Sephardic Art Song: A Musical Legacy of the Sephardic Diaspora

The history and culture of Sephardic Jewry can be found in the rich repertoire of Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) folksongs. These folksongs reflect on Jewish traditions and stories as well as universal human themes such as love, death, and despair. In the 20th and 21st century Western classical composers such as Alberto Hemsi, Yehezkel Braun, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Joaquin Rodrigo, Wolf Simoni (Louis Saguer), Lazare Saminsky, Paul Ben-Haim, and others used these melodies to create a repertoire of Ladino Art Songs. These Art songs provided the composers a way to preserve the folksongs and, in many cases, an avenue through which they could reflect on their own heritage. The musical styles of these songs draw on diverse traditions ranging from Spanish, Greek, Balkan, and Turkish/Ottoman folk and classical traditions as well as Western classical music more broadly.

Join us for a lecture recital about this fascinating and little known repertoire led by mezzo-soprano and music scholar Lori Sen. Sen will discuss the history, language, and culture of the Sephardim, with a special focus on the elements and stylistic features of Sephardic music. The lecture will be followed by a recital of Sephardic songs for voice, piano, and guitar for which S?en will be joined by guitarist Jeremy Lyons and pianist Alexei Ulitin.

Ticket Info: $15 general; $10 YIVO/ASF members, students at yivo.org/Sephardic-Art-Song or 917-606-8290