The University Chorus and Chamber Singers of UC Davis gave a joint performance with the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, Davis, California, on June 3, 2007. These are from the university's recording archive.

Oh, Happy Day, Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers

Simple Gifts From Old American Songs, Set 1, University Chorus

Oh, Mary Don' You Weep (1984, Arr. Albert McNeil), Combined Choruses

Lord, If I Got My Ticket (2004), Combined Choruses and Jesse Martin, baritone

My Long White Robe (arr. Albert McNeil), Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers

The UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jeffrey Thomas. Recorded on March 9th, 2014, Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

Beethoven: Consecration of the House Overture, op. 124

The UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, the University and Alumni Choruses of UC Davis, conducted by Christian Baldini. Recorded on March 9th, 2014, Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. Soloists include Jacqueline Piccolino, soprano, Kendall Gladen, alto, A. J. Glueckert, tenor, and Efraín Solís, bass.

Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 - 14. Lux Aeterna

Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 - 9. Domine Jesu

Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, with Anna Presler, violin, andTanya Tomkins, cello. Recorded in the Yocha Dehe Grand Lobby, Mondavi Center.

Jonathan Youngs: "Tango"

Stephen Foster: "Nelly Bly" (Composite At-Home Recording)

Thomas Quigley: "My Love is like a Red, Red Rose." (Composite At-Home Recording)

This piece combines two different Sephardic songs: "Mama, yo no tengo visto" and "Puncha, puncha," though I only used a fragment of "Puncha, puncha" text. Both songs are relatively modern, but determining more precisely the chronological and geographical origins of these (and many other) Judeo-Spanish songs is difficult. According to Talya Alon and Jehoash Hirschberg, "Mama yo no tengo visto" was known in early 20th-century Israel and became widely popular after the composer Paul Ben-Haim arranged it under the title "Berceuse Sfaradite." "Puncha, puncha" is generally attributed to the Balkans or Turkey.

I chose to combine these songs because I believe that the texts and melodies complement each other well. "Mama, yo no tengo visto" is a linear narrative about a woman who falls in love and subsequently has her heart broken, while "Puncha, puncha" recalls a passionate relationship that has ended. Both songs also feature flower imagery: jasmine, in the case of "Mama, yo no tengo visto," and roses in "Puncha, puncha."  For me, the jasmine represents the excitement and optimism (and perhaps naïveté) of newly kindled love, while the rose represents heartbreak and wistfulness. Melodically, both songs contain an octave leap, though each tune's overall affect is very different from the other. Bringing in the minor mode and doleful melody of "Puncha, puncha" toward the end of "Mama, yo no tengo visto" helps convey the tragic turn the latter song takes.

I drew inspiration from many different recordings of these songs, including Françoise Atlan’s and Rivka Raz's renditions of "Mama, yo no tengo visto" and from Mor Karbasi’s and Winsome Evans' recordings of "Puncha, puncha."

Sarah Wald: "Jasmine and Roses"

Emily Joy Sullivan: "Song of The Barren Orange Tree"

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