Spain was a home for Jewish communities since the first century. Throughout the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, Jewish culture developed in its Spanish setting. Its most flourishing golden age of art and thought was under the Caliphs of Muslim Spain, and this learning was, to some extent, maintained under some of the Spanish kings in the Catholic north. Spanish language, poetry and music travelled to new countries in the Sephardic diaspora beginning in the late 14th century, and ending in 1492. The word "Sephardic" refers to the Biblical place-name for Spain, "Sepharad", in the Book of Obadiah. Through centuries, poetry has been, and still is, sung in Judeo-Spanish, in Sephardic communities in North Africa, Turkey, the Balkans, Amsterdam, Israel, Greece, the New World, and elsewhere. The original music for these songs gradually absorbed local modes and rhythms. Since the beginning of last century, there has been great interest in collecting this music, a largely oral repertoire sung mostly by women in the communities. The songs include popular romance (old Spanish and European stories), songs of family and religious life, and love-songs. During our preparation for this programme, it was a joy to listen to old field-recordings, the voices of grandmothers, laughing with the Sephardic songs of their youth. These songs were usually sung unaccompanied or with a small drum. We hope that our own instrumental arrangements of their songs also afford pleasure.
©2002 Pat Unruh
It has been a pleasure for ANIMA to work with Peter Maund and Douglas Hensley, two distinguished musicians and good friends, in recording La Rosa Enflorece:
Douglas Hensley, oud and setar, is a musical time-traveller with a repertoire ranging from the medieval troubadours and trouvères (oud, vihuela de pendola), through the Renaissance and Baroque (various lutes), into the worlds of the small 19th, and large classical and electric 20th century guitars. He has appeared with numerous early music ensembles, such as Victoria Symphony's Festival Baroque Ensemble, Les Violes de St. Colombe, Ensemble Tonus Peregrinus and Ensemble Laude (with whom he recorded the CD Pleasure, Pomp and Power), and co-founded the Continuum Consort with soprano Elizabeth MacIsaac. At the Victoria Conservatory of Music he is Coordinator of the Early Music Department, and teaches guitar, lute, and early music performance. Douglas also teaches and performs classical Persian music.
Peter Maund, tar, doumbek, tambourine, jingles, studied percussion at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and music, folklore, and ethnomusicology at the University of California, Berkeley. Over the last 20 years he has specialized in hand percussion and has performed throughout the USA, UK, Canada, Europe, and Israel. In addition to his concert work he has played on several film and television soundtracks and dozens of recordings. He has presented lectures, workshops, and classes in the United States, Canada, and Scotland, and has served on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, the Amherst Early Music Institute, and the San Francisco Early Music Society.
Audiences have been enthusiastic:
- a magical sound world in which the Sephardic stories seemed both strange and remembered
- Hill's expressive singing was beautifully suited to the repertoire, and Unruh's and Hensley's instrumental accompaniment created a movingly evocative backdrop
- Maund played percussion with astonishing subtlety and variety
- a rare treat
- outstanding performance
- simply mesmerizing
- what you and your colleagues do is very important work
- transported the audience
- your commitment to authenticity did not go unnoticed by anyone there
Photography by Michael Dunn
Graphics by Paul Nash Design