INDIA – INDE Ram Narayan – Plays Sarangi – Raga Asavar / Raga Des – Solomon's Mines – SME 4

INDIA – INDE
Ram Narayan – Plays Sarangi – Raga Asavar / Raga Des – Solomon's Mines – SME 4, released in 1955 (10 inch, 33 RPM)

Born near Udaipur, Rajasthan, in 1927, Ram Narayan (or Ram Narain) is India's most renowned sarangi player. Traditionally, this instrument was used exclusively for vocal accompaniment. However, he elevated its status to that of a solo instrument and became the first sarangi player to achieve global recognition for his abstract and sensuous flights with the bowed instrument’s rich earthy sonorities.

 

According to Narayan, “I began my professional career as a sarangi player, accompanying top musicians like Omkarnath Thakur, Pandit Krishna Rao, Shankar Pandit, among others, from 1944 onward. After a certain period, I realized that my role as an accompanying musician was restricted and limited, and if I was to grow as a musician it was essential for me to explore new possibilities. I felt that the sarangi definitely deserved solo concert status.”* Narayan decided to definitively abandon the role as accompanist in 1956 to become a solo concert artist, despite (initially) tepid interest from the orthodox musical milieu in India. But his utterly brilliant playing, magnificent albums, and the rapturous reception of his music in the West, established Narayan as one of the Hindustani greats.

 

This exquisite first long-play album released by Narayan in 1955 showcases his genius and awesome mastery of his instrument, which produces a full-bodied, spellbinding, almost celestial, sound. 

 

He is accompanied here by Abdul Karim on tabla.

 

Né en 1927 près d’Udaipur dans le Rajasthan, Ram Narayan (ou Ram Narain) est le plus célèbre joueur de sarangi, un instrument traditionnellement réservée à l’accompagnement des chanteurs qu’il a élevé au rang d'instrument solo. Il fut le premier joueur de sarangi à être mondialement reconnu grâce à ses envolées lyriques abstraites et sensuelles sur les riches sonorités caverneuses de la vièle à archet.

 

Selon Narayan, « J’ai commencé ma carrière professionnelle en 1944 en tant que joueur de sarangi aux côtés de chanteurs comme Omkarnath Thakur, Pandit Krishna Rao et Shankar Pandit. Après un certain temps, j’ai réalisé que le rôle de musicien accompagnateur était finalement limité et que pour grandir musicalement, il était essentiel pour moi d’explorer de nouvelles possibilités. Je sentais que le sarangi méritait le statut d’instrument de concert solo »*. En 1956, Narayan décida d'abandonner définitivement son rôle d'accompagnateur pour se consacrer à une carrière solo, en dépit de l'intérêt limité et du scepticisme initialement exprimé par le milieu musical orthodoxe en Inde. Mais son jeu brillantissime, ses magnifiques albums et l’accueil enthousiaste de sa musique en Occident finirent par établir Narayan comme l’un des plus grands musiciens d’Inde du nord.

 

Ce disque exquis publié en 1955 illustre parfaitement son génie et sa maîtrise époustouflante du sarangi, qui produit des sonorités riches, envoûtantes, quasi célestes. 

Il est accompagné ici par Abdul Karim aux tablas.
*August 11, 2012 Ram Narayan interview  here 

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Our other sarangi music posts:

Ram Narayan & Chatur Lal – HMV EPE 1212, 1961 here

Ram Narayan – HMV EASD 1340, 1969 here

Bundo Khan –  Sarangi Nawaz – LKDE 20004 here

Sarangi, Punjab, second half of the 19th century, from Gloire des Princes, Louange des Dieux – catalogue for the March-June 2003 Musée 

de la Musique exhibition in Paris:

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ROMANIA – ROUMANIE Ansamblul lui Sidor Andronicescu ensemble – The Traditional Folk Music Band: II Bucovina – Electrecord EPE 02164

ROMANIA – ROUMANIE

Ansamblul lui Sidor Andronicescu ensemble – The Traditional Folk Music Band: II Bucovina – Institutul de Cercetări Etnologie și Dialectologice – Electrecord EPE 02164 – recorded in 1936, 1954 and 1956, released in 1983 (LP)

I am pleased to present an album of the seminal eight LP series of Romanian regional folk music curated from the archives of the Institutul de Cercetări Etnologice și Dialectologice and released in the 1980s on the Electrecord label.

