Yiddish and Ladino Folksongs: Are they Jewish?
Are folksongs in Yiddish and Ladino necessarily "Jewish"? It's true that Yiddish and Ladino are Jewish languages, but what about the songs that speakers of these languages sing? This is quite a loaded question, which is based upon answers to two other questions: (1) What is Jewish music? and (2) What do we mean by folksongs?
In this introductory lecture, I take a few representative songs and, together with the audience, develop criteria to define the characteristics of Jewish folksongs. The criteria cover the broad areas of "content", "language", "music" and "people". A framework is set up which is used in the rest of the lecture-recitals to enable us to appreciate folksongs as a critical components of Jewish heritage.
Una pastora yo ami Tum balalayke Morenica Unter dem kinds vigele Oyfn pripetshik La rosa enflorese La cantiga del fuego Adio querida
UNA PASTORA YO AMI
("I loved a shepherdess")
[text with English translation]
[text with Hebrew version]
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Pastoral Love
Una pastora yo ami comes from a nineteenth century musical which was written in Greek and translated into Judezmo or Ladino, the language spoken by the Jewish community of the Balkan countries. The original play was written in 1891 by the Greek playwright Koromilas; it was based upon a poem by Georgios Zalokostas. The Judezmo version of the musical was presented in Izmir in 1903, 1905 and 1914.
Nar, Albertos. (1997). "'Una pastora yo ami': An oriental folksong and its origins". In The Jewish Communities of Southeastern Europe from the Fifteenth Century to the end of World War II. Ed. I.K. Hassiotis. Thessaloniki: Institute for Balkan Studies. (Cited in Weich-Shahak, S. [2006] En Buen Siman, Jerusalem: Pardes).
TUM BALALAYKA
("Play balalayka")
[text with English translation]
[text with Hebrew translation]
Jewish Riddle Songs
Riddles are traditionally associated with love and courtship. There are two types of Jewish folksongs based on riddles: a series of impossible tasks which the lovers set each other (e.g., the children's song Du meydele di fayns) and an exchange of riddles (e.g., A khosn hot gevolt zayn kale oysklern or Nem mir aroys a ber fun vald, collected by the Russian musicologist Moisey Beregovsky). These are respectively related to the English and Scottish Child Ballads #2 and #1.
Here are two typically Jewish riddles from the song Du meydele du fayns: (1) Vu iz do vaser on a fish? - In mikve iz do vaser on a fish. [Where is there water without any fish? - In the mikveh there is water without fish]. (2) Vos iz tifer fun a kval? - Di toyre iz tifer fun a kval. [What is deeper than a well? - The Torah is deeper than a well].
Riddles were associated with the courtship and wedding rituals of various Jewish ethnic groups. Here is a wonderful exhibition of illustrated riddle songs sung at Jewish weddings in Italy of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: Sonnets of Celebration - Hebrew Wedding Poems and Riddles in Honor of the Bride and Groom.
References:
Rubin, R. (1956). Yiddish riddles and problems. New York folklore Quarterly / Voices / The Journal of New York Folklore, 12, 4.
"Mondegreens" (Misheard Lyrics)
There is a question and answer sequence in Tum balalayke which doesn't make sense: Vos ken vaksn on regn? - A shteyn ken vaksn on regn. [What can grown without rain? - A stone can grow without rain]. Could this be a "mondegreen"?
"Mondegreens" are misheard lyrics. "The term "mondegreen" was coined by Sylvia Wright in a 1954 Atlantic article. As a child, young Sylvia had listened to a folk song that included the lines "They had slain the Earl of Moray/And Lady Mondegreen." As is customary with misheard lyrics, she didn't realize her mistake for years. The song was not about the tragic fate of Lady Mondegreen, but rather, the continuing plight of the good earl: "They had slain the Earl of Moray/And laid him on the green." [Mondegreen Central.
Here is an attempt to provide a logical answer to the "mondegreen" in Tum Balayke: "We used to sing 'A shtayn......' until it was pointed out that the phrase was properly 'farshtayn ken vaksn on regn' (understanding can grow without rain). It's a very appealing explanation. Has anyone else heard this version?" (David Krycer, Mendele Discussion List, Thu, 23 Oct, 1997)
Bessarabian folksinger Arkady Gendler) sings a different version: Vos ken vaksn on regn? - Hor ken vaksn on regn. [What can grow without rain? - Hair can grown without rain].
