Traditional songs

The music in this web page offer an insight of the music of the Jewish tradition of Ferrara accompanying the wedding ceremony. All elaborations and recordings by Enrico Fink.

Baruch abba (Psalms, 118:26-29)

Traditional melody from Ferrara. This is the hymn traditionally sung as the couple approaches the chuppah.

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Lecha Dodi (Come, my friend, to greet the bride)

Famous Shabbat poem by Shlomo Hallevi Alkabetz (Safed, 16th century). It is often used also in the context of a wedding. This particular melody, traditional from the “Scuola Tedesca” in Ferrara, is also mentioned in Benedetto Marcello’s Estro Poetico Armonico (1724-27) as being part of the repertoire of German Jews in Venice.

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Eshtekha (Psalms, 128:3-6)

This is a typical melody from the Roman Jewish community, and its use is testified in Ferrara in the early 20th century.

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Sheva Berakhot

The “seven blessings” are the culminating moment of the ceremony, imparted to the couple under the chuppah by the rabbi or sometimes by relatives and friends. Traditional melody from Florence.

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Kechi Kinnor (take the violin)

Poem in honour of the bride and bridegroom, by rav Shmuel Archivolti (active between Emilia, Romagna and Veneto in the 16th century). Free elaboration on the traditional melody from the Jewish Community of Casale Monferrato.

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Avarekha (Psalms, 34:2-4)

Traditional wedding melody, Jewish Community of Florence.