 

The 20 tracks on this album by the Ansamblul lui Sidor Andronicescu ensemble were recorded over two decades in 1936, 1954 and 1956 in the village of Fundul Moldovei in Bukovina, located in northeastern Romania at the border of Ukraine. 

 

The accomplished violinist Sidor Andronicescu founded the instrumental ensemble to perform at the village’s hora dances and weddings. Andronicescu on violin, Ilie Cazacu on pipes, Zenovia Țimpău on vocals (B3), Vasile Mîndrilă (A9 & A 10) and Fan Macovei (B9) on vocals [declaimers], along with unknown musicians weave fluid, lyrical and spirited sonorities that are at the heart of the region’s authentic time-honored rural culture. 

 

J'ai le plaisir de vous présenter un album de la série de huit disques de musique folklorique régionale roumaine tirée des archives de l'Institutul de Cercetări Etnologice și Dialectologice et publiée dans les années 1980 sur le label Electrecord.

 

Les 20 morceaux de cet album ont été enregistrés sur deux décennies, en 1936, 1954 et 1956, dans le village de Fundul Moldovei en Bucovine, situé dans le nord-est de la Roumanie, à la frontière de l'Ukraine. 

 

L’excellent violoniste Sidor Andronicescu fonda cet ensemble instrumental pour jouer lors de danses hora et de mariages au village. Sidor Andronicescu au violon, Ilie Cazacu à la cornemuse, Zenovia Țimpău au chant (B3), Vasile Mîndrilă (A9 & A 10) et Fan Macovei (B9) au chant [déclamateurs], ainsi que des musiciens inconnus, tissent des sonorités fluides, lyriques et pleines d'entrain qui sont au cœur de l'authentique culture rurale d’antan de la région. 

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Our other Romanian music posts:

Anthology of Romanian Folk Music Vol. I, record 1 – Electrecord EPD 78 here

Ion Matache – Electrecord EPD 1269 here

Mihály Halmágyi with Gizella Ádám – Gyimesi Népzene (Hungarian Folk Music from Gyimes) – Hungaroton here

Orient - Okzident – Musik Aus Südost-Europa – Museum Collection Berlin MC3 here

Vintage postcard of a ox-drawn carriage, Bukovina, Romania:

Vintage postcard of a bear trainer in the woods, Romania:

Historically, dancing bears were a common sight in Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia.  This tradition, which predates Christianity, involved bears dancing in front of houses to ward off evil spirits and to bring good fortune. In Romania the bears danced to songs accompanied by drums and wooden spoon percussion.

Please help me purchase important traditional records 

to pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog:

INDIA – INDE Dagar Brothers – Nasir Moinuddin Dagar & Nasir Aminuddin Dagar – Les Artistes Arabes Associés - EALP 1291

INDIA – INDE

Dagar Brothers – Nasir Moinuddin Dagar & Nasir Aminuddin Dagar – Les Artistes Arabes Associés - EALP 1291, released in 1965 (LP)

300 Posts!

 

For my 300^th post since the blog’s inception, in November 2017, I wanted to share the first LP of Hindustani Dhrupad singing I purchased in the late 1980s. Discovering this extraordinary music, believed to date back to the 12th century and rooted in the Carnatic tradition, performed here by the Senior Dagar Brothers, was a true revelation. Exquisite meditative music of the highest order reflecting values so far removed from our contemporary zeitgeist. I have recorded several pressings of this LP and this reissue on the great Franco-Algerian label Les Artistes Arabes Associés sounds the best.

* * *

 

The Senior Dagar Brothers, Nasir Moinuddin Dagar (1921-1966) and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar (1923-2000), were two great classical Dagarvani Dhrupad vocalists from the highly prestigious Dagar family, whose unbroken musical lineage goes back 19 generations.

