Folk Literature of the Sephardic Jews, vol. 3: Judeo-Spanish Ballads from Oral Tradition, II; Carolingian Ballads: Roncevalles

In the Introduction, the goals of the series are reiterated: to define the ballads' place in the Judeo-Spanish romancero, to examine their relationships with the epic, the sixteenth-century romancero, the pan-Hispanic/pan-European ballad, and international folk narrative; to examine each ballad as a poem in its own right; and to analyse the music of the ballads. The realisation of this ambitious scope is what makes for such a dense, yet curiously readable, volume.

The Introduction also includes a discussion defending the neo-traditionalist stance on epic poetry and ballads, and vindicating Menendez Pidal's findings by refuting the new-traditionalist approach, using commentary on the ballad texts and a review of recent studies to conclude that "the epic connection is developed in the subsequent discussion of each text, as is another theme discussed in the Introduction, that of finding a poetic coherence shaped by oral tradition in texts previously interpreted as chaotic fragments" (pp. 15-16).

It is a delightful relief for an ethnomusicologist to find that each ballad actually begins with a musical transcription, in Katz's usual detailed and meticulous style. His musical commentaries and precise analyses also echo the generous cross-cultural comparison of the text commentaries; for "alda" the extensive notes on early cognate sources are particularly interesting.

A couple of general comments: as in other Katz transcriptions, I am not convinced that the constant changes in metric indications are the most useful way to render the singers' interpretations, particularly when it is suggested that a certain metre is what a singer "intended" (p. 102). It would be useful, as well, to know under what circumstances each ballad was sung, whom the singer learned it from, and other aspects of social context; perhaps a list of reliable documentary recordings would be useful too. Without a recording, it is difficult to evaluate the transcriptions, and in any event, in oral tradition even the most faithful transcriptions give no real idea of the actual aural phenomenon. With today's technology it should be possible to include a compact disc with some samples of the singing, as in fact Katz did (with earlier technology) in his Judeo-Spanish Traditional Ballads from Jerusalem (Institute for Medieval Studies, 1972-5).

The appendices are full of useful information, and at the very end (pp. 411-12) the authors provide fuller captions for the photographs in the previous volume. The next few volumes in the series are already in press or in preparation; by the time this review is in print Volume 4 of the series should be as well. After the untimely death of Joseph Silverman, Armistead has set himself a gargantuan task, which he is fulfilling with his characteristic skill, erudition and generosity of spirit. We are all the richer for his tireless work.

Judith R. Cohen York University, Toronto

COPYRIGHT 1997 Folklore Society
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