Zia Mohiuddin Dagar – Rudra Veena Recital – His Master's Voice – ECSD 2736, 1974 (LP)
Born in Rajasthan, where his father Ziauddin Khan Dagar was a court musician for the Maharaja of Udaipur, Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, aka Z.M. Dagar, (1932-1990) was a formidable master of the seldom-played rudra veena (or bin).
According to mythology, Shiva created the rudra veena in one of His forms, which embodies the cosmic sound Nada, the primordial vibration from which all music and existence flow.
All the vocalists of the illustrious Dagar family played the rudra veena as an accompaniment to their singing. But Z.M. was the only Dagar to play the rudra veena as a Dhrupad performance instrument instead of focusing on singing.
In order to render the subtleties and nuances of Dhrupad with greater depth and versatility, he would later enlarge the instrument’s gourds and hollow neck to add bass and resonance for enhanced stage presence and longer sustain times of notes and harmonics.
This treasured LP exemplifies the maestro’s signature deep, slow, spiritual musings, which create a meditative space and inspired tension of timeless universal value.
Dagar is accompanied here by Swami Pagal Das (1920-1997) on the mridangam drum and an unknown tanpura drone player. Iqbal Ahmed also plays the bowed sarangi on track B2.
Né au Rajasthan, où son père, Ziauddin Khan Dagar, officiait comme musicien à la cour du maharaja d'Udaipur, Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, surnommé Z. M. Dagar (1932-1990), est considéré comme le plus grand maître de la rudra vina (ou bin) de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle.
Tous les chanteurs de l'illustre famille Dagar jouaient de la rudra vina pour s’accompagner au chant. Mais Z.M. était le seul Dagar de sa génération à adopter la rudra vina comme instrument de concert Dhrupad plutôt que le chant.
Selon la mythologie, Shiva aurait créé la rudra vina sous l'une de ses formes, qui incarne le son cosmique Nada, la vibration primordiale à l'origine de toute musique et de toute existence.
Afin de rendre les subtilités et les nuances du Dhrupad avec plus de profondeur et de fluidité, Z.M. Dagar a même transformé la rudra vina en élargissant la taille des gourdes et du manche creux de l’instrument afin d’ajouter des basses et de la résonance pour une plus grande présence scénique et pour allonger la durée du sustain des notes et des harmoniques.
Cet album essentiel, apprécié pour les envolées lentes, délicates et méditatives du maestro, crée un espace contemplatif empreint de tensions inspirées, hors du temps et d’une valeur universelle.
Il est accompagné ici par Swami Pagal Das (1920-1997) au mridangam et
par un joueur de bourdon tanpura inconnu. Iqbal Ahmed joue également du sarangi à archet sur le morceau B2.
Younger Dagar Brothers – Nassir Zahiruddin Dagar & Nassir Faiyazuddin Dagar – EALP 1334 here
Photograph below is from Painted Delight – Indian Paintings from the Philadelphia Collections – Philadelphia Museum of Art, January 26 to April 20, 1986:
Raja Bikram is carried by fairies to the celestial city of Kanakgir,
also known as the Golden Mountain. Illustration from the Gulshan-i-Ishq (The Flower Garden of Love),
Deccan School, 1743:
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BURKINA-FASO Birifor - Dagari - Gan - Lobi – Musiques du Pays Lobi – Ocora – OCR 51, recorded in 1961 by Charles Duvelle, released in 1970 (LP)
This precious musical panorama, released on Ocora’s legendary first series, was recorded in 1961 by Charles Duvelle** in Burkina-Faso’s Southwestern Pays Lobi region, which borders Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. In addition to Lobi music on Side A, the album highlights the music of the Gan (B1, B2), Dagari (or Dagara) (B3, B4), and Birifor (B5, B6) peoples, who share linguistic and cultural affinities while maintaining their own strong identities and vibrant traditions. The Dagara people, for example, are reputed to be the most mystical ethnic/cultural group in Burkina-Faso, with traditions deeply connected to the ancestors and the spirit world through myths, symbols, rituals, divination, music and dance. In the words of Malidoma Patrice Somé (1956-2021), “In the culture of my people, the Dagara, we have no word for the supernatural. The spirit world is as real as the physical world.”*
These recordings capture music played in various contexts, including festivities (A1, A3), a funeral (A2), a harvest song (B4), a love song (B1), a millet grinding song (B3), dancing (B2), storytelling (B5) and more.