Which version makes most sense to you? Take your pick!
Where do folksongs come from?
"A couple of years ago I sang "Tum balalayke" for my Jewish Literature class. My Jewish students, having all been brought up on English, French and Hebrew, had never heard of it. My Vietnamese students … recognized it instantly and were surprised and delighted that I knew a Vietnamese song, even if the words were strange – stranger even than English. One of them came up to me after the class to tell me that while he liked my singing and guitar … very much, he felt I had got the spirit of the song all wrong. 'You must sing it much slower,' he said. 'Vietnamese songs very sad. Very sad, Vietnamese people.'"
Melekh Godfrey, Mendele Discussion List, Mon, 20 Oct 1997
"The following, perhaps related story, was told to me 40 years ago by a famous musicologist whose son was a musico-ethnologist. The son attended a conference where one of the more exciting papers was given by a man who had succeeded in reaching an isolated South American Indian tribe, never before visited by white men with a battery operated tape recorder and recorded their music. When he played the tape, one of the audience caused a disturbance by jumping up and shouting, 'Those are Polish Jewish Hassidic melodies.'
The story becomes more interesting when the researcher presented a paper a few years later in apology. The new story, prompted by the reference to Hassidic melodies, was as follows. One of the older Indians remembered that some 60 years earlier a peddler had come to the village and was trapped there for a long time, more than a month, perhaps even as long as two. At that time, as they warmed themselves, taking shelter from the rain, he would sing to them and teach them his songs."
Robert Werman, Mendele Discussion List, Tue, 21 Oct 1997
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MORENICA
("Little dark girl")
[text with English translation]
[text with Hebrew version]
Morenica is one of the most popular Sephardic wedding songs. In this lecture, we will concentrate on its origins and the values it relates; the wedding aspect will be related to in the lecture on the Jewish life cycle.
Is Black Beautiful?
The phrase "black is beautiful" sounds quite modern. However, this is actually an age-old issue which has been discussed by Biblical commentators, notably Rashi. In his commentary about the heroine of the Shir Hashirim [Song of Songs], Rashi appears to assume that "black" has negative connotations, but in Bamidbar [Numbers], he argues that "Cushite" [Ethiopian / black woman] is equated with beauty:
"Song of Songs" - Chapter 1
5. I am black but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem! Like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.I am black but comely, etc. You, my friends, let me not be light in your eyes even if my husband has left me because of my blackness, for I am black because of the sun’s gaze, but I am comely with the shape of beautiful limbs, and if I am black as the tents of Kedar, which are blackened by the rain, for they are constantly spread out in the deserts, I am easily cleansed to be like the curtains of Solomon.
6. Do not look upon me [disdainfully] because I am swarthy, for the sun has gazed upon me; … …
Do not look upon me: Do not look upon me disdainfully [like (I Sam. 6:19) “for they had gazed upon the Ark of the Lord”].Because I am swarthy: For my blackness and my ugliness are not from my mother’s womb, but from tanning from the sun, for that blackness can easily be whitened by staying in the shade.
1. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses regarding the Cushite woman he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.
