Koto : Yamada School

 

山田流 箏 名曲のすべて

BEST COLLECTION OF KOTO MUSIC (YAMADA SCHOOL)

CBS SONY, 1973, SOJH 11

Several koto players (mainly women) are on this record : Masaki Uehara, Eisei Takahasi, Sizuko Yamase, Mikio Noguchi, Masue Fukuchi, Shôin Hagioka, Okazono Shôji and Masae Ôtsuka.
There are two schools for koto music : Ikuta and Yamada. This school was started by Yamada Kengyo during the 18th century at Edo (Tokyo). The school incorporated the genre called ''joruri''which was a sort of storytelling/song accompanied by the shamisen. Hence the frequent association of koto playing and singing.
Side A presents three instrumental pieces with two duets and one solo. The album starts with Rokudan a very famous composition for koto originally, going back to the 17th century and later played on other instruments.
Side B is about koto played along with other instruments (shamisen and shakuhachi). All the pieces have a singing section.
The koto has been one of the main instruments in Japanese musical culture especially when its practice was open to modest people during the 19th century. It's interesting to compare this album and the one I posted (28 November 2021) by Hiromu Handa and appreciate the evolution of koto music.
Text in Japanese. 

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Rais Mbark Ayssar & Raisa Fatma Tmouzent

   الرايس مبارك أيسار 

 الرايسة فاطمة تموزنت

Rais Mbark Ayssar

 Raisa Fatma Tmouzent 

Chatir - Disques, ?, CD 201

From the same batch of tapes brought back by a friend (see post of the 6th of July 2021) another exemple of berber music from Southern Morocco (Souss area).
This time I got help from Tim Abdellah Fuson who has a wonderful site about Moroccan music : http://moroccantapestash.blogspot.com/
There are five tracks but no titles mentionned.
Tim found this site about Mbark Ayssar (in Arabic or French) : https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%83_%D8%A3%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B1. He lived from 1952 to 2009.
Chatir Disques were based in the Paris area (Puteaux) but are not to be found anymore.

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МУКАМ НАВA

 

                                                 ДВЕНАДЦАТЬ УЙГУРСКИХ МУКАМОВ

               НАВA               

                           THE  TWELVE  UYGHUR MUQAMS/ NAVA

                                                Melodiya, 1982, C 30-17657-58 

Please see my post of August 27th for more details about the Uyghur people in Uzbekistan.

Maqam (muqam) Nava is the tenth muqam in that series of twelve. Muqam also refers to a modal suite in three parts : bashi (beshi) (non-rhythmic vocal or instrumental prelude), dastan (three to five popular or even folkloric narrative songs, of epic character, rhythmically interrupted by marghuls, instrumental interludes).and meshrep (five to seven final songs to be danced, very rhythmic and of folk inspiration).
The solo singer is Sultan Mamedov with the support of sato player Sultanmurad Razamov.
Leonidas found a Russian site with good information about the Uighur muqam system; translation available in a doc included with the audio files.

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The Inca Harp

 

THE INCA HARP 

Laments and Dances of the Tawantinsuyu the Inca Empire

Lyrichord, 1980, LLST 7359 

This is one of the very few albums that are not part of Lyrichord's catalogue anymore.
Recorded in Peru by Ronald Wright this LP presents three harp players : two from Cuzco, Gabriel Aragon and Maximo Mendoza and Antonio Sulca from Ayacucho. Aragon and Sulca were blind and old enough at the time of the recording while Mendoza was only eighteen. Sulca is also on two other albums on the same label and available on line. He was a leading exponent of the Ayacucho harp style and was nicknamed ''Stealer of Heart''.
Wayno and harawi (yaravi) are dominant as usual.
The harp in use in Peru has no pedals and is diatonically tuned. The bass strings are quite powerful and can be heard in a band of several violins, kenas and mandolins hence its importance 
It is said that the harp was brought first by Irish jesuits priests and used to accompany the singing of religious songs. Whatever the origin, Peruvian people have mastered and integrated the harp into their culture over the centuries producing one of the most beautiful music in the world.
This a copy of an album I borrowed somewhere and I don't have the back of the cover. For details and titles see the scans. 

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Борис Гмиря

 

                                      УКРАИНСКИЕ ПЕСНИ В ИСПОЛНЕНИЙ Б. ГМЫРИ

UKRAINIAN SONGS SUNG BY B. GMYRIA

Melodiya, 1962, D 005254-55

These two albums are copies of discs I borrowed from a Soviet cultural center in Paris around 1986-87. I didn't think of copying covers then; the pictures here are on Discogs. 

Boris Gmiria (1903-1969) was a Ukrainian opera singer in the ''singing bass'' register. But he was also known for his rendition of Ukrainian folk songs with folk instrument orchestras or piano accompaniment. He studied at the same time civil engineering and classical singing at the Kharkov Conservatory, graduating in each field in 1935 and 1939 respectively. His father died during the great famine of 1932-33. Because of his participation in musical life during the German occupation in Poltava he was harassed in the opera house and was not allowed to travel abroad. Nevertheless, he was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1951. Unesco nicknamed him "Boris the Great" because of the power and depth of his voice, natural and without effects.
He is accompanied here by the Ossipov Orchestra conducted by V. Smirnov.

