Jewish music in Spain.

Jewish music in Spain reflects a long, intertwined history in which Sephardic communities blended their own liturgical and folk traditions with the sounds of Iberia. Before the 1492 expulsion, Jewish musicians were active in courts and cities across Castile, Aragon, and Catalonia, shaping a repertoire that mixed Hebrew prayer modes with the melodic contours of medieval Spanish song.

 After exile, these traditions evolved in diaspora—especially in North Africa, the Balkans, and the Ottoman world—but they preserved unmistakably Iberian elements: the use of Ladino (Judeo‑Spanish), modal melodies reminiscent of cante jondo, and storytelling ballads known as romances. Today, Jewish music connected to Spain is both a historical legacy and a living art form, revived by ensembles who explore its medieval roots, its Mediterranean migrations, and its emotional depth.