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By Cantor Sheldon F. Merel
SAN DIEGO—I am delighted to feature the singing of my long time friend and colleague, Cantor Richard Botton, who has an amazing and diverse background as teacher, cantor and concert artist. He is a foremost interpreter of Ladino song, and sings his native language in a style that intimately preserves a “reverie “ of language and songs of years long past.
Richard Botton was born to Sephardi parents in the Bronx, New York, his mother from Istanbul and his father from Salonica, Greece. Richard’s first language was Ladino and he was totally immersed in the music and language of his family. He later graduated with honors from the School of Sacred Music of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, served as cantor for Temple Emanu-El of Long Beach, New York, from 1955 through 1974, and for Central Synagogue in New York City until his retirement in 1998. He served as President of the American Conference of Cantors and was a faculty member of his alma mater.
Well schooled in secular music, Dick Botton has appeared as soloist with major orchestras in the United States, the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Bach Aria Group, the Brooklyn Philharmonia under Lukas Foss, the Paul Whiteman Orchestra on Arthur Godfrey's television show, the Fort Worth Symphony, and on numerous opera stages. He was a first prize Metropolitan Opera Auditions winner, and sang in the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Dybbuk.
His CD, Ladino Reverie, from which this song is taken, contains 22 old and new Ladino folksongs with a booklet containing the words and exact translation of each song!!
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 The CD makes a wonderful gift for those who love Sephardic music, and who want to learn about its charm and beauty. You can order Ladino Reverie through www.CDBaby.com or by contacting Cantor Botton at richard@richardbotton.com or (914) 835-4621.
Yo M’Enamori D’un Aire :
I fell in love with the charms, ay, the charms of a woman, of a very beautiful woman, the beauty of my heart. I fell in love with the charm, ay, the beauty of my heart, tra la lai—the beauty of my heart.
I fell in love at night, ay, the moonlight fooled me. If it had been in daylight, love would not have bound me. Tra la lai –
If again I fall in love, ay, with the charms of a woman, of a very beautiful woman, the beauty of my heart, love would not have bound me. Tra la lai
If again I fall in love, ay, with charms of a woman, of a very beautiful woman, the beauty of my heart, it will be by day with sunshine, ay. If again I fall in love, it will be a day with sunshine, ay, Tra la lai.
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