A1 Ой гук, мати, гук                                     Arranged By – Н. Лысенко

A2 Така її доля                                     Arranged By – Ю. Чернов                                     Lyrics By – Т. Шевченко

B1 Ой із-за гори та буйний вітер                                     Arranged By – Н. Лысенко

B2 Ой дівчина горлица                            Arranged By – В. Дитель                                          B3 Задумав дідочок                                    Arranged By – В. Мироманов

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 Another 10'' album by Gmiria whose date of publication is unknown. Here he's accompanied by a small band of banduras under the direction of A. Minkovkii. The lyrics of the first song are the work of the greatest Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. 

A1 Думи Моі                                                     Lyrics By – Т. Шевченко

                                                           A2 Iхав Козак На Війноньку

                                                                A3 Ой Чото Ти, Дубе

                                                                 B1 Ой Зійди, Зійди 

                                                                   B2 Чорніі Брови 

                                                             B3 Дивлюсь Я На Небо
                                                            Lyrics By – М. Петренко
                                                              Music By – В. Заремба

 

 

I don't know how Gmiria would have reacted to the Russian aggression against Ukraine but I think he would have been overwhelmed with sadness; for the moment let's listen to this incomparable artist while waiting for the end of this war and possibly the victory of Ukraine.

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Chants et danses de Tchécoslovaquie

 

CHANTS ET DANSES /  TCHECOSLOVAQUIE

SONGS AND DANCES / CZECHOSLOVAKIA 

Le Chant du Monde, ?, LDX 74380

This is the French edition (late seventies perhaps) of the LP ''Monitor presents Songs and Dances by the National Ballet of Czechoslovakia'' issued in 1959 by the American label Monitor.
It is part of a huge series called ''Chants et danses'' from different parts of the world like Morocco, China or Armenia. Most of the time the performers are national orchestras like this one here founded in 1948. It is folklore from the Soviet period played by a choir, two solo singers and the usual type of formation with plenty of violins, one double bass, a cymbalum and two clarinets.
The repertoire comes mostly from Moravia and Slovakia with some very nice melodies.
Texte in French only.

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Des & Mick Hurley

 

DES & MICK HURLEY / OVER THE WATER

Celtic Music, 1987, CMC 037

 The Hurley family was (and still is ?) a prominent musical family in the Irish community in Leeds. Here we have four brothers : Des on fiddle and button accordion, Mick and Kevin on flute, Andrew on bodhran.
I used to meet and play a lot with Des who was a regular visitor of the Big Bull's Head pub in Digbeth, Birmingham where I went regularly also. Ivan Miletitch who plays the bouzouki on the tape was a great guitar player and pionneer inIrish music in Paris at the turn of the eighties. He moved definitively to B'ham around 1985. Karen Tweed who was also a regular musician in B'ham plays the piano and the piano accordion here (one of the best I'd say).
This tape is one of many recorded by mainy long or short-lived bands in order to gain notoriety and concerts or gigs.
The sound is not perfect and the fiddle is often behind the flute but this is very stuff straight and effective.
Des is now Chief Executive and founder of the Irish Arts Foundation in 1998 in Leeds.

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La música folklórica de Venezuela

 MUSICA FOLKLORICA DE VENEZUELA

TRADITIONAL MUSIC OF VENEZUELA

INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC COUNCIL

Ocora, ?, OCR 78

Another excellent Ocora album that was never reissued as far as I know; it's not even part of their catalogue. The recordings in the field made between 1958 and 1968  are the works of Isabel Aretz, Luis Felipe Ramon y Rivera and Alvaro Fernaud. I. Aretz (1909-2005) was an Argentinian ethnomusicologist who became Venezuelan in 1952 when she married Ramon y Rivera.
The LP is organized in a regional order : the states of Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Miranda, Yaracuy, Cojedes, Nueva Esparta, Sucre, Lara as well as Caracas and the Llanos. 
Music from Spanish origin (joropo, decima de tono, work songs) makes the main part of the album while the Afro-Venezuelan tradition with singing and drumming is present on a few tracks. 

