Canciones de Sefarad - Sephardic Early Music Sextet

Описание: On 10 December 2025, at Royal Library of Belgium, the Sephardic Early Music Sextet came together for a special concert titled Canciones de Sefarad, a journey through Sephardic songs and melodies from the Hispanic diaspora. The performance brought to life traditional, festive, and religious Judeo-Spanish music, celebrating a rich cultural heritage shaped by centuries of migration and exchange.

Organised by the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation (IYMF) in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy in Belgium, the concert was held within the framework of Europalia Spain. The evening highlighted Spain’s unique musical legacy and its enduring influence across the Mediterranean world and beyond.

Through five musical suites, the Sephardic Early Music Sextet paid tribute to the preservation of Sephardic musical traditions. Their repertoire included love songs, festive and liturgical melodies, and popular compositions from regions where Sephardic communities settled after the diaspora, notably the Maghreb, the Middle East, and the Balkans.

CONCERT PROGRAMME
SUITE 1
Morena me llaman yo blanca nací – Eastern Sephardic song
Vayse meu coraçon de mib – Jarcha of moaxaja. Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089–1167)
Proclamará la libertad, “Dror Yikrá” – Liturgical Shabbat poem. Dunash Ben Labrat, 11th century

SUITE 2
El rey que muncho madruga
Yo m´enamori d´un aire
La comida la mañana / Las esuegras de agora

SUITE 3
La rosa enflorece
Como la rosa en la huerta
Nani, nani
El encalador

SUITE 4
Ya viene el cativo – Anonymous Eastern Sephardic song
La serena, “Si la mar era de leche”
Hija mia muy querida / Istemen babaje, No quero madre

SUITE 5
Adio kerida – Love song of Italian Jews from the early 20th century
Si observo el sábado, “Ki eshmerá shabat” – Sabbath poem. Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089–1167)

MUSICIANS
Eduardo Paniagua - Qanun (plucked psaltery) and flutes
Ángeles Núñez - Sephardic singing
Cesar Carazo - Sephardic and Hebrew singing
Jaime Muñoz - Kaval, chalumeau, cornamusa, and gaita (bagpipes)
El Wafir Shaikheldin - Arabian lute and percussion
Aníbal Soriano - Lute, vihuela, Baroque guitar

This special event was supported by:
The Spanish Embassy in Beligum
La Région de Bruxelles-Capitale
La Ville de Bruxelles
TREETOP
Naturgy
Amazon
Rothschild & Co
Warwick Hotels and Resorts
Cámara Oficial de Comercio de España en Bélgica y Luxemburgo
Finnova
Vinopres

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.