Concert of the Ephemeris Duo

Simona Gatto - singing, hurdy-gurdy, zither, recorder, percussion
Davide Gazzato - lute, vihuela, theorbo, recorders, bagpipes French, percussion Sephardic music is the music of the

so-called "Spanish" Jews, since Sepharad is the ancient name of Spain, their homeland; land from which they were brutally expelled in 1492 by the "Very Catholic Royals" Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, and collects the farewell that that exiled people entrusts to the memory of the these ancient songs.

It embraces a vast and poignant repertoire, which has come down to us by oral tradition (the first musical transcriptions were made only in the early 1900s). It was the task of women to mark, even with their singing, life within the communities.

In the melodic structure of this music there are archaic traces of medieval derivation. Over time, musical elements of traditions foreign to the Spanish one have influenced the Sephardic repertoire, as typical elements of the traditions of the Mediterranean (Turkey, Egypt) and the Balkans (Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Greece). The traces of the land of origin are, however, very evident, such as the language used, Judezmo (or Ladin), a sort of ancient Castilian full of words encountered along the way and the sounds with an Andalusian Arabic flavor.

The duo Ephemeris was born in 2015 as part of the Early Music Seminars of the B. Marcello Conservatory of Venice. Despite coming from different experiences, but united by love for the musical traditions of the Mediterranean, the Balkans and the Middle East, they decided to give life to a fluid project, which embraces ancient music (medieval, Renaissance) and popular music.