I’m getting my guest room ready for my next houseguest, Tina Chancey of Trio Sefardi, an ensemble which performs traditional songs of the Sephardim, the descendants of Jews exiled from Spain in 1492.

The trio will be giving two public concerts: the first will be Friday, October 23rd at 7:30 pm at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, and the second will be Sunday afternoon, October 25th at 3:30 pm at the Queen Emma Community Center in Kealakekua. Tickets at earlymusichawaii.org.

Trio Sefardi celebrates the musical heritage of the exiled Jews of Spain, the Sephardim, with songs in Ladino about love and courtship, holidays and hope. Trio members Susan Gaeta (vocals/guitar), Tina Chancey (bass viol, Renaissance violin, rebec, Pontic lyra), and Howard Bass (guitar/lute) are dedicated to bringing the vibrant past into the living present and to continuing the musical traditions of those who created and sustained Sephardic song traditions over the centuries. Formed in 2010, the trio draws on experience in folk music, jazz, early music, and the influence of their mentor, the Bosnian-born Sephardic singer/composer Flory Jagoda (1923–2021).

As seen in the program notes:

It may seem strange to us today that the distant origins of one of the most popular styles of Jewish music can’t be traced to a certain date, place, time, or composer. Sephardic music, the music of the Spanish Jews who were expelled by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492, was a repertoire that was handed down from generation to generation by ear, not by reading a music book. 

Here are some videos to whet your appetite:

Here are some of the comments people have posted:

So beautiful – full of loss, hope and yearning from across the centuries!

You broke me last Sunday at Ladino Day with this one. I could picture my beautiful Nana singing a song like this. Crying at my screen listening to you. I am now a major fan. Bezitos. As she used to sign off on all her letters to me … pas i amor.

Tickets at earlymusichawaii.org.