One of the best known Sephardic songs, it would be remiss not to include it here. A Ladino romance, it has been recorded by countless artists, ranging in style from traditional singers to jazz singers to historically informed performance practice music ensembles. The text is in Ladino or Judeo-Spanish, while the melody is in miqam hijaz. Some sources trace this song to the 15th century. This UNESCO field recording from 1948 is one example of a traditional singing style, while another version from the 1960s American folk revival represents how widely this song has been disseminated. A third version illustrates how early music ensembles have taken up this romance in a process ethnomusicologist Judith Cohen describes: “early music groups who try to re-create a medieval Iberian atmosphere using a combination of Western vocal technique, reconstructions of early instruments — and a vaguely Middle Eastern “ atmosphere.” (Cohen 1982, 44) The third version is by a Belgian early music ensemble who uses one of the titles of this Romance as their ensemble name. This recording employ a mix of early instruments and traditional instruments and musical elements (ornamentation, instrumentation, drones).
Field recording (1948):
Carolyn Hester, American folk revival (1962):
Ensemble La Roza Enflorese (2001):