The Cavatina Duo’s Sephardic Journey emerged from startling discoveries in their family history. When Spanish flutist Eugenia Moliner and Bosnian guitarist Denis Azabagic learned they each had distant roots in the Sephardic Jewish world of Old Spain, the husband-and-wife duo of “consummate virtuosos” (American Record Guide) decided to explore their mutual heritage through music.

Sephardic Journey, the duo’s third and newest Cedille Records album, comprises five world-premiere recordings of new works — not arrangements — written expressly for them. All are based on early Sephardic melodies in the way Bartók, for example, used Hungarian folk music in his own compositions.

Joseph V. Williams II’s Isabel for flute and guitar pays tribute to a tragic victim of the Spanish Inquisition. Alan Thomas’s Trío Sefardí for flute, cello, and guitar draws on melodies from the Sephardic diaspora. Carlos Rafael Rivera’s Plegaria y Canto (al Bodre de La Mar) for alto flute, violin, and guitar depicts an intimate scene of despair and hope on the Spanish coast. Clarice Assad’s Sephardic Suite for flute, guitar, and string quartet evokes contrasting aspects of romance and family life. David Leisner describes his Love Dreams of the Exile for flute, guitar, and string quartet as “stream-of-consciousness meditations on Sephardic folk music.”

Stellar guest artists include Cedille label-mates violinist Desirée Ruhstrat and cellist David Cunliffe from the Lincoln Trio, and the Avalon String Quartet.