The album features the region’s famous xylophones, aka balaphons, (A1, A2, A3, B4), female vocals (A4, B2, B3), male vocals (A1, B1, B4, B5, B6), a six-string forked salan harp with calabash resonator (B6), a kankarma mouthbow (B1), two-hole tira whistles (B2), bili drums (A1) bambam drum (A2), kettledrums (A3, B5), koli drums (B5), diallé drums (B3), koso, brindé and gbembémié drums (B2), rattles (A3, B2), metal sticks (B2), metallophones (A1) and pira metal rings (B4).
Ce précieux panorama musical, paru dans la légendaire première série Ocora, a été enregistré en 1961 par Charles Duvelle** dans la région du pays lobi, au sud-ouest du Burkina Faso, près de la frontière du Ghana et de la Côte d'Ivoire. Outre la musique lobi, cet album présente également les musiques des peuples gan (B1 et B2), dagari (ou dagara) (B3 et B4) et birifor (B5 et B6). Ces groupes partagent des affinités linguistiques et culturelles tout en conservant leurs identités propres et leurs riches traditions ancestrales. Le peuple dagara, par exemple, est réputé pour être le groupe ethnique/culturel le plus mystique du Burkina Faso, avec des traditions profondément ancrées dans le culte des ancêtres et le monde des esprits, à travers les mythes, les symboles, les rituels, la divination, la musique et la danse. Selon Malidoma Patrice Somé, « dans ma culture dagara, nous n'avons pas de mot pour désigner le surnaturel. Pour nous, le monde des esprits est aussi réel que le monde physique. »*
Ces musiques sont jouées dans divers contextes, notamment lors de festivités (A1, A3), d'un enterrement (A2), d'un chant de moisson (B4), d'une chanson d'amour (B1), d'un chant pour moudre le mil (B3), d’une danse (B2), et d’un récit (B5).
L'album présente les célèbres xylophones (ou balafons) de la région (A1, A2, A3, B4), des voix féminines (A4, B2, B3), des voix masculines (A1, B1, B4, B5, B6), une harpe fourchue salan à six cordes avec un résonateur en calebasse (B6), un arc à bouche kankarma (B1), des sifflets tira à deux trous (B2), des tambours bili (A1), un tambour bambam (A2), des timbales (A3, B5), des tambours koli (B5), des tambours diallé (B3), des tambours koso, brindé et gbembémié (B2), ainsi que des hochets (A3, B2) et des baguettes métalliques (B2), des métallophones (A1) et des anneaux métalliques pira (B4).
*Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman byMalidoma Patrice Somé, Putnam, 1994.
LOBI PEOPLE
A1 – FestiveBiré Music
Vocals by Sihiré Palé, a male chorus, a 14-bar elong xylophone, kpakpa tioro metallophones and two small bili drums;
Recorded in Gaoua, March 18, 1961.
A2 – Funeral Music
Elong xylophone by Sié Sib and unknown bambam drum;
Recorded in Gaoua, March 18, 1961.
A3 – CelebrationMusic
Five dancers with knee-high wérin rattles accompanied by an ensemble including two elong xylophones by Batiouté Palé & Youlbounté Youl and kettledrums by Dité Kambou & Sié Kambou;
Recorded in Gaoua, March 19, 1961.
A4 – Women's Song
Vocals by Temani Palé and a female chorus;
Recorded in Gaoua, March 19, 1961.
