The Judeo-Spanish song tradition has experienced many changes in recent years as it enters the 'world music' scene. Change, however, can be seen as a constant feature of the many aspects of Judeo-Spanish song and performance practice. Here, various genres are examined, together with some of the changes they have undergone in repertoire, style and context, and a selection of reactions to changes on the part of Sephardi Jews interviewed over several years. To a large extent, the repertoire has moved from the home to public representation, and is performed more by professional artists with no Sephardi background than by people from Sephardi communities, raising questions of appropriation and representation.
The Iberian double-skinned square frame drum, known as adufe, or pandeiro quadrado (Portuguese) or pandero cuadrado (Spanish), is played almost exclusively by women, and is a legacy from the medieval period. While Spanish and Portuguese women play various round frame drums (as elsewhere in the Mediterranean), the focus of this article is on the square drum and its role in several aspects of secular, religious, and ritual life. The essay also explores the ways in which the songs women sing while playing the drum reflect their thoughts, concerns, and circumstances. Discussion also covers recent innovations, especially those involving men taking up the drum in performance contexts, and women's reactions to this.
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