Siboni	02:31
206	God Is Alive	Solomon Siboni	02:33
207	From the Mouth of God	Solomon Siboni	01:31
208	My Wintry Days	Solomon Siboni	02:49
209	Your Love Is Sweet	Solomon Siboni	01:13