GAN PEOPLE
B1 – Love Song with Musical Bow
Vocals and kankarma mouthbow by Diotouré Hièn;
Recorded in Loropéni, March 21, 1961.
B2 – Samargua Dance
Female vocals ensemble, threetwo-hole tira whistles, a niabara rattle, boyo metal sticks, and koso, brindé and gbembémié drums – Unknown Artist
Recorded in Loropéni, March 21, 1961.
DAGARI PEOPLE
B3 – Millet Grinding Song
Vocals sung by a woman, while grinding millet;
Recorded in Nako, March 20, 1961.
B4 – Music to Celebrate the Harvest
Group of men sing and dance, accompanied by pira metal rings, two 14-bar djil xylophones by Hilé Kambou & Zoumé Hièn (groaning), two spherical kouor kettledrums and two small single-headed diallé drums;
Recorded in Boukor, March 20, 1961.
BIRIFOR PEOPLE
B5 – Sung Story
Vocals and small bell by Lampaté Kambou, accompanied by a male chorus, a kouor kettledrum and two koli drums;
Recorded in Gaoua, March 19, 1961.
B6 – Song with a Forked Harp
Vocals and six-string salan harp with calabash resonator;
** Ethnomusicologist Charles Duvelle (1937-2017) was a formidable champion of traditional music who greatly contributed to the preservation of a disappearing world in our age of globalization, when the rich diversity of our past is quickly being erased and forgotten.
Raised in Indochina, Duvelle was an accomplished classical pianist with a great ear who reveled in new forms of music, like Jazz. He made his indelible mark as general editor of the French label Ocora, whose many remarkable recordings had a qualitative impact that’s impossible to overstate. Showcasing the complexity, diversity, and sometimes high level of abstraction of traditional music, such luminaries as David Byrne, Brian Eno and countless Jazz musicians have readily acknowledged the influence of these seminal LPs on their music and for opening new musical vistas.
My other music posts from Burkina-Faso and more:
Les Trésors du Faso – Musique Traditionnelle Vol. 1 here
Ghana – Ceremonial and Commemorative Music (Lobi track) here
Le Larlé-Naaba et sa Troupe Folklorique – Les Trésors du Mogho – Disques CVD 003 here
Le Larlé-Naaba et sa Troupe Folklorique – Les Trésors du Mogho – Disques CVD 007 here
Compil du Salou Traditionnel Burkinabé Vol. 1 - KA 00134 here
El Hadji Hamado Kanazoe - Maitre Coranique Secteur 19 Vol. 1 here
El Hadji Hamado Kanazoe - Maitre Coranique Secteur 19 Vol. 6 here
Photographs below are from Whispering Woods. The Great Lobi Statuary, from the François & Marie Christiaens Collection, published by Serge Schoffel, 2016:
Young Lobi boy wearing cowrie shells and a feather headdress for the septennial jòrò initiation rite, Batié-Gaoua region, Burkina Faso:
A group of Lobi hunters who are initiates of the Bâba cult notably wearing komé ivory pendants and half-calabash baba gnounkpourcaps:
Protective Lobi Altar of the Bouroum-Bouroum Market, Poni province, Burkina-Faso:
Male Lobi figure, 78 cm:
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Mohamed Tahar Fergani محمدطهارالفرڤاني– El Boughi – Sawt El Menyar 1001 (LP)
Hadj Mohamed Tahar Fergani (1928-2016) was one of the most brilliant Algerian singers and violinists in the later half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family in the northeastern city of Constantine (his father was Cheick Hamou Fergani [1884-1972], the renowned Hazwi singer and composer), Tahar Fergani became a great master of Malouf, a Constantinian version of the mythical Arab-Andalusian music originating from Sevilla during the Muslim rule of Spain, which later spread throughout the Maghreb. Tahar Fergani embraced Arab-Andalusian music in 1951 and refined his artistry, mastering the two other Algerian Arab-Andalusian traditions, from Algiers and Tlemcen, under the guidance of Dahmane Ben Achour (1912-1976) and Abdelkrim Dali (1914-1978).
