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	Dice la nuestra novia - Says the Bride-to-Be	Alicia Benassayag de Bendayam	03:14
102	En ca de mi padre - In the House of My Father	Flora Benamol	03:25
103	Aunque le di la mano - Although I Gave Him My Hand	Flora Benamol	01:14
104	Fuerame a banar a orillas del rio - I Went to Bathe at the River's Edge	Flora Benamol	02:14
105	El Cabrito - One Kid	Alicia Benassayag de Bendayam	03:00
106	Yo me levantara un lunes - I Arose on a Monday	Flora Benamol	02:55
107	Mose salio de Misrain - Moses Left Egypt	Alicia Benassayag de Bendayam	02:29
108	Una Hija tiene el rey - The King Has a Daughter	Alicia Benassayag de Bendayam	02:24
109	Nuestro Senor Elohenu	Alicia Benassayag de Bendayam	03:15
201	La Gallarda	Flora Benamol	03:50
202	Persona soy yo, el bien sidi - I Am a Human Being, Good Sir	Female singer	02:09
203	Brillana - Briana	Ester Kadosh Israel	04:11
204	Piyyut: City of Joy	Solomon Siboni	02:50
205	Piyyut: The Overseer	Solomon Siboni	02:31
206	Piyyut: God Is Alive	Solomon Siboni	02:33
207	Piyyut: From the Mouth of God	Solomon Siboni	01:31
208	Piyyut: My Wintry Days	Solomon Siboni	02:49
209	Piyyut: Your Love Is Sweet	Solomon Siboni	01:13