Friday, January 27, 2023

The Gathering

 

THE GATHERING

paul brady peter browne andy irvine donal lunny matt molloy tommy potts

Sruthán, 1981, GR 705

This is a very peculiar album not because of the line up but because of the context. It was recorded in 1977 and according to Irvine ''it was a favour for Diane Meek who was something of a patron of traditional music in Dublin at the time. She formed a small record company called ‘’Sruthán‘’ that she intended to release this album on but for some reason didn’t get round to it till she was back in the States some years later.''So it was released later by Greenhays (GR).
Of course all these musicians and singers don't play together but in duets or trios. So we can enjoy P. Brady's and A. Irvine's talent together or separately; Matt Molly is backed by D. Lunny on bouzouki (on one track only). Peter Browne is from a musical family in Dublin and is currently a producer for the RTE. A very good piper like his cousin Ronan Browne.
Rare enough are Lunny's compositions ''the Last Time'' and ''Fairfield Mirage'' with some synthetizer by Lunny.
From Dublin also was Tommy Potts (another musical family) with his unique style on fiddle and his way of ''deconstructing'' a tune. He might have composed the superb tune ''the Butterfly'' (not everybody agrees on that) and was admired by some fiddlers like Gavin or Martin Hayes but others wouldn't want to follow Potts in his musical adventures.  He died in 1988.
Additional musicians are : Triona Ni Dhomhnaill on harpsichord, Paul McAteer on drums and Arty McGlynn on guitar
Sruthán means ''stream'' in Irish.
A very rich album indeed but never reissued on CD.



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Thursday, January 26, 2023

Stefan Georgiev


STEFAN GEORGIEV/ACCORDION

HOROS AND RUCHENITSAS FROM DOBROUDJA

Balkanton, 1989, VNA 12491

S. Georgiev was one of many Bulgarian accordion players who recorded for Balkanton. This is folklore-like music with a soloist accompanied by a full orchestra with traditional instruments (kaval, gadulka, etc) here  the Tolbouhin State Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances. Georgiev had the usual career for a soloist in Bulgaria; there are some information about that in the notes.
The Dobroudja is in fact divided between Romania, Ukraine and Bulgaria. The biggest part of the region is now in Romania.
Text in English and Bulgarian.

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Monday, January 16, 2023

Raise the Rafters

 

RAISE THE RAFTERS

KEVIN CRAWFORD  P.J. KING  MARTIN O'MALLEY

Celtic Prime Leisure Records, 1995, CCC002

This tape was reissued as a CD but in small quantities and it seems nearly impossible to get one. So I'll make an exception this time and post it.
These three musicians were then regular ones at Cruise's Pub a very ancient public house in Ennis County Clare. P.J. and Kevin were members of another band Grianan which recorded an album that was badly promoted; when the band stopped P.J. and Kevin wanted to carry on and after meeting O'Malley formed this trio.
P.J. as a solid style on the box as Kevin's flute playing matches it with great power. Kevin had a solo album the previous year (1994) called ''D flute album''. He is a good example of musicians of Irish extraction born outside Ireland (Birmingham for Kevin) who managed to settle in Ireland and earn a living from music. He used to go to Ireland every year until the day he decided to stay after a wedding party in Clare. He has been leading a great career since and he now lives in the US.
There are four songs out of fourteen tracks full of energy. The  cassette title is a reel composed by P.J. King.


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Monday, January 9, 2023

Чукотская и Эскимосская Музыка

 

Чукотская и Эскимосская Музыка 

CHUKCHI AND INUIT MUSIC 

Melodiya, 1974, 33D035505-6 

This album was published as part of a series entitled ''the singing soul of Russia''. Side A is about ''Eskimo national music'' as the Russians said and side B about Chukchi national music.

The Inuit in Siberia never were very numerous and live near the Bering Strait. The census of 1979 listed 1200 Inuit and 400 Aleuts who are very close to the Inuit. Here only men were recorded singing alone or in duet with a drum. Most of the songs refer to hunting and animals but there is one song to the glory (I suppose) of the Soviet cosmonauts.

The Chukchi people are Paleosiberian people living in the Chukotka (Nort Eastern Siberia); their name means ''reindeer owners''. Part of them is sedentary hunting and fishing while the other part was nomadic at least at the end of the Soviet period. Russians managed to colonized them during the 19th century and then the Communist Party was successful in controlling them through their shamans who were declared local chiefs.
It is thought that this population stayed in Alaska a long time ago before returning to Siberia.
Female and male singers were recorded; there are several ''personal songs'' a custom that is also known among the Inuit and some Amerindian people. We can listen to the rhomb on one track.
Text in Russian

Here the tracklist in Russian and local languages. I translated the Russian titles in the audio file.

A1
Песня О Дружбе = Илякулъыкиляган
A2
Полет Чайки Против Ветра = Нагуйяк Айгульгэ
A3
Праздник Кита = Агвыквувалъя
A4
Такын Большая Птица = Такын Какулюк
A5
Олыми
A6
Итаюнвон Утренняя Заря = Мтаюнвон Силямени Камароми
A7
Штукатур = Штукатура
A8
Космонавты = Космонавтыт
A9
Вольный Танец = Тухумин
A10
Игра С Мячами = Анкалгит
A11
Охота На Медведя = Нанугнэльгэ
A12
Охота На Каяке = Каяхтульгэ
A13
Чайка = Нагуя
A14
Танец Медвежонка = Нанурагак
A15
Шитье = Минкыльгэ
A16
Праздничный Танец = Кырысмам Саютна
A17
Лампочка Ильича = Лампочка Ильичам
B1
Олененок = Кэюкэй
B2
Морские Охотники = Анкакэнат Гыннинныттыльыт
B3
Личная Песня Лидии Актемировой = Актемировын Лидиян Чиниткин Гырэп
B4
Девушки С Голубых Озер = Вытыра Гытгык Кача Нымытвальыт Нэвыскэтты
B5
Личная Песня Етигина = Етигынын Чиниткин Гырэп
B6
Личная Песня Атчин = Атчинын Чиниткин Гырэп
B7
Личная Песня Гиункеу = Гиункеунын Чиниткин Гырэп
B8
Личная Песня Тнагыргына = Тнагыргынын Чиниткин Гырэп
B9
Два Наигрыша На Тэльытэле = 2 Талеткогыргыт
B10
Личная Песня Рультынэут = Рультынэутын Чиниткин Гырэп
B11
Приход весны = Кыткытръогъэ

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Friday, January 6, 2023

АЛА-TOO КҮҮЛѲРҮ 3

 

АЛА-TOO КҮҮЛѲРҮ 3/ MEЛOДИИ АЛА-TOO 3

ALA-TOO MELODIES 3

Melodiya,1984, M90 46035-36

Third volume of a series of five albums with this title. Side A is about popular music with some solos on ooz komuz (jew's harp), choor (flute), kyiak (bowed instrument), komuz (lute) and songs with komuz. Side B is entitled ''creators of popular music'' with compositions of songs accompanied by komuz, mostly. The last track is a tune by Sh Sherkulov played by an orchestra with kyrgyz instruments.
Recordings made between 1930 and 1970.

МЕЛОДИИ АЛА-TOO (album 3)

Первая пластинка: Киргизская нар. музыка –

1. Кукушка;

 2. Бекташ;

3. Керме too;

4. Скачка;

5. Кет бука;

6. Бекбекей;

7. Карагул ботом, нар. поэма (отрывок);

8. Текучая вода;

9. Просыпаюсь;

10. Лунный луч. Творцы нар. музыки –

11. Токтогулу (музыка и сл. К. Акиева);

12. Мой киргизский народ (музыка и сл. А. Усембаева);

13. Отчизна (музыка и сл. А. Болобалаева);

14. Маруся (музыка и сл. Ш. Тер-мечикова);

15. Счастливый наш народ, песня-состязание;

 16. Наперсник (С. Бекмуратов);

17. Сестренка (М. Омурканова - К. Кумушалиев);

18. Сердце ликует (Ш. Шеркулов).

 

Ашыралы Айталиев - пение, комуз (7), Калык Акиев - пение, комуз (11), Муса Баетов - пение, комуз (9), Сайд Бекмуратов - кыяк (16), Осмонкул Болоболаев - пение, комуз (10, 17), Райымберди Сакеев - чоор (2), Жумаш Саркебенова - ооз комуз (3), Шаршен Термечиков - пение, комуз (14), Алымкул Усенбаев - пение, комуз (12), Токтонаалы Шабданбаев, Ысмаил Борончиев - пение, комузы (15), Шекербек Шеркулов - комуз (5), женский вокальный ансамбль (6), орк. киргизских нар. инстр. им. К. Орозова п/у Э. Жумабаева (18). Записи 1930-х - 1970-х гг.


 

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Sunday, January 1, 2023

Muzikë popullore nga krahinat e veriut

 

MUZIKË POPULLORE NGA KRAHINAT E VERIUT

FOLK MUSIC FROM NORTHERN REGIONS

RTSH,  ?, ?

 

Today being the first of January 2023 let me wish you an excellent year full of music and other good things like love, friendship, good health.

I got this tape at the end of the 80s thanks to friend who went to Albania. It's part of a series of tapes organized by regions. There are no names mentionned only the titles. The music is more on the folklore side  with bands of çiftelli, the usual clarinet-accordion based orchestras or some synthetizer. Only songs, no instrumentals.
The sound quality is poor enough but we are used to it no ?


 

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Saturday, December 24, 2022

Ali al-Ansee

 

ALI AL-ANSEE / YA IYOONEE

O MY EYES

Ed. al-Habbabee, 1999, 0552 

Another  great Yemenite singer/ud player from Sana'a. Thanks to Leonidas who found the following text about Al-Ansee's (Anisi/Ansi) life and career :

He is the artist Ali bin Ali bin Yahya Al-Ansi , born in the city of Sana'a , Al-Basha neighborhood , in 1933 AD . A well-known Yemeni artist (singer, musician, composer), famous for his beautiful voice and perfect performance, he sang about love in all its forms, about revolution, and about nature.

