BURKINA-FASO Birifor - Dagari - Gan - Lobi – Musiques du Pays Lobi – Ocora – OCR 51

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 by Malidoma Patrice Somé, Putnam, 1994.

LOBI PEOPLE

 

A1 – Festive Biré 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 – Celebration Music 

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, three two-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;

Recorded in Gaoua, March 19, 1961.

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** 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

Haute Volta – Ocora – SOR 10  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 gnounkpour caps:

Protective Lobi Altar of the Bouroum-Bouroum Market,
Poni province, Burkina-Faso:

Male Lobi figure, 78 cm:

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ALGERIA – ALGÉRIE Mohamed Tahar Fergani محمد طهار الفرڤاني – El Boughi – Sawt El Menyar 1001

ALGERIA – ALGÉRIE

Mohamed Tahar Fergani محمد طهار الفرڤاني  – 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.

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My other posts of Algerian Arab-Andalusian music:

Mohamed Tahar Fergani – Sawt El Menyar 1004 here  

Mohamed Khaznadji – Les Artistes Arabes Associés 72830 here   
Dahmane Ben Achour – Les Artistes Arabes Associés 72503 here  

1er Festival Algérien de Musique Andalouse – Mehradjane here  

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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KOREA (NORTH) – Musique de Corée – Folklores et Musiques de l’Univers – BAM LD 5738

KOREA (NORTH)
Musique de Corée – Folklores et Musiques de l’Univers – BAM LD 5738, recorded by the National Radio of Pyongyang in the late 1950s, released in 1970 (LP)

This album is a 1970 reissue of two outstanding 7-inch 33 RPM discs released between 1958 and 1960. The albums, BAM LD 374 and BAM LD 379, were reissued here on Side A and Side B of this LP, respectively.

 

After World War II, North Korea adopted a socialist aesthetic that rejected Aak, ancient court music, as a remnant of feudal elitism. The principles of Juche (self-reliance) were privileged and traditional folk lyrics replaced with revolutionary themes. In the 1960s and 70s, this social development also led to the modernization of traditional instruments. Most notably, the gayageum zither was expanded from 12 to 21 strings. By increasing their range, volume, and capacity for chromatic scales, traditional Korean instruments were successfully integrated into orchestral arrangements alongside Western violins and brass instruments.

 

Recorded by the National Radio of Pyongyang, the abstract and stately tracks on this album with eerie sonorities was performed in the late 1950s by accomplished professional musicians trained at the Pyongyang University of Music and Dance. It includes vocals (A2, A4, A7, B2, B3, B6, B8), a male vocal group (A5), kayagum (or gayageum) 12-string zithers (A1, A2, B1, B9), geomungo (or komungo) six-string zithers (A8, B9), a five-hole danso bamboo flute (A3), a daegeum bamboo flute (B5), taepyeongso (or saenap) double-reed oboes (A6, B4), piri double-reed oboes (B4, B7), hourglass janggu “sand” drums (A3, A8, B4, B9), a jing gong (B4) and a violin (B9).

 

Cette réédition de 1970 reprend deux disques 33 tours 17 cm initialement parus entre 1958 et 1960. Les albums originaux, BAM LD 374 et BAM LD 379, sont respectivement repris sur la face A et la face B de ce disque.

Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, la Corée du Nord a adopté une esthétique socialiste, rejetant l'Aak, l'ancienne musique de cour, considérée comme un vestige de l'élitisme féodal. Les principes du juche (autosuffisance) ont été privilégiés et les paroles folkloriques traditionnelles ont été remplacées par des thèmes révolutionnaires. Dans les années 1960 et 1970, cette évolution sociale a également mené à la modernisation des instruments traditionnels, notamment la cithare gayageum, qui est passée de 12 à 21 cordes. En augmentant leur tessiture, leur volume et leur capacité à produire des gammes chromatiques, les instruments coréens traditionnels ont été intégrés avec succès dans des arrangements orchestraux aux côtés de violons et de cuivres occidentaux.

