Halilem

In February 2023 I was invited to carry out a month long residency at "Can Serrat" in Spain to research and develop a collection of compositions based around traditional Sephardi Jewish songs in Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language. This project is a highly personal one, as my interest in the Sephardi canon reflects my desire as a Jewish musician to deepen my relationship to the music of the diaspora. Developing these pieces in the rural Catalan landscape (captured by me in the photo), the former home of Sephardi jews before the 14th and 15th century expulsions, felt important in my process of connecting with the traditional Ladino songs.

Halilem is a Sephardi wedding song found in communities of Ladino speaking Jews in Turkey and Bulgaria. At Can Serrat I created a composition based around this song, which you can watch below performed by myself and singers from YOLK, the collective of composers for voice, in a showing of new compositions in March 2023 at the Old Church, London. 

Spring 2023