The Cushite woman: [Moses’ wife was a Midianite, not a Cushite, but] Scripture teaches that everyone acknowledged her beauty just as everyone acknowledges a Cushite’s blackness. — [Tanchuma Tzav 13]
Cushite כֻּשִׁית. Its numerical value is equal to יְפַת מַרְאֶה, beautiful in appearance. — [Tanchuma Tzav 13] כ = 20 י = 10 ו = 6 פ = 80 ש = =300 ת =400 י = 10 מ =200 736 א = 1 ה = 5 - =736for he had married a Cushite woman: What does this [apparently superfluous clause] mean to say? You find a woman who is beautiful in appearance, but unpleasant in deed; [or a woman who is pleasant] in deed, but not of beautiful appearance. This one, however, was pleasant in every respect. [Therefore, she was called Cushite, as above.] – [Tanchuma Tzav 13]
Cushite woman: She was called “the Cushite” [the Ethiopian] on account of her beauty, as a man would call his handsome son “Cushite” to negate the power of the evil eye. — [Tanchuma Tzav 13]
Yo me soy la morenica, Yo me soy la morena. Lo moreno bien mirado Fue la culpa del pecado, Que en mi nunca fue hallado, Ni jamas se hallara. Soy la sin espina rosa, Que Salomon canta y glosa, Nigra sum sed formosa, Y por mi se cantara. Yo soy la mata inflamada Ardiendo sin ser quemada, Ni de aquel fuego tocada Que a los otros tocara. | I am the little dark girl, I'm the dark girl. It is said that darkness is caused by sin, but sin was never found in me nor will it ever be I am the thornless rose about whom Solomon rhapsodized: I am black, yet beautiful and for me they will sing. I am the flaming bush that burns but is not consumed, Nor am I touched by that fire that will touch the others. |
(a) Morenica sos, como la pimienta Tu sangre es dulse en mi alma entra. De ves qua te veyo de quara en el espejo me s'arranqua l'alma por darte un bezo Morenica sos, como la pimienta | You are brown, like pepper, Your blood is sweet it enters my soul Whenever I see you looking in your mirror, my soul has an impulse to give you a kiss. You are brown, like pepper. |
Blanca sos, blanca vistes, | White you are, white you wear, White your shape, White flowers fall from you From your beauty … In front of me there is an angel. With your eyes he watches me. I want to cry, but I can't. My heart sighs. |
Reference:
Wardropper, B. (1960). The color problem in Spanish traditional poetry. Modern Language Notes, 75, 5, pp. 415-421
Who was "Morenica"?
The Ladino songs Morenica or La morena derive from a Spanish medieval folksong about a Moorish girl [dark maiden] which was recorded in the seventeenth century collection Arte de la lengua castellana española by Gonzolo Correas (1625) and incorporated into a Spanish comedy by Lope de Vega: Servir a Señor Discreto. Both end with the lines, Morena a mi me llaman los marineros; Si otra vez me llaman, me voy yo con ellos.
UNTER DEM KINDS VIGELE
("Beneath the child's cradle")
[text with English translation]
[text with Hebrew translation]
Toyre vet er lernen
This folk lullaby is an explicit expression of primary Jewish values: learning, piety and making a living! It is the archetypical expression of values which many composed lullabies refer to, such as Rozhinkes mit mandlen (Goldfaden) and Yankele (Gebirtig). Here is a brief summary of Jewish values and a more extensive discussion of the subject. This section of the lecture is dedicated to the memory of Gavriel Hoter, z"l, whose short life exemplified devotion to "midot" - Jewish values. Midreshet Gavriel was established in order to encourage young people to follow in Gavriel's footstep.
Raisins and Almonds in the Bible
"Raisins and almonds" are not referred to as a unit in the Bible, but there are many references to the fruit in different contexts. "Raisins" are mentioned with respect to nourishment: Chronicles I: 12,40; Samuel II: 16,1; Samuel I: 30,12. "Almonds" are connected with Divine intervention in Parashat Korach (Numbers 17,23). The "vine" conjures up the idyllic Biblical picture of peace, whereby each person sits under and enjoys the fruit of one's "vine and fig tree" (Kings II, 18:31; Micha, 4:4).
Go on a (virtual or real) trip to Neot Kedumim (the Biblical Landscape Reserve) and see why "the choice produce of the land" is something to sing about.
OYFN PRIPETSHIK / DER ALEF BEYS
("In the hearth" / "The alphabet")
[text with English translation]
[text with Hebrew translation]
Mark Warshavsky [1848 – 1907]
* Urke Nachalnik
* G.W.
* Dokshitz: Its Jews, Traditions, Holidays – Scroll down to "Teachers and Kheyders"
* Allan Nadler – Forward review of Michael Wex's book Born to Kvetch (Scroll down to: "Born to Kvetch begins with a chapter …").
A song which presents a different view from that of Oyfn Pripetshik is Ikh vil nit geyn in kheyder, written by Warshavsky's friend and mentor, Sholem Aleichem.
Kheyder and rebe are the Yiddish terms in the widespread Jewish practice of teaching the Torah to young boys. The song Hamori [The Teacher], by Shlomo Mahdon, describes the Yemenite equivalent of the rebe, while Etslenu bakfar Tudres [In our village Tudres], by Yehoshua Sobol and Shlomo Bar, paints a picture of little boys learning Torah in the Atlas Mountains.
"Why should the Devil have all the good music?"
