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 Ziara-Sephardic Women's Songs of The Balkans
CD $17.99 Cat#riencd52
Ruth Yaakov was born in Israel. She received a musical education in singing studies at the well known Rubin Academy of Musics in Tel Aviv. With a repertoire of genres as there are opera, song and Sephardic chambermusic she has already performed on many famous stages in Europe and all over the world. She studied classical singing in Israel, USA and Europe with teachers like Nathania Dovrat, Virginia Zeani, Kathleen Kaun and Roberta Knie.
During her studies she worked with original Sephardic singers, who teached her in style and repertoire of Sephardic traditional songs. At the international Styrian Autumn Festival she gave the first performance of Zbginiew Bargielski's "Niemandsland" and was part of TV and Radio productions in Europe and North America. In addition she leads workshops in Israelite and Jewish music and dancing.
MP3 Sound Sample: Ay Dicime Un Si(mp3)
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 Ala Una
CD $17.99 Cat#riencd52
Sarah Aroeste is best known for her funky fusion of Spanish, Mediterranean and American musical styles. Inspired by her family's cultural heritage--orginally from Spain and later settling in Salonika, Greece-- the Aroeste sound combines and updates aspects from her unique family background.
Most influenced by the music and language of her Spanish roots, Aroeste grounds her music in Ladino, or castillian Spanish, the language originated by Spanish Jews after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. This medieval form of Spanish was carried by Spanish Jews to the various points where they later settled, primarily along the Mediterranean coast and North Africa. In time, ladino came to absorb bits and pieces of languages all along the Mediterranean coast, including Greek, Turkish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Hebrew.
A la Una - In the Beginning
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 Romances Sephardies
CD $16.99 Cat#Ad20513-2
Francoise Atlan is one of Morocco's leading singers not only of
Sephardic but also Arabic song and enjoys huge popularity among
both Jewish and Muslim communities. Ms. Atlan is gifted with a most
outstanding voice, sweet but not overly so, at once firm and strong
and delicate, and endowed with a great spiritual quality. This lady
could sing gangsta rap and make it sound good!
Françoise Atlan is one in the most beautiful voices specialized
in the songs of the Mediterranean Sea. She sings in ladino the Sephardic
romances of the Jewish communities of North Africa or Andalusia,
in occitan the classical laments of the troubadours, in Arabic the
arabo-andalusian melodies. But, it is above all as a woman of the
Mediterranean, this sea of the sharing, that lives Françoise
Atlan.
MP3 Sound Sample:
A La Una Yo Naci(mp3)
Adio Querida(mp3)
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 Songs Of Carmen
CD $14.99 Cat#gpr101
Aviva is a young, rising mezzo-soprano, with a rich, sultry voice far beyond her
years. Casting old styles in a new light, Aviva fuses Flamenco, Classical,
Electronic and Arabic music, and sings in Ladino, a form of ancient Spanish
spoken by the Jewish people of Spain. Each piece is an exquisite tale of love,
sorrow, and yearning and reflects a time when the cultural and artistic alliances
of Jews and Muslims flourished throughout the Southern Spain. Aviva’s debut
album, Songs For Carmen, is inspired by the mythical Sephardic woman, made
famous by George Bizet’s internationally acclaimed opera, Carmen.
Produced in the world’s most culturally diverse city, Songs For Carmen features
some of the most renowned Mediterranean musicians in New York, including
Victor Prieto (Victor Prieto Trio) on accordion , Harel Shachal (Anistar, Cardamon
Quartet, The Seam Line) on sax, clarinet and ney, Dan Nadel (Sarah Aroeste,
Chico Freeman) on flamenco guitar, and Satoshi Takeishi (Eddie Gomez,
Nestor Torres) on drums and percussion.
Songs for Carmen will be the first release by the young opera singer, who has
performed at New York City Opera and was the winner of both the George
London Award and the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation award.
MP3 Sound Sample:
Adio Querida(mp3)
¿Ken Es Esto?(mp3)
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 Tresoro Sephardis
CD $14.99 Cat#jfr-9804
Judy Frankel criss-crosses the country performing her repertory of
treasured Sephardic songs, accompanying herself on guitar.
As vocal soloist for the San Francisco Consort, a chamber ensemble
dedicated to researching and performing Medieval and Renaissance music,
she travelled to Jerusalem in search of "old" Jewish music.
Frankel did extensive research on the repetoire of the Spanish Jews,
music
which has survived for 500 years. These songs, which evolved from 15th
century Spain, have been passed along in the oral tradition from
generation to generation throughout the Spanish-Jewish Diaspora.
Ms. Frankel studied at the Longy School of Music and Harvard University
in Cambridge, the Berklee School of Music and Boston University, and
with
Dorio Dwyer of the Boston Symphony. She has had master classes with
Music
For Awhile of N.Y., Andrea von Ram of Basil, and Emma Kirkby and the
Hilliard Ensemble of London.
She has concertized with the Handel and Haydn Choral Society of Boston,
UC
Berkeley Collegium Musicum and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Ms.
Frankel has sung with the Golden Goose Madrigal Quartet, and has been
the
vocal soloist for the St. Helena Ensemble and the San Francisco Consort.
She sings in 20 languages.
Judy Frankel specializes in solo performances and lecture-concerts of
music of the Jews in Hebrew, Yiddish and, chiefly, Judeo-Spanish.
Judy has made numerous radio and television appearances here and in
Europe, and is featured in several films, videos and DVDs highlighting
Sephardic culture.
Her recordings of songs in Judeo-Spanish are available as cassettes,
compact discs and in her songbook “Sephardic Songs in Judeo-Spanish”
with
accompanying CD.
RA Sound Samples:
La Vida Do Por El Raki (2:36)
UNA TARDE DE VERANO (4;25)
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 Novo Mundo
CD $15.99 Cat#jfr-9804
Brazilian singer and composer of Jewish extraction, Fortuna has a solid background in music, dance and theatrical arts. For several years she performed with different artists in Brazil and abroad, singing Brazilian popular music. A gifted composer, she created a whole repertoire of songs with poet Paulo Leminski.
It was during a tour in Israel in 1991 that she heard Sephardic music for the first time. This fortunate encounter would be a turning point in her life. "It a was a magic moment’", she says. "I felt all the beauty, sweetness and wisdom contained in these songs. It resulted in a complete turnaround in my career and also in a deeper contact with Jewish culture, religion and customs".
Since then Fortuna started to do intensive research, bringing back to life many of those almost-forgotten medieval songs. She has since presented them in many successful performances in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and the US, and has launched five cds - La Prima Vez, Cantigas, Mediterraneo, Mazal and in 2001, Caelestia. Together, they have sold more than 100,000 copies in Brazil, UK, Argentina, Spain, Israel, Taiwan and the USA. Her last cd Caelestia, presents Fortuna singing with a choir of Benedictine Monks, songs in Hebrew, Ladino and Latin from both the Jewish and Christian liturgy. This new project has met with great reception by press and public and has resulted in many packed shows around Brazil.
MP3 Sound Samples:
Leva Eu Saudade (MP3)
Simán (MP3)
Tango Idishe (MP3)
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 The Cantiga Project
CD $14.99 Cat#shcd1000
The Cantiga Project is the ancient choral music of singer Stephanie Heidemann, with spare instrumentation by guitarist Chris Rosser and percussionists River Guerguerian and Julian Douglas. Her self-titled, debut solo CD is a beautiful portrait of Spanish devotional music.
Heidemann's music is devotional in nature with haunting melodies drawing on influences from Indian Raga, Thirteenth Century Spanish music, and Eastern European folksong.
The Cantiga Project offers Heidemann's arrangements of King Alfonso X's 13th century Spanish "Cantigas de Santa Maria."
Heidemann has been performing Eastern European folksong, Indian Raga, American Gospel, Spanish Early Music and Chant since she was 20. She spent seven years touring with the world music vocal quartet VIDA before embarking on a solo career.