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Folk Music from Lőrincréve

 

MUSIC FROM LŐRINCRÉVE

Arrangements by FERENC SEBŐ

Hungaroton, 1986, SLPX 18102

Ferenc Sebő  is one of the pioneers of the revivalist movement in Hungary (Táncház mozgalom). He worked on different subjects like traditional music in the Hungarian areas in Transylvania. This album is sub-titled ''Dance Music by the Maros Riverside'', a zone with  a very rich musical culture that was before conveyed by Gypsy musicians dynasties that disappeared to be replaced by less-skilled peasant musicians according to Sebő. Two of these musicians are Zgigmond Karsai and Zsigmond Székely who sing on this album.
The arrangements tried to give us an idea about what would have been the soundscape towards the end of the 18th century when music from cities and the upper society was brought to peasant communities probably thanks to the Gypsies.
The basis for dance music is the ubiquitous traditional string trio : fiddle, viola (kontra) and double bass. To this  Sebő added some non-traditional instruments such as the harp, the harpsichord, the horn or the classical flute but only at times to colorate the tunes differently without ever ''fiddling'' with them in their traditional consistency. The main fiddler is Levente Székely while Sebő provides the kontra. The track A1 is very nice with some ''oldish csardas''.
The songs are all a cappella including a vocal ensemble called Tátika.
Texts in Hungarian and English with lyrics. 

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Face the Hob

 

FACE THE HOB

Music For The Sets - Volume 6  

Na Píobairí Uilleann, 1987, NPU 007

Based in Dublin, NPU was founded in 1968 thanks to pipers such as Séamus Ennis, Leo Rowsome and Paddy Moloney on one hand and collector and writer Brendan Breathnach on the other hand. The idea was to promote the uilleann pipes through practice, reed making and pipe making.
This tape produced by NPU is about set dancing. Terry Moylan who started on the pipes in 1968 with Leo Rowsome was also a member of NPU. Later in 1982, also a dancer he co-founded the Brooks Academy devoted to set dancing; he published several collections of tunes and books about set dancing. He also a well-known lecturer.
In order to spread the gospel Irene Martin and Moylan of the Brooks produced this series of six tapes with many important musicians of the time. Here we have Séamus Meehan on piano accordion, Dermot McLaughlin on fiddle, Madonna Herron on flute, Sean O'Loinsigh on bouzouki, Sean Potts on uilleann pipes, Paul McGrattan on flute, Declan Masterson on uilleann pipes, Kevin Glackin on fiddle and Frank Hogan on mandola; they play in quartet or trios. Despite such a line up the result has been criticized for the speed of the playing giving the impression that the music was a bit rushed out compared to the traditional way of playing for dancing from traditional players. Speed is still a big debate among dancers and musicians. But this tape is good for listening with no less than forty reels, jigs, polkas, etc...

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Musique de Fushien

 

CHINE MUSIQUE DE FUSHIEN 

Musiques de l'Asie traditionnelle vol. 19

CHINA MUSIC OF FUJIAN

Music of traditional Asia vol. 19

Playa Sound, ?,  PS 33524

This album was also part of the CBS catalogue with the year 1973 mentionned. Playa Sound is said to have been founded in 1974. So this copy might be a reedition.
The recordings were made by Hubert de Frayssaix and the text in French was written by Georges Wên.
Side A is about the style called ''nanguan'' which originates from the Fujian province and is practised also in Taiwan off the coast of Fujian. Nanguan (''flute from the South'') is well documented in France with several compact discs published by Ocora Radio France. Let's say that it came from the area of Amoy the main harbour and might be the local version of court music going back to the Tang or Ming dynasties. It is not performed by professional musicians but by entlighted amateurs.
On the contrary the genre ''chao-chou'' (chaozhou) on side B is less documented; G. Wen says that this music was recorded for a foreign audience for the first time. Chaozhou is a city in the Guandong province at the border with Fujian. This instrumental music is performed on string instruments mainly like the lute  pipa, or the zither yangqin. This side B is highly enjoyable.
Unfortunately the musicians and singer are anonymous. 

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Music in Sweden 2

 

FOLK MUSIC  VOLKSMUSIK  MUSIQUE FOLKLORIQUE

Music in Sweden 2 - Musik in Schweden 2 - Musique en Suède 2

Caprice, 1977, CAP 1123

This is an excellent compilation made of mono recordings in the field between 1951 and 1976. This is the second volume of a series about different types of music in Sweden; the first volume deals with classical music, the third one jazz, etc...
There are twelve different categories, six on each side with a certain number of tracks for each category. Although I could have had the tracks separated I chose to follow the original presentation by category.
The album starts with a stunnig herding call by Karin Edvards Johansson and ends with some melodeon music. All the people have their names and location mentionned. Some names are quite famous as the name of Erik Sahlström one of the kings of the nyckelharpa or Gössa Anders Andersson the fiddler from Orsa.
Texts in English, German, Swedish and French. Only the English part is scanned. 

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Кыргыз Күүлөрүнүн Антологиясы 2

 

Кыргыз Күүлөрүнүн Антологиясы

Биринчи бөлүм

ANTHOLOGY OF KYRGYZ MELODIES (PART ONE)

Melodiya, 1974, M30 35581, 35582 

 This is the second album of this series (see my post 25/07/2022) about komuz music and repertoire.
Again, this is a copy of an album I borrowed around 1986 and I didn't copy the tracks where a text of presentation is read in Kyrgyz. This album is organized in three parts : tolgoolor, kairyktar and bekarstan-taichylar.
Track list in scan.

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