GREECE/MUSICAL ATLAS

 GREECE/MUSICAL ATLAS

Unesco Collection 

EMI Odeon, 1974, 3 C 064-17966

This record presents some aspects of the music played in Greece from Epirus, Macedonia, the Peloponnese, Thrace, Asia Minor, Pontus and Crete. Different artists were recorded  with the help of Mrs Dora Stratou and M. Simon Karas.Under such a patronage we can be sure that the music here is good.
However, I'm not sure about the accuracy of  the information given. I don't know who wrote the notes (maybe Alain Daniélou who was the General Editor) but when I read that the song from Pontos might be related to some archaic celtic culture I wonder where this kind of explanation comes from. True, some Celtic people, the Galates, settled in parts of Anatolia before our era and according to some scholars their celtic language would have lasted until the 6th century AD. But we know nothing about their music and interaction with Greek colonies in Anatolia. Ancient Greek music is one of my favourite topics and I haven't read anything about Galatian music. Surely I haven't read everything on the subject either; so if you have some ideas or links to provide ...
''Musical Atlas'' is a wonderful collection nevertheless.

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THE SALUTE TO THE GREAT PIPE

 COLIN MacLELLAN/THE SALUTE TO THE GREAT PIPE

World Records, 1986, WRC1-4602

The Great Highland Bagpipe has always been one of my favourite instruments. Here Colin MacLellan gives us an excellent album dedicated to that Scottish bagpipe.
Born in Scotland, he lives in Canada (Ontario) where he recorded this disc. The repertoire is made of strathspeys, reels, jigs and 6/8 and 2/4 marches of course. But the name of the album is the name of a piobaireachd composed by his father John and gave Colin the first prize in 1984 at the John MacFadyen Memorial Trust piobaireachd composing contest. The bagpipe he played was 100 years  old at the time of the recording. 

here the score joined to the album of Faìlte don Phìob Mhóir – Salute to the Great Pipe composed by John MacLellan in 1983

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KÖFLACHER ALTSTEIERMUSIK

 KÖFLACHER ALTSTEIERMUSIK

''HISTORICHE VOLKSMUSIK AUS DER STEIERMARK

Autogram, 1979, ALLP-247

*****

OLD STYRIAN MUSIC FROM  KÖFLACH 

"HISTORICAL FOLK MUSIC FROM STYRIA''

Styria lies in the South-East of Austria roughly between Vienna and the Slovenian border alongside the Styrian Alps. Köflach is about 30 km from Graz.
Austrian folk music is not so well known except for the brass-band and modern jodel. What I would call revivalism in Austria is even more unknown. This band of young musicians at the time is very rooted in the tradition of the area elaborated during the 19th century with 2 fiddles, one hackbrett, one bratsch-like viola, one accordion known as the Stayrische harmonika and one double-bass. The repertoire is made of ländler, waltzes, polkas and marches. The band plays together throughout the album except for 2 solos by Günter Valenskini on the accordion.
Autogram is a German label which issued  good records by German revivalist bands. 

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6 CLARINETS

 6 CLARINETS THAT LEFT THEIR MARK IN GREECE

(I'm not sure about my translation; if you have a better one ...)

VENUS, V 1029, no date

6 KΛΑΡΙΝΑ ΠΟΥ AΦΗΣΑΝ EΠΟΧΗ ΣΤΗΝ EΛΛΑΔΑ

 Perhaps edited in the 1980's, this album puts forward 6 clarinet players who made records between the 1930's and the 1950's.  They are Nikitas Kotsopoulos, Nikos Karakostas, Kostas Karayiannis, Yiannis Kyriakatis, Vassilis Tromaras and Kostas Kontoyiorgos. They came from the centre of Greece mostly from Thessaly. The clarinet is the main wind instrument in Greece now and was introduced around 1840.It replaced other traditional instruments such as the bagpipe (gaida), the floyera (end-blown flute), the zurna (oboe) and other kinds of reed-instruments like the karamouza, the pipiza etc... Some of the players on this album started music on those country instruments before taking up the clarinet. They were  sought after by the principal record companies of the period. Most of them moved to Athens in the 1920's for work and played in famous places located on a square called Lavriou.  All the recordings are original 78rpm some in good shape others less well preserved. A great album if you like Greek clarinet playing.
The presentation text is in Greek only.

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TRADITIONAL MUSIC OF AFGHANISTAN

 

 

CONCERTS AT THE REGHISTAN

Second international  musicological symposium  
''Samarkand-83'' (3)

 

TRADITIONAL MUSIC OF AFGHANISTAN
Melodiya, 1985, C30 22573 006

 

ΚОНЦЕРТЫ B PEГИСТАНЕ

ВТОРОЙ МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЙ МУЗЫКОВЕДЧЕСКИЙ СИМПОЗИУМ

CAMAPKANД – 83

ТРАДИЦИОННАЯ MУЗЫКА AФГАНИСТАНА

The Reghistan is a place in Samarkand  meaning ''sandy place'' in Persian. Samarkand is in Uzbekistan that was part of the Soviet Union in the 1980's. The 1980's was also the period of time when the USSR occupied  Afghanistan.
This album is the third one about a series of concerts given during the symposium in 1983. Here Afghanistan was represented by Ustad Mohammad Hashimi who played the sarod and the sitar and sang as well. He was accompanied by two pairs of tablas and one harmonium. 

On side A Hashimi interprets several pieces in a classical style on raga shevarandjani and raga kamanj.The beginning of side B is the continuation of side A on raga nandar kauns; then he sings a ghazal in Pashtoon; finally the album ends with one solo by the two tablas players.

This disc is an example of the influence of  Hindustani music on Afghan culture.  But the Indian sarod derives from the Afghan rebab and was created during the 18th century. 

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