 

First trained by their father Nasiruddin Khan (1890-1936) until his premature death in 1936, they continued their musical education under Riyazuddin Khan (1885-1947) and Ziauddin Khan Dagar (1886-1946), and formed a formidable jugalbandi duo, whose fame in the 1950s and 60s helped revive the Dhrupad tradition. They also trained their younger brothers, Nasir Zahiruddin (1933–1994) and Nasir Faiyazuddin (1934–1989), who performed as the Younger Dagar Brothers.

 

The elder brothers’ deep, serene and telepathic singing carried by the tanpura’s drone, and S. V. Patwardhan’s delicate mridangam (or pakhawaj) double-sided drum on this LP, weave timeless, sensuous sonorities connected with the chanting of ancient Vedic hymns and mantras. This is essential spiritual and devotional Indian music of timeless, universal beauty.

 

After Moinuddin’s untimely death in 1966 at the age of 46, Aminuddin founded a Dhrupad school and pursued a brilliant solo career.

 

Les Senior Dagar Brothers, les frères Nasir Moinuddin Dagar (1921-1966) et Nasir Aminuddin Dagar (1923-2000), étaient deux grands chanteurs classiques du Dhrupad Dagarvani de la prestigieuse famille Dagar, dont la lignée musicale ininterrompue remontait à 19 générations.

 

D'abord formés par leur père Nasiruddin Khan (1890-1936) jusqu'à sa mort prématurée en 1936, les deux frères aînés poursuivirent leur éducation musicale sous la tutelle de Riyazuddin Khan (1885-1947) et de Ziauddin Khan Dagar (1886-1946), et formèrent un duo jugalbandi, dont la renommée dans les années 50 et 60 contribua à faire revivre la tradition Dhrupad.

 

Ils ont également formé leurs jeunes frères, Nasir Zahiruddin (1933-1994) et Nasir Faiyazuddin (1934-1989), qui chanteront également en duo connu sous le nom de Younger Dagar Brothers.

 

Sur cet album, le chant profond, serein et télépathique des deux frères aînés, porté par le bourdon du tanpura et le délicat tambour double face pakhawaj (ou mridangam) de S. V. Patwardhan, tisse des sonorités intemporelles et sensuelles liées au chant d'anciens hymnes et mantras védiques. Une musique indienne spirituelle et dévotionnelle essentielle, d'une beauté intemporelle et universelle.

 

Après la mort prématurée de Moinuddin en 1966 à l'âge de 46 ans, Aminuddin fonda une école de dhrupad et poursuivit une brillante carrière solo.

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Ustad Nasiruddin Khan (1890-1936), 

the Dagar Brothers' 

father and teacher:

Our other Dhrupad music posts:

Nasir Aminuddin Dagar – HMV EASD 1420 here 
Younger Dagar Brothers – Nassir Zahiruddin Dagar & Nassir Faiyazuddin Dagar – EALP 1334 here
Zia Mohiuddin Dagar – HMV - 7 EPE 1312 here

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar – Morgonraga – here
Chandrashekhar Naringrekar – HMV - 7 EPE 1590 here

Photograph below is from Yoga – The Art of Transformation edited by Debra Diamond, Freer / Sackler, Smithsonian, 2013:

The Seven Great Sages (Saptarishi) “were popularly believed 

to have attained their semi-divine status through 

exceptional devotion and extraordinary ascetic feats,” 

Jammu and Kashmir, Mankot, c. 1675-1700:

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to pursue my global curation project and share the 

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KURDISH – KURDE Kurdish Music – A Musical Anthology of the Orient – Bärenteiter-Musicaphon – BM 30 SL 2028

KURDISH – KURDE  

Kurdish Music – A Musical Anthology of the Orient – Bärenteiter-Musicaphon – BM 30 SL 2028, recorded by M. Kendal in Armenia (LP)

An estimated 40 million ethnic Kurds currently live in Türkiye (Turkey), Syria, Iraq, Iran and Armenia. Historically, Kurdish minorities have often had to fight for their culture, especially during recent periods in Iraq and Türkiye when Kurdish language, culture and music were banned.

