MACEDONIAN MUSICAL TRADITION

MACEDONIAN MUSICAL TRADITION - FLORINA

 ΜΟΥΣΙΚΗ ΠΑΡΑΔOΣΗ ΤΗΣ MAKEΔΟΝΙΑΣ - ΦΛΩΡΙΝΑ

Ethnological and musicological  research centre ''Romiossini'', 1993 

 

Macedonia has been part of modern Greece since 1913 but was inhabited by many different peoples including Greek speakers. The name Makedonia itself is a touchy subject when the former Socialist Republic of Macedonia became independant after the breaking of Yugoslavia. Greek nationalism is big in Greek Macedonia and the population is now quite homogeneous linguistically speaking.
The purpose of this disc is to present an orchestra/brass band founded by members of the Tzabazis family with clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone and percussions. Called ''halkina'' in Greek that kind of brass band is very well spread in Macedonia. Some dances and tunes specific to the area are well exposed by the two clarinet players Christos and Pantelis Tzabazis.
Text in Greek and English (the part in English only is available).

 

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MUSIQUE AYMARA DE BOLIVIE

MUSIQUE AYMARA DE BOLIVIE

AYMARA MUSIC FROM BOLIVIA

Enregistrements réalisés par M. Louis Girault - Prix Liotard 1958

BAM, no date,  LD 355
(Editions de la Boite à Musique)

The music on this short 33rpm is perharps the first traditional music recorded in the field I have ever listened to. I was quite young (maybe 5 years old) and it is maybe thanks to this album that I took up the kena a few years later. My parents had bought this disc because there was a kind of  craze in France for Latin stuff in the 50's. But the music here is far from what people used to like : Los Machucambos, Los Guaranis and the likes; no, it is pure music from the Bolivian Altiplano recorded between 1953 and 1957 by the ethnologist L. Girault for the French CNRS. The prize mentionned on the cover was awarded each year by the President of France to the best field trip.
There is no date on the cover; since the prize was awarded in 1958 I suppose that the year of release was 1958 or 1959.

The publisher warned the listener about the bad sound quality due to difficult conditions but because of  the rarity and ethnomusicological interest of these recordings it was important to release this disc.
I don't think you need to be an ethnomusicologist to be touched and impressed by these musicians and their culture. 

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