Todot El

תודות אל

This is a popular Western Sephardi table hymn that is generally unknown in other communities. Originally composed as a "reshut" or "introduction" to Nishmat kol hai in the morning service, it is now almost exclusively a table hymn.

The last verse is sung only if a newly married couple are present.

First, here is the version popularised by the late Revd. Bram Cardozo of Amsterdam and New York, and it is the version we have sung in our home for many years. Here are my five kids and me singing it rather exuberantly:

Todot El (S&P Lopes Cardozo)

I recently noticed that "The Ancient Melodies" of Aguilar and de Sola (London 1857) has a somewhat different version - though from a musicological point of view they are in fact the same melody. Here's the "de Sola" version, sung by yours truly at the slightly ponderous speed recommended in the score itself:

Todot El (S&P de Sola version - JC)

Todot El from "The Ancient Melodies" of Aguilar and de Sola, London 1857