Tahar Fergani performed frequently throughout his rich and highly successful seven-decade career, and released hundreds of now hard-to-find albums, notably on the Sawt El Menyar label.
El Boughi tells the true story of a forbidden love that took place in 19th-century Constantine. Saïd, a talented young musician nicknamed “El Boughi,” falls in love with Nedjma, a young woman from Constantine's high society. Their impossible love leads to a tragic end and Saïd's demise. Within Constantine's rich malouf heritage, the piece El Boughi holds a special place, blending a tragic story, folk poetry, and the pure expression of Constantinian melancholy.
The “Nightingale of Constantine” sings this epic tale with poetry and lyricism, playing the violin accompanied by a lute, a kanun zither, flutes, and a darbuka drum to create a soft, sophisticated and contemplative ambiance. This universal music inspires feelings of loftiness, humanity, introspection, and the longing for a paradise lost.
Hadj Mohamed Tahar Fergani (1928-2016) fut l'un des chanteurs et violonistes algériens le plus brillant de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle. Né dans le nord-est du pays à Constantine dans une famille de musiciens (son père Cheick Hamou Fergani [1884-1972] fut un célèbre chanteur de Hazwi), Mohamed Tahar Fergani s’affirme comme un grand maître du Malouf, une version constantinoise de la mythique musique arabo-andalouse originaire de Séville dans l’Espagne musulmane, qui s'est par la suite répandue à travers le Maghreb. Il se dédie à la musique arabo-andalouse à partir de 1951 et perfectionne son art tout en apprenant les deux autres traditions arabo-andalouses algériennes d'Alger et de Tlemcen sous la tutelle de Dahmane Ben Achour (1912-1976) et d'Abdelkrim Dali (1914-1978).
Mohamed Tahar Fergani a donné d’innombrables concerts tout au long de sa riche carrière longue de sept décennies et a publié des centaines d'albums et cassettes, notamment sur le label Sawt El Menyar, actuellement difficiles à trouver.
El Boughi y raconte une histoire d'amour tragique et interdite qui s'est déroulée à Constantine au XIXe siècle. Saïd, un jeune musicien talentueux surnommé « El Boughi », tombe amoureux de Nedjma, une jeune femme de la haute société constantinoise. Cet amour impossible mènera à la mort de Saïd.Dans le riche patrimoine du malouf de Constantine, la pièce El Boughi occupe une place à part, mêlant histoire tragique, poésie populaire et l'expression pure de la mélancolie constantinoise.
Ici le “ Rossignol de Constantine ” chante cette histoire avec poésie et lyrisme, et joue du violon accompagné d'un luth, d’une cithare kanoun, de flûtes et d’un tambour darbouka qui créent une ambiance douce, sophistiquée et contemplative. Cette musique universelle inspire des sentiments de noblesse, d’humanisme, d'introspection et la nostalgie d'un paradis perdu.
Mohamed Khaznadji – Les Artistes Arabes Associés 72830here Dahmane Ben Achour – Les Artistes Arabes Associés 72503 here
1er Festival Algérien de Musique Andalouse – Mehradjanehere
The photograph below shows Mohamed Tahar Fergani’s father, Hamou Fergani (1884-1972), playing the violin in the front row of a Constantinian ensemble. A master of Malouf and Hawzi music, he was a member of the Aïssaouia Sufi brotherhood founded in the 15th century. His daughter, Zhor Fergani (1915-1982), the “Diva of Malouf,” was also a pioneer for women in the Arab-Andalusian musical tradition.
(Photograph below from Wikimedia Commons)
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.jpg "MusicRepublic – BURKINA-FASO Birifor - Dagari - Gan - Lobi – Musiques du Pays Lobi – Ocora – OCR 51")