MP3 Sound Sample:
Poder a Santa Maria(mp3)
Gran Dereite de Seer(mp3)
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 Yerushalayim de oro
CD $15.99 Cat#bkcd1001
Betty Klein, international folksinger, pianist, guitarist, harpist and accordionist has performed in the U.S., Europe, and Israel. She appeared on the BBC, Belgian, Israeli, Spanish and Italian radio and television. She performs at the Disapora Museum and conducts Yiddish sing alongs through Israel.
American-born, Israeli singer, guitarist, pianist harpist, accordionist and music therapist. She studied with Martha Schlamme at Mannes College, graduated with a BS from Boston University, MS from Columbia University and continued studies at Hunter College and Montclair State College. She performed throughout the New York area until moving to Israel. She participated in the Akko Music Festival, Folk Festival at Horshat Tal and the Llangollen Eisteddfod, Wales in 1990 where she won 2nd prize in the solo folk singing competition. Ms. Klein has appeared on the BBC, Belgian TV and radio programs and on Israeli TV and radio. Her Ladino and Yiddish concerts have been broadcast as well as recorded in albums. She has performed extensively in Europe in both Jewish and general venues, including festivals, universities, and the Vatican. She is well known also for her Ladino, and also performs as an accompanist to Shuly Nathan and with the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra. In 2003 she received the prize for music composition with the FestiLadino (International Ladino Song Festival). Klein has several recordings released of Yiddish, Ladino and Hebrew music.
MP3 Sound Sample: Kuando el rey Nimrod(mp3)
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 Arvoliko
CD $14.99 Cat#3710113211
The title of my fourth CD is Arvoliko, (4) the little tree that stood as a silent witness to the horrible end of the Altaras Clan, my Bosnian family, and still today is the only marker of the mass grave where 42 Altaras members were thrown after being massacred during World War II. This cruel scene constantly haunts my soul, and the new songs that I wrote for this CD were etched with pain and melancholy.
I have tried to contrast the songs of sad memories with the happier sounds of the talented musicians and singers who have been studying with me. They, along with my family, have joined in my quest to keep the rich and colorful musical traditions of the Sephardim alive and vibrant.
I arrived in America as a war bride in 1946 with a suitcase full of memories .... good memories as well as some very ugly ones. So many of us who survived the Holocaust had one thing in common ... our silence. However, as we grew older, we began to feel the need to share our pain and also our many happy memories with the world. I poured my memories into songs. At 81 years old I am making Arvoliko, my final recording, completing a series of the four musical stages in my life.
MP3 Sound Sample: Arvoliko (mp3)
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 Smadar
CD $14.99 Cat#scd-1000
Smadar grew up in Sderot, Israel, and performed music throughout her High School years. After two years of army service, and a year of traveling in Europe as an assist to an opera singer, Smadar moved to New York and began taking acting classes at Musical Theater Works School in Manhattan. Smadar acted in various theater and film productions in both Los Angeles and New York. In 2000, Smadar decided to shift her focus from acting to music. It was then that she met Mr. Rashid Halial, a violinist and a singer from Morocco; together they formed a Moroccan trio and performed around the New York area. At one of the trios concerts, Smadar met music producer ZEB from "Organic Groove," who hired her to sing on various tracks for the record "The Spy from Cairo."
MP3 Sound Sample: ghali 5:32 - mp3
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 La Juderia
CD $17.99 Cat#riencd52
Born in Jerusalem 27 years ago, Yasmin Levy was introduced to Ladino singing and culture from a very young age. Her father was the leading figure in the world of research into and preservation of the Judeo-Spanish culture, dating back to the 15th century in Spain. Today, it remains one of the most moving and romantic musical traditions of all times.
In her deep, spiritual and moving style of singing, Yasmin preserves and revives the most beautiful and romantic songs from the Ladino/ Judeo-Spanish heritage, mixing it with Andalusian Flamenco.
