Overview
- Description
- Complex repertoire of Bouena Sarfatty Garfinkle (BSG) (November 16, 1916 to July 23, 1997), a Sephardic woman from Salonika who lived in Montreal for several decades. Includes taped interviews with BSG during the early1980s in Montreal. Bouena’s repertoire from the 1940s until her death includes four categories of contents:
1 - songs: rather than the long narrative ballads (romances) based on historical Spanish ballads favored by Moroccan Sephardic women, BSG sang mostly songs that were popular in Salonika in her youth, giving a fascinating picture of daily life. These include extracts from operettas popular among Sephardim in the former Ottoman lands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as well as recreational and topical songs, and a few life and calendar-cycle songs as well as ballad fragments.
2 - stories and explanations: these include everything from preparations for a wedding to moving anecdotes related to the Holocaust.
3 - proverbs: a wealth of traditional proverbs, some found only among Sephardim and others also found in Spanish or other folklore.
4 -“komplas”: a genre of improvised or composed toasts. BSG's repertoire includes everything from amusing characters in daily life to incisive comments on the Holocaust framed as ironic toasts. The term “komplas” usually refers to a song genre rather than to this component of the repertoire.
Consists of 30 Tracks:
Category 1: songs
(1) 1-1 Nada
(2)1-2 Paro+Hitler
(3) 1-3 PurimOp
(4) 1-8 EvreuPoula+trans
(5) 1-13a IntroSiVes
(6) 1-13b SiVes
(7) 1-15a SexAppIntro
(8) 1-15b Sex Appeal
(9) 1-21 Hanumelek
(10) 1-23 Carcelero
(11) 1-30 BoatFragment
(12) 1-34 SeVistioLaReinaE
(13) 1-35 EsterOperetta
(14) 1-36 Deplorable-etc+commentOperetta
(15) 1-39 YaSalio-every1 was nude
(16) 1-40b NuestraTierra
Category 2: stories and explanations
(17) 2a4.Haim.Carselero i piadoso
(18) 2-10 ReinaBrodava+talk
(19) 2-22 MuestraTierra
(20) 2-25 MiPiEl
(21) 2-28 AdioRashelLevy
(22) 2-33 Pesakh1-KadUrha
Category 3: proverbs
(23) 3-5 SacrificioIsaac
(24) 3-9 YaVieneParido
(25) 3-33 Morena
(26) 3-38 Cabessa Dura
Category 4: komplas
(27) 4-1 Mariana
(28) 4-4 EnIstanbulHavia+talk
(29) 4-12 Eskola de l'Aliansa
(30) 4-22 DiavlaCharleston - Date
-
Recorded:
1980-1997
- Credit
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Judith R. Cohen
- Contributor
-
Performer:
Bouena Garfinkle
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Oral histories. Music.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- This archival media can only be accessed in a Museum reading room or other on-campus viewing stations.
- Copyright
- Copyright Undetermined
- Conditions on Use
- Owner of copyright, if any, is undetermined. It is possible this is an orphan work. It is the responsibility of anyone interested in reproducing, broadcasting, or publishing content to determine copyright holder and secure permission, or perform a diligent Fair Use analysis.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- In Process
- Recorded Sound Provenance
- Dr. Judith R. Cohen deposited the digital collections with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum around 2011.
- Recorded Sound Source
- Dr. Judith R. Cohen
- Record last modified:
- 2024-02-21 07:27:24
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn722797
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- See Rights and Restrictions
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- This record is digitized but cannot be downloaded online.
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Also in Judith R. Cohen Collection
The Judith R. Cohen Collection is comprised of digital sound recordings of English and Ladino songs, oral testimony, radio programs, and academic presentation examples representing research among the Sephardic refugee community in Montreal, Canada. Ethnomusicologist Dr. Judith Cohen of York University, Toronto, began collecting works in the 1970s. Dr. Cohen's major informant was Bouena Sarfatty Garfinkle (1916-1997). Digital files in the collection also consist of photos, descriptions of repertoire, biographical material, powerpoint presentations, and other items collected and prepared by Dr. Cohen in the course of her research work.
Primavera en Salónica
Recorded Sound
Sefarad en diaspora
Recorded Sound
Radio Sefarad broadcasts with Judith R. Cohen
Recorded Sound
Judith R. Cohen and Tamar Ilana perform with Ensemble Strada
Recorded Sound
Canciones Judeo-Espanoles de Tesalonica
Recorded Sound
Canciones de Sefarad
Recorded Sound
Dans mon chemin j'ai rencontré
Recorded Sound
Dized' ay trobadores
Recorded Sound
De fiestas y Alegrias
Recorded Sound
Me Vaya Kappara Tecnosaga
Recorded Sound
En Medio de Aquel Camino
Recorded Sound
