Flory Jagoda

Flory Jagoda (born Flora Papo Kabilio; December 21, 1923 – January 29, 2021) was a Bosnian-Jewish–born American guitarist, composer and singer-songwriter. She was known for her composition and interpretation of Sephardic songs, Judeo-Espanyol (Ladino) songs and the Bosnian folk ballads, sevdalinka.[2]

Flory Jagoda
Born
Flora Papo

(1923-12-21)December 21, 1923
Sarajevo, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
DiedJanuary 29, 2021 (2021-01-30) (aged 97)
Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
OccupationMusician, singer-songwriter
Spouse(s)
Harry Jagoda
​
​
(m. 1945; died 2014)​
[1]
Children4
Honors
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsGuitar, vocals, accordion
Associated acts
  • Ramon Tasat
  • Susan Gaeta
  • Trio Sefardi
  • Aviva Chernik
Websitewww.floryjagoda.com

Biography

Flory Jagoda was born Flora Papo on December 21, 1923, to a Bosnian Jewish family. She grew up in the Bosnian towns of Vlasenica and her birth city of Sarajevo.[3] She was raised in the Sephardic tradition in the musical Altaras family. Her mother, Rosa Altarac (or Altarasa) left her first husband and returned to the town of Vlasenica. There she met and married Michael Kabilio, and they settled in Zagreb, Croatia, where Kabilio owned a tie-making business.

When the Nazis invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, her step-father (whom Flory referred to as her father) put 16-year-old Flory on a train to Split using false identity papers and removing the Jewish star from her coat. On the train she played her accordion ("hamoniku" in Serbo-Croatian) all the way to Split (at that time controlled by the Italians), with other passengers and even the conductor singing along; she was never asked for her ticket. Her parents joined her in Split several days later, and after a brief sojourn there they and other Jews who had escaped the Nazis were moved to various islands off the Croatian coast. Flory and her parents were sent to the island of Korčula, where they lived until fall 1943.[3] Following the Italian capitulation, Jews on Korcula left by fishing boats for Bari, Italy, which had recently been liberated by the British army.[4] While in Italy, she met and fell in love with an American soldier named Harry Jagoda.[3] She arrived in the United States as a war bride in 1946, going first to Harry's hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, and later moving to Northern Virginia.

The Sephardic community of Sarajevo and its surrounding communities were nearly obliterated during World War II.[5]

Jagoda's recording Kantikas Di Mi Nona (Songs of My Grandmother) consists of songs her grandmother, a Sephardic folksinger, taught her as a young girl. Following the release of her second recording, Memories of Sarajevo, she recorded La Nona Kanta (The Grandmother Sings), songs she herself wrote for her grandchildren.

In her 90s, Flory has stated that Arvoliko: The Little Tree, released in 2006, would be her final solo recording. The tree, located in Bosnia, is said to be the only marker of the mass grave of 42 massacred members of the Altaras family. She referred to her four recordings as representing the four musical stages of her life. In 2006 she also released a series of duets with Ramón Tasat, Kantikas de amor i vida: Sephardic Duets.[6]

Ladino, or Judeo-Espanyol, the language of the Sephardim, is in danger of extinction, but it is experiencing a minor revival among Sephardic communities, especially in music. Jagoda was a leader in this revival.[7][8]

In 2002, Flory received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts for her efforts in passing on the tradition of Sephardic songs sung in Ladino.[9] In 2002, Ankica Petrovic produced a documentary film about her life. In the fall of 2013, a gala celebration concert honoring Flory's 90th birthday was held in Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress. Flory was joined on stage by more than twenty of her students, colleagues, and family members. The concert was filmed by JEMGLO, which used portions of the concert interspersed with interviews with Flory, her family members, and several of her disciples and musical colleagues for the documentary Flory's Flame. Her music is known and sung by many musicians around the world, but especially by her apprentice, Susan Gaeta, as a soloist and with Trio Sefardi (with Tina Chancey and Howard Bass), and by her student, Aviva Chernick.

The 2019 children's book The Key from Spain by Debbie Levy is a tribute to Flory's life and music.[10]

In later life, Flory developed dementia and was unable to sing.[3]

Flory and her husband, Harry Jagoda, had four children.[3]

Flory Jagoda died age 97 on January 29, 2021.[1]

Discography

Albums
  • Kantikas Di Mi Nona (Songs of My Grandmother) (1988)
  • Memories of Sarajevo
  • La Nona Kanta (1992)
  • Arvoliko (2006)[6]
  • Kantikas de amor i vida: Sephardic Duets (2006) Duets with Ramón Tasat[6]

Video
  • Petrovic, Ankica; Livingstone, Mischa (2002). The Key From Spain: The Songs and Stories of Flory Jagoda. (documentary)[11][12]
  • Fissel, Curt; Friedland, Ellen (2014). Flory's Flame. JEMGLO. (documentary)[13]

Bibliography
  • Jagoda, Flory (1993). The Flory Jagoda Songbook: Memories of Sarajevo. New York: Tara Publications.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Flory Jagoda Obituary (2021)". The Washington Post. January 31, 2021 – via Legacy.com.
  2. "Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase celebrates Virginian artisans". Cavalier Daily. September 25, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  3. Ivanović, Tea (August 22, 2019). "Flory Jagoda: The Sarajevo-born Diva of Sephardic Music". Oslobođenje (in Bosnian). Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  4. Maurer, David A. (October 5, 2014). "Painstakingly restored accordion saved young girl's life in World War II and launched her calling in music preservation". The Daily Progress. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  5. Freidenreich, Harriet (March 20, 2009). "Yugoslavia". Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via Jewish Women's Archive.
  6. Cohen, Judith (February 10, 2006). "CD Review: Two new CDs by Flory Jagoda, 'Arvoliko' and 'Kantikas de amor i vida'". Klezmershack. Archived from the original on May 9, 2006.
  7. "Musician Embraces Ancient Musical Roots". VOA News. Voice of America. March 27, 2007. Archived from the original on November 17, 2008.
  8. "Citypaper.net". www.citypaper.net. Archived from the original on January 7, 2008.
  9. "Flory Jagoda: Sephardic musician/composer". National Endowment for the Arts. n.d. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  10. "The Key from Spain: Flory Jagoda and Her Music | PJ Library". pjlibrary.org. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  11. "The Key from Spain: The Songs and Stories of Flory Jagoda". Jewish Music Research Center (www.jewish-music.huji.ac.il).
  12. Cohen, Judith R. "Review: The Key from Spain". University of Illinois Press – via JSTOR. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. "Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival: "Flory's Flame" | "Belonging"". Rhode Island International Film Festival.
  14. Barham, Rachel Evangeline (December 19, 2017). "The Sounds of Hanukkah: Flory Jagoda". What's Up. University Libraries Catholic University of America.
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