His father was an officer in the front army (Bakshawsh) artillery. Ali Al-Anisi grew up in a family that suffered economically, so his father was forced to move from one region to another in search of a livelihood. He moved to elementary school, then moved to middle school, and after leaving it, he moved to Dhamar to live with his brother, Judge Muhammad. From Dhamar , he moved to Taiz , where his brother, Brigadier General Ahmed Al-Ansi, was working. There he joined the army and worked as a military clerk for the Al-Hujaria detachment.

His artistic sense and musical taste began to form with the beginning of his listening to the songs recorded in the CDs of some Yemeni artists from the generation that preceded him, such as Al-Mas, Al-Jarash and Al-Antari. And influenced by his friend Al-Azzi Muhammad Abdullah Al-Snidar, who was the first to hear Al-Ansi sing and play the Oud instrument . This increased his attachment to singing, so he began his research journey. He was greatly impressed and influenced by artists:

Abdul Rahman bin Ali Reda
Ahmed Al Hamami
Ahmed Abdullah Al-Salmi
Qasim Al-Akhfash
Ahmed Ashish, who had an artistic influence on the artist Ali Al-Ansi.

Signs of his talent for singing began to appear with the first song he sang, which is the song ( They prevent my eyes for your goodness, you do not see ) by Almas. His brother, Brigadier General Ahmed, admired him and encouraged him, as he was working as an assistant to the (wireless) traffic controller at the fourth point in Taiz . During this period, he was singing only, and he had not yet learned to play the oud instrument , but his attempts to compose began to appear, and he composed for the first time the song (Kol Al- Nas Love Al-Zein ), which was sung by the artist Ahmed Al-Snidar . And this was through the simplest tools that produce rhythms , then he trained himself to play until he was able to perform the first song, playing and singing.

His fame began through his performance of light songs of the Sanaani color, and he performed other than this color, so he sang songs from other regions of Yemen, such as Al- Udayn, then he moved to performing lengthy songs. He contributed to a group of beautiful songs through a group of lyrical poems that he wrote, composed and sang , the most famous of which are (There is no good teacher), (Let the hand of the creature), (Your night, my night) and others. He had a great position on the popular and official levels during his life and after his death, due to his distinguished good voice and beautiful playing, and his interest in the melodies of Yemeni artistic heritage and folklore, especially the folklore of the central regions of Yemen. He was awarded the Medal of Literature and Arts from President Ali Abdullah Saleh twice after his death, the first in 1984 AD and the second in 1989 AD, and the Medal of Arts from former President Ali Nasser Muhammad. Before the establishment of the unit, he worked in the Coordination Department at Radio Sana'a , then in the Department of Moral and Political Guidance before his death.


 

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Thursday, December 15, 2022

Spring in Date Garden

 

枣园春色

SPRING IN DATE GARDEN

Music Played on National Instruments
 

China Record Company, ?, M-2097

Since the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, China has seen major changes in society and culture. Music was concerned also and before the advent of communism some Chinese intellectuals had worked on the modernization and on the revitalization of traditional Chines music. What is called ''Guo Yue'' meaning ''national music'' emerged as a genre during the 1920s in Beijing and Shanghai. Chinese regional music became part of modern education institution. This approach to music was backed by the Maoist regime and many records were issued from 1949 onwards.
Here we have seven tunes composed in that style : a soloist on a ''national instrument'' ie traditional instrument and a full orchestra also made of traditional instruments mainly but with a symphonic kind of sound. It reminds me of the Soviet approach which has probably influenced China's cultural nationalism.
On track A1 the flute dizi is played by Gao Ming accompanied by the Shaanxi Provincial Song and Dance Drama Theatre Folk Band.
Track A2 is a duet of erhu and zheng played by Feng Qianqiang and He Chengyu.
Track A3 is an orchestral piece by the Heilongjiang Provincial Song and Dance Troupe Folk Band.
Track B1 focuses on the suona and percussions of the Shandong Provincial Song and Dance Troupe Folk Band. The title might refer to the Commune of Paris and the revolt of the Parisians in 1871.
Track B2 is a zheng solo by Liu Weishan.
Track B3 gives us a good example of some banhu playing by Ji Che and the Shaanxi Provincial Broadcasting Arts and Crafts Troupe Folk Band.
Track B4 a yuehchin solo by Feng Shaoxian with a folk band. 

Compared to Chinese art music this guoyue music might appear to be not very interesting knowing that it is also part of the communist doxa of the time where the People is happy under the leadership of chairman Mao Zedong. But I think we could listen to these musicians for what they are : prodigious soloists who really love their music whatever the political context.


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Wednesday, December 14, 2022

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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Sunday, December 11, 2022

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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Friday, December 9, 2022

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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Thursday, December 1, 2022

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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DEVENDRA MURDESHWAR

  DEVENDRA MURDESHWAR FLUTE EMI , 1972, ESCD . 2713 The bansuri has been played since for ever in India but  it has emerged on the interna...