Description
An extremely rare love song that praises the beauty of a young woman. According to its entry in the database of the Maale Adumim Institute, the song was recorded in the region of Kavala. In his book Cancionero Sefardí, Alberto Hemsi refers to a similar song from Rhodes titled “La Estrella Angelica,” whose melody remains unknown. This song is also written in quatrains with octosyllabic verses. Although the lyrics have similar content, they are not exactly the same, which is a common phenomenon in recordings of Sephardic songs from different regions.
Version 1
La estrella biva
Database of the Maale Adumim Institute, catalogue no.: 290 http://folkmasa.org/avshir/shirp.php?mishtane=290 Sung by Albert Abrevaya.
Alternative Title: El amor furiente
Lyrics
Tu sos una estreya biva /tu sos ˈuna esˈtɾeʝa ˈbiva/ You are a living star,
Abashada de arriva /aβaˈʃaða de aˈriva/ descending from above,
Si venites por tomarme /si veˈnites poɾ toˈmaɾme/ if you came to take me,
En tus brasos abrasarme /en tus ˈbɾazos abɾaˈsaɾme/ to hold me in your arms.
En el kampo ay vidrura /en el ˈkampo aɪ viˈðɾuɾa/ In the field there is freshness,
Ah tu linda figura /a tu ˈlinda fiˈguɾa/ like your beautiful figure,
Ah ke huites kriatura /ah ke ˈwites kɾiaˈtuɾa/ ah, what a beautiful creature,
Me kemates del amor /me keˈmates del aˈmoɾ/ you burn me with love.
BibliographyEl Trezoro de Kantes de Sefarad. El Instituto Maale Adumim para la documentación de la lengua judeo-española y su cultura, folkmasa.org.
Hemsi, Alberto. “La Estrella angelical.” In Canciones Sefardi, 252. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, 1995.
Research, analysis, translations and IPA transcriptions: Mariangela Chatzistamatiou Aural transcriptions and lead sheets: Nikos Panagiotides
Disclaimer: The content on this website is protected by copyright. Use of the content is allowed for personal or educational purposes only with clear citation of the source. Republishing, modifying, or using the content for commercial purposes is prohibited without prior explicit permission.
