Mizmar Bldy

 

MIZMAR BLDY 

Tarb Sound Production, ?, ?

 This is a copy of a tape but I don't remember when or where I got it. The title should read as ''mizmar baladi'' typical music from Egypt. It's often played by one or several rebab players with an arghul or a suffara player plus darbuka and bendir-like frame drum. Or it's played by a mizmar band with tbel backing. Here rebab and mizmar are played together which is unusual (to me anyway). Only the mizmar player's name is known to me : Ebna' as-Saeed. 
Dance music for ''belly dancing'' by professional female dancers. 
Any information about the players or the label are welcome.

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Hamdun Habeet

 

HAMDUN HABEET

MIN ILMI IMZAHAN

This is another tape I got from that friend who lived and studied in Yemen in the eighties. Here unfortunately there is no information about Habeet or the songs. My friend couldn't tell me anything about it either. Habeet is the singer and ud player with the usual backing. It is of course typical Sana'ani style. 
So if you know something about Habeet you know what to do ... 

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Maramureş

 

RENCONTRE AVEC LA ROUMANIE / MARAMUREŞ II

TRESORS FOLKLORIQUES 

            

  MEET ROMANIA/MARAMUREŞ II

FOLKLORE TREASURES 

Electrecord,  ?, ST-EPE 0891

Another item from this series intented for export. The first edition dates back to 1971 under a different reference so I think this is a reissue made in the seventies.
Here Maramureş is the region presented through different artists, a region quite recognisable especially through its music. 
As it is the case for all the other items it's the folkloric aspect that is highlighted with an orchestra with violins, clarinet, cymbalum etc... lead by G. Vancu. But the more traditional aspect is also present thanks to the Petreuş brothers who are real stars in the area and beyond. They travelled several times to France. Ion sings and plays the zongora, Ştefan plays the fiddle and what fiddle. Compare tracks 3 and 9 to feel the gap between the two approaches. You can guess that  I much prefer the brothers. 
There are two singers including Titiana Mihali a young singer at the time who sang a song to the Virgin Mary based on a range specific to the horn called bucium still in use in this mountainous area. She imitates that horn at the end of the song.
Texts in English and French.

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TROUZERION

 CHANTS POPULAIRES DE BRETAGNE/TROUZERION 

FOLK SONGS OF BRITTANY

Arfolk, 1979, SB 378

This is the second album by this group of male singers from Morbihan in Brittany (see my post in 2022). The eldest singer was Job Kerlagad (real name Joseph Guillam) born in 1902; He lived in Carnac as an oyster farmer. He died in 1996. The second eldest one was Jean Le Meut from Ploemel a farmer born in 1925. He passed away in 2012 after twenty years in the band. The four younger singers are still alive and still singing. They all went to Washington in 1983 invited by the Folklife Festival. 
All songs are dance songs except for track B3. 
There is a difference with the first album : here they use what is called ''tiling'' meaning that the band starts singing before the leader finishes his part. This is unusual for this area of Morbihan around Carnac, Ploemel, Plouharnel ...
An inner sleeve is supposed to be sold with the album but I never got it. 
Their third album will be posted soon.

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