Her new album “La Juderia” (Ladino meets Flamenco – in Spanish) was released in April 2005.
MP3 Sound Sample: Me voy(mp3)
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CD $17.99 Cat#riencd52
Consuelo Luz Dezeo
CD $14.99 Cat#cldcd-100
Consuelo
Luz has been called "a shining star in the firmament of Sephardic
music". Her voice has been described as "…amber
voiced……smoky, sultry closer to Sade, Anita Baker or
her fellow Cuban, Celia Cruz…" Songs from her critically
acclaimed Judeo/Spanish World Beat album "Dezeo" have
gone all around the world on prestigious compilations like Buddha
Bar 2, Putumayo's "Jewish Odyssey", Chill Out in Paris
and Tulku. She has perfomed internationally and sings regularly
at Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she lives.
Real Audio Sound Sample:
Ki Mitsion/Que
De Tsion (From Out Of Zion) 
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 Tree Of Life
CD $15.99 Cat#yrm113
Tree of Life is an exciting new CD by the world renowned Yuval Ron Ensemble featuring the Arabic female vocalist Najwa Gibran and produced by Israeli born world music scholar-composer-performer Yuval Ron. In its second album to date, the ensemble weaves together the sacred and folkloric music of Andalusia (Southern Spain), the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia into a rich tapestry of musical and cultural amalgamation. Formed in 1999, The Yuval Ron Ensemble includes Arabic, Israeli and Jewish musicians as well as Christian Armenian artists who are actively involved in creating musical bridges between people of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths, and are dedicated to fostering an understanding of Middle Eastern cultures and religions through music.
MP3 Sound Sample: Bekhaterkoun (Farewell)(mp3)
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 Estos Y Munchos
CD $19.99 Cat#ad20510
Suzy
lives in Israel. She was born and raised in Turkey. Suzy is Jewish,
a member of the Sephardim. Her husband is an Ashkenazi and when Suzy
sings he doesn't understand her anymore, for she sings in Ladino. Ladino,
or Judeo-Spanish, is a very old language still spoken today by Turkish,
Greek and Bulgarian Jews. The characteristic intonation of Ladino betrays
its Iberian origins, where the Inquisition, coupled with a policy of
savage anti-semitic persecution, induced a mass exodus of the Sephardi
Jews to the eastern Mediterranean in the 15th century
RA Sound Sample: Para Ke
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 Ladino Alive
CD $15.99 Cat#ntl82
An enchanting singer, songwriter, guitarist and percussionist, Stefani Valadez’ repertoire of Sephardic songs is enriching, romantic and uplifting. LADINO ALIVE expresses the time Stefani lived in Spain performing, writing and collecting songs from the Spanish and North African Sephardic traditions. She brings ancient love songs and liturgical prayers into a haunting and soulful rhythmic present. Appreciate the beauty and meaning of these selections by following the translations and transliterations available. Let these ten harmonious and spiritual melodies touch your heart and move your soul.
RA Sound Sample: Hine Ma Tov
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 Spring In Salonika
CD $29.99 Cat#ml4765
A leading interpreter of baroque, renaissance and early musics, Savina Yannatou is one of the most respected singers in Greek music. She is known not only of her mastery of older, formal repertoire but also for her experience in avant-garde jazz. Since 1983, she has been a member of the Early Music Workshop of Athens, performing at festivals across Greece as well as further afield.
Her dedication to exploring and expanding her voice as an instrument and as a means of communication has led her to record a collection of Sephardic folk songs of the Balkans, heard on her album 'Primavera in Salonica' (1994). These are songs from the Jewish Diaspora, once the strongest community in the cosmopolitan port of Thessaloniki. This Jewish music of the Balkans has been renewed and modified through Savina's vocal experiments and the subtle treatment of her handpicked band of virtuoso instrumentalists, Primavera en Salonico. Their album's release couldn't have been timelier, for it emphasised the connections between all people of the Balkans at a time when others took up arms to stress their separation.
RA Sound Sample: Coming Soon
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