Abraham Toledo

Abraham Toledo was the most prolific Ladino poet and composer of the longest and most important known work in Ladino, Coplas de Yosef ha Saddiq (Couplets of Joseph the Righteous), at least five editions of which have been printed. We know very little about him, and most biographical descriptions are speculative. His Coplas de Yosef ha Saddiq was probably composed and performed for audiences in the seventeenth century, although it was not published until 1732 (by which point, according to the title page of the first edition, the author was no longer alive). This biblical epic and musical comedy numbers around 2,500 verses. It draws on midrashim and reveals the influence of both Turkish-Ottoman music and the traditional Hebrew piyyut (liturgical poem), as well as the poet’s own imaginative talent. A number of liturgical poems in manuscripts have been identified as Toledo’s compositions based on the acrostic of his name appearing in them. Toledo also composed lyrical poetry.