1. Music of the
Sephardic Jews
By Elise Armstrong and Amy Huie

2. Victoria Benozilio
• Born in Athens in 1942
• Sings in a Jewish chorus
• Was the director at an elder’s home

3. Sephardi: a Jew of Spanish or Portuguese
descent. They retain their own distinctive customs
and rituals, preserving Babylonian Jewish
traditions rather than the Palestinian ones of the
Ashkenazim.

4. The Diaspora
• 1492: Edict declaring all Jews must convert
to Christianity
• 250,000+ Jews abandoned Spain and
Portugal
• Sultan Bayazid allowed all Jews to enter
into the Ottoman Empire safely

5. Result of the Diaspora
“All the armies of the Lord left, the refugees of Jerusalem
that lived in Spain, this cursed land, in the fifth month of
the year 5252, that is 1492. From there they dispersed to
the Four Corners of the earth… They went where the winds
guided them: to the lands of Africa, Asia, Greece and
Turkey. And they live there until today.”
~Yosepf ha Kohen, Italian Jewish writer

6. Jews in Thessaloniki
“Thessaloniki you are the city and mother of
Israel…mother of the people of Israel, like the
people of Jerusalem in the days of her glory.”
~Samuel Usque, Jewish poet
• Thessaloniki very accepting to Jews and
marranos
• Grew in popularity by mid 16th century
• Marranos considered inferior
• Thessaloniki was a “singing city”

7. Ladino
• Predominantly Spanish with foreign influences
• In Thessaloniki the lower class’ Ladino was wellpreserved whereas upper class’ Ladino was diluted
• Was not spoken in the synagogue
• Dying language but there are still people who
communicate with it
• Victoria’s mother in-law only spoke Ladino,
necessary for her to learn

8. Music
“A mosaic of sacred and profane, Jewish and nonJewish, old and new.”
~Amnon Shiloah, Jewish Musical Traditions
• Both secular and religious
• About 200 songs preserved from 15th century

9. Characteristics of Sephardic Music
• Religious music was performed a capella
• Secular music included instruments:
• Instruments:
• Oud
• Darbuka
• Mandolin
• Violin
• Lute
• Verdi’s Adio Querida
• Themes of romance, everyday life

11. Adio Querida

12. When the Music Stopped
German Occupation
April 9, 1941 – German occupation began
Summer of 1942 – 6000-7000 Jewish men between ages of 18 and 45
collected from their homes
February 6, 1943 – Yellow Magen David stars were issued
March-August 1943 – 95% of Jewish population exterminated in
Auschwitz and Birkenau
Victoria was born during the German Occupation

13. Aftermath
• Jewish Population today is about 1200
• After WWII the survivors were afraid to speak
Ladino and sing their songs
• Jewish singer in elder’s home sang to Victoria
authentic Sephardic songs

14. Jewish Community Today
• Jewish Community Center in Thessaloniki
• Strives to preserve the Ladino language and Sephardic
culture
• Provides classes on Ladino
• There is an elementary school for Jewish kids
• Only taught Hebrew, Spanish and French
• Ladino is not part of their curriculum
• Victoria helped organize a Sephardic music festival
• Bands from all over the world participated

15. Ocho Kandelikas

16. Music Today
• Large Sephardic music revival today
• Pasharos Sepharadi
• The commercialization and experimentation of Sephardic
music has allowed this this tradition to continue
• Modern influences – electric guitar, CDs, etc.
• Music has become more universal because many people
are able to recognize their own language in the songs

17. Savina Yannatou
• Victoria said Savina is considered an “artistic”
performer of Sephardic music
• Born in Athens in 1959
• Classically trained
• Combines her classically trained background with
traditional music and improvised music

18. Savina Yannatou

19. Works Cited
• New Oxford American Dictionary 3rd edition © 2010, 2012 by
Oxford University Press
• Primavera en Salonico