This practice has also been characteristic of Jewish music, from the Middle Ages to this very day. The borrowing of Sephardic music – romansas [ballads] and cantigas [lyrical songs] – for recital of piyyutim [liturgical poetry] was especially popular. There are actually two processes: contrafactum [singular] refers to a new text written for the melody of a (well-known) song; while hat'ama [adaptation] refers to the singing of an existing text to the tune of another song. The piyyut Tsur mishelo akhalnu [The Rock from Whose we have eaten], an anonymous text enhancing Birkat Hamazon [Grace after Meals], belongs to the second category: it is popularly sung around the table to the melody of the cantiga, La rosa enflorese [The rose is blooming] (alternatively named Los bilbilikos [The nightingales]) on Shabbat and festivals. (Listen to this and the many other melodies sung by different communities of Jews around the world at An Invitation to Piyut).
Here are some modern versions of "fusion" between the religious piyyut Tsur mishelo achalnu and the secular love-song La rosa enflorese/Los bilbilikos, as presented on YouTube:
1) La rosa enflorese is sung here to the accompaniment of a Celtic harp!!
2) Yastayim is the Turkish word for "mourning". Here is a rendition by Ferhat Göçer of the Turkish song Yastayim which is based on the same melody as Bilbilikos, but with different lyrics.
3) Greek singer and guitarist George Dalaras sings the text of Tsur mishelo achalnu in Hebrew and Greek translation, to the accompaniment of the Israeli Philharmonic orchestra.
LA CANTIGA DEL FUEGO
("The song of the fire")
[text with English translation]
[text with Hebrew translation]
Salonika: From Brilliance to Devastation
Many of the folksongs we sing are actually portrayals of historical events. An example is the great fire of Saloniki:
"Of the brilliance and grandeur of this famous Jewish community, nothing remained but mountains of ashes. Everything was lost, everything disappeared."* There had been quite a few extremely destructive fires in the late nineteenth century. However, "it was the Great Fire of 1917 which dealt the Hebrew community a blow from which it never recovered, for it left 53,737 Jews homeless and destroyed the administrative offices of the community and of the Chief Rabbinate, thirty synagogues, the installations of the philanthropic institutions, the buildings of the Alliance School and another ten schools." (See the web-pages describing the fate of the Jewish community in Salonika).
Songs belonging to the genre of coplas were also written about previous disastrous fires wreaking damage to Salonika at the end of the nineteenth century. Read the copla written by A. J. Yonah describing the 1891 fire, translated into Hebrew by Shmuel Refael in his book: I Will Tell a Poem: A Study of the Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) Coplas, Carmel Publishers, Jerusalem, 2004 [in Hebrew].
* Ben-Yakov and Aron Baruh, Moral i Edukasyon Djudia (Salonika, ca. 1925), 93-94 [ Judeo-Spanish]; quoted in David M. Bunis, Ke Xaber? A Newsletter from Adelantre 5-6 (Spring/Summer 1977), 4.
ADIO QUERIDA
("Goodbye, loved one")
[text with English translation]
[text with Hebrew version]
How reliable is the Internet as a source of information?
Here are two different accounts of the origin of the song Adio. Which one do you think is correct?
1. " Those of you who are lovers of the opera, and familiar with "LA TRAVIATA," written by Verdi, may have heard the melody of this song without realizing where it came from. It seems that Verdi had friends of Sephardic origin, and heard the song 'Adio' sang in their house on several occasions. He loved the melody and decided to include it as an ARIA in the opera LA TRAVIATA." [Kol Sephardic Choir]
ANSWER
Lots of people think that Verdi learnt from the Jews, but the opposite is the case! In the meantime, Adio has been thoroughly "converted", and is now one of the most popular songs in the Ladino "cannon".
References:
Cohen Serrano, M. (1994). "'Adio Kerida' Julie", Aki Yerusahalyim 50: 48-49
סרוסי, א. (תשנ"ט). המוסיקה של השיר העממי בלדינו. פעמים 77: 5-19
So long, adio, and hoping to see you in future lecture-recitals!
WEB ARTICLES ON JEWISH FOLK MUSIC
Mlotek, Chana E. (2005). [Yiddish] Folk Songs. The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, Yale University Press.
Seroussi, E. (1998). De-gendering Jewish music: The survival of the Judeo-Spanish folk song revisited