 

Kendal Nezan (b. 1949) presents this record as a panorama of the diversity of Kurdish music from Türkiye, Syria, Iraq and Armenia (the music of Iranian Kurds was not included here). However, there is no precise indication of where these recordings were made.

 

This essential anthology presents the rich Kurdish musical tradition with its own distinctive character, featuring vocals, the blur shepherd’s flute (A3, B3), the double-reed duduk (A1, A2, A4, A6, A7, B1, B2, B5, B8), the double-reed zirne (zurna) oboe (B7) and the Kurdish short-necked tenbur lute (A5, A8, B5, B6). These poetic songs, which sometimes accompany regional dances, touch on a variety of themes including love, melancholy, the pain of separation, exile, folktales and legends.

 

On estime à 40 millions le nombre de Kurdes vivant actuellement en Turquie, en Syrie, en Irak, en Iran et en Arménie. Historiquement, les minorités kurdes ont souvent dû se battre pour leur culture, notamment à certaines périodes récentes en Irak et en Turquie où la langue, la culture et la musique kurdes ont été interdites.

 

Kendal Nezan (né en 1949) présente ce disque comme un panorama de la diversité de la musique kurde de Turquie, de Syrie, d'Irak et d'Arménie (sans la musique des Kurdes iraniens). Cependant, peu d'informations sont fournies sur les lieux où ces enregistrements ont été réalisés.

 

Cette anthologie essentielle présente la riche tradition musicale kurde, avec des voix, les flûtes de berger blur (A3, B3), des duduks à anches doubles (A1, A2, A4, A6, A7, B1, B2, B5, B8), un hautbois zirne (zurna) à anches doubles (B7) et des luths tenbur à manche court (A5, A8, B5, B6). Ces musiques poétiques, qui accompagnent parfois des danses régionales, abordent des thèmes variés tels que l'amour, la mélancolie, la douleur de la séparation, l'exil, les contes et les légendes.

A1 – Gulè Mahrume (Poor Gule)

Egitê Cimo (duduk) and unknown second duduk player.

 

A2 – Ehmedo Roni (Ehmedo – My Light)

Female vocals and duduk.

 

A3 – Xece U Siyamend (love song)

Şamilê Beko (blur flute).

 

A4 – Miho (love song)

Fatima Isa (vocals) and duduk.

 

A5 – Le Gulè (O Rose) dance

Ezeddin Temo (vocals and tenbur).

 

A6 – Bedewè (Splendid woman)

Şeroyê Biro (vocals) and duduk.

 

A7 – Qeydé Neriya (Song of the goats)

Egitê Cimo (duduk) and unknown second duduk player.

 

A8 – Sisile (Epic song)

Aramê Tigran (tenbur) and Memoyê Silo (vocals).

 

B1 – Naziye (dance) 

Old song from the Tigris plain;

XelÎîlê Evdile (duduk).

 

B2 – Ciya Bilind In (The mountains are high)

Şewabê Esed (vocals) and duduk.

 

B3 – Blur Solo

Şamilê Beko (blur flute).

 

B4 – Berivane (The milkmaid of the sheep)

Efoyê Esed (vocals).

 

B5 – Bave Seyro

XelÎîlê Evdile (duduk) and Aramê Tigran (tenbur).

 

B6 – Were Teli (Come O Teli)

Song from the Kurdish-speaking Yezidis;

Aramê Tigran (tenbur) and Memoyê Silo (vocals).

 

B7 – Gava Zeryam Nisan Kirin (When we celebrated my engagement with my blonde)

Song popular with Armenian Kurds;

CecÎîl Û Samko (zurna and daf).

 

B8 – Xezalé (O My Gazelle)

Mizare Egit (vocals) Egitê Cimo (duduk).

 

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Our other Kurdish music post:

Musique Populaire du Kurdistan - Chants d'Amour - Disques Alvarès 812 here

The popular Kurdish singer Ayşe Şan (1938-1996) from Türkiye singing 

Yüzüğun Taşı Elmas (The Stone of the Ring is Diamond):

Please help me purchase important traditional records 

to pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog: