or the first time in Ottawa, indeed in Canada, there will be a performance of a particular style of music kept alive by the internationally acclaimed folk singing quartet, Flory Jagoda and Family.
Called 'The American Queen of Ladino Love Songs', Flory Jagoda maintains one of Judaism's rarest and richest cultural traditions through her performance of authentic as well as original compositions of Sephardic songs. These songs create a lyrical history of the Sephardim, Spanish Jews who fled Spain's 15th century Inquisition and settled throughout the Mediterranean.
In their centuries of exile, the Sephardim maintained their unique culture with astonishing faithfulness. The songs, preserved largely by the women, paint a detailed picture of their daily lives, religious observances, memories, and longing - often expressed in love songs. The music spans a broad range of styles and moods and blends the themes and sounds of their adopted countries.
Flory Jagoda grew up in this Sephardic tradition in Sarajevo, Bosnia in a musical family whose ancestors were one of 35 Jewish families who left Spain to settle in Sarajevo in 1535. Of her entire family, now only she survives and with her own children is intent on preserving and passing on the traditions of her heritage so that they may not be lost and tragically forgotten.
Flory and her adult children have created a repertoire of performances including songs in Ladino accompanied by guitar, tambourineand castanets, depicting the daily lives of the Jews of Sarajevo - their prayers, holidays, and family life.
In 1492, all the Jews of Spain (Sephardim from the Hebrew word for Spain, Sefarad) who refused to renounce their faith as required by the Inquisition, were expelled from their homeland of 1,500 years.
The Sephardic community of Spain was one of the greatest communities in Jewish history and the period in which they lived is known as the Golden Age of Jewish thought. Although the exiles found new homes in Portugal (until 1497), the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Europe, they continued for 5 centuries to identify themselves as Spanish Jews preserving much of their Iberian experience and the Castilian Spanish language spoken at the time of their expulsion.
This language is called Judeo-Spanish or Ladino coined from ladimar, meaning to translate the Torah from Hebrew into Spanish. Because music was so central to their daily lives, particularly as a domain of women, they were able to preserve this astonishing musical heritage for five centuries by oral tradition.
The Flory Jagoda Concert, Memories of Sarajevo will take place Saturday, October 28, 8 pm at Agudath Israel Synagogue, 1400 Coldrey Avenue near Kirkwood. Sephardic pastries will be served after the concert. Ticket prices are $18, $15 seniors/students in advance or $20, $18 seniors/students at the door. Tickets can be purchased at Agudath Israel, 728-3501.