What a thrill to listen to Rikordus, Trio Sefardi’s new CD honoring and remembering our mother, Flory Jagoda. We know she would have been overjoyed to hear her compositions so beautifully interpreted and performed by Susan, Howard and Tina. Susan’s voice on Rikordus di mi Nona and Sviraj Harmoniku hauntingly captures Flory’s own voice and projects the emotional depths that Flory was so proud of. Bravo Trio Sefardi for “continuing …. “

Betty Jagoda Murphy and Lori Jagoda Lowell

This recording includes songs from Trio Sefardi’s multi-media show, “La Nona Kanta: The Remarkable Life of Flory Jagoda,” and other songs that we learned from Flory. Fourteen songs are in Ladino, three are in Serbo-Croatian; these are the languages Flory grew up speaking in the Yugoslav village of Vlasenica and in Zagreb prior to her dramatic escape from the Nazis in 1941. The joyful “Ocho Kandelikas,” Flory’s most famous song, was also her first composition; the deeply emotional “Sviraj Harmoniku” and “Rikordus di mi Nona” were among her final works. The rest are her arrangements of traditional songs and original compositions.

We can now see the amazing breadth of Flory’s original compositions, ranging from those songs celebrating family life, Biblical stories, and holidays, to others embodying powerful collective memories and events from her own life. Through courage, luck, and the kindness of others, she and her parents survived the destruction of the centuries-old Sephardic communities of the Balkans. Eventually, the past called her to bring these memories to life. Two of us, Susan and Howard, helped Flory bring her songs, stories, and memories to audiences at festivals, synagogues, and community centers for more than fifteen years, and Tina was a regular participant in many of our programs. 

“Rikordus” is our love letter to Nona Flory, and it signals our continued commitment to sharing her gifts and her legacy in the years to come.