 

Enregistrées par la Radio nationale de Pyongyang, ces musiques expressives et abstraites aux sonorités éthérées ont été interprétées à la fin des années 1950 par des musiciens professionnels de renom, formés à l'Université de musique et de danse de Pyongyang. Cet opus comprend des chants (A2, A4, A7, B2, B3, B6, B8), un groupe vocal masculin (A5), des cithares à douze cordes kayagum (ou gayageum) (A1, A2, B1, B9), des cithares à six cordes geomungo (ou komungo) (A8, B9), une flûte en bambou danso à cinq trous (A3), une flûte en bambou daegeum (B5), des hautbois à anche double taepyeongso (ou saenap) (A6, B4), des hautbois à anche double piri (B4, B7), des tambours janggu en forme de sablier  (A3, A8, B4, B9), un gong jing (B4) ainsi qu'un violon (B9).

Side A contains the reissue of the album BAM LD 374 (7-inch 33 RPM)

 

A1 – Kayagum Sandjodjoung E Soeu (Chosen among several melodies)

Kayagum (or gayageum) 12-string zither by Djung Nam-Hi.

 

A2 – Sai Tariong (Song to the bird)

Vocals and kayagum by Youn Yung-Man.

 

A3 – Da Serimkoi Antansandjo

A five-hole danso bamboo flute and hourglass janggu “sand” drum, composed and performed by Tchouei Ok-Sam.

 

A4 – Rionkang Kinari (The Dragon River is long)

Vocals by Kim Kwan-Bo.

 

A5 – Pungou Tarion (Farmers’ spring song)

Unknown male vocal group.

 

A6 – Nongak Karak (Farmers’ song)

Taepyeongso (or saenap) double-reed oboe by Djo Kwang-Hi and janggu drum.

 

A7 – Santchunga (Song to the mountain rivers)

Vocals and kayagum 12-string zither by Tchouei Kwang-Hyung.

 

A8 – Geumungo Sandjo Djoung E Soeu (Chosen among several melodies)

Geomungo six-string zither by An Gui-Ok and janggu drum by Yu Dai-Dok.

 

Side B contains the reissue of the album BAM LD 379 (7-inch 33 RPM). The music here features excerpts from the soundtrack of Jean-Claude Bonnardot's film Moranbong (meaning "Flower Hill"). The film tells the story of a theater that was bombed on this hill located above Pyongyang during the Korean War. The local inhabitants rebuilt it underground in a mere 90 days.

 

B1 – Yang-Nan’s arrival in Pyong-Yang

The Classical National Art Theater Orchestra of Pyongyang, conducted by An Sung-Hyun (1920-2006). The piece was composed by Djung Nam-Hi, who also plays the kayagum (or gayageum).

 

B2 – Farewell Duet by Tchun-Hiang and Mong-Lion

Vocals by Sin Ou-Sun (Tchun-Hiang) and Gong Gui-Nam (Mong-Lion).

 

B3 – The Governor Tries To Seduce Tchun Hiang 

Vocals by Gong Gui-Nam.

 

B4 – Village Music

Unknown ensemble includes taepyeongso (or saenap) and piri double-reed oboes, janggu drum and jing gong.

 

B5 – Farewell Song (Tchun-Hiang Djun)

Unknown daegeum bamboo flute.

 

B6 – Tchun-Hiang’s Song of Despair

Vocals by Sin Ou-Sun.

 

B7 – Nyung-Boul (prayer to the mountain)

Piri double-reed oboe by Han Yung-Gun.

 

B8 – The Return of Mong-Lion

Vocals by by Gong Gui-Nam (Mong-Lion) and Rim So-Hiang (The servant).

 

B9 – Sai Bom (New spring)

Performed by the National String Quintet with An Gui-Ok, Dji Nam-Sou, Djung Nam-Hi, Kim Djin-Nyung, You Tai-Bok. Composed by An Gui-Ok. Geomungo and kayagum zithers, a violin, a janggu drum.

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Vintage North-Korean postcard: Dance at a Wellspring:

A pivotal figure in Korean history, Ch'oe Che-u (1824–1864) founded the

Donghak (Eastern Learning) movement, which marked a profound social and political awakening intended to protect Korean identity during a period of significant internal decay and external pressure.

 

In North Korea, he is not praised as a religious mystic, but as an anti-feudal hero who challenged the class system, as well as an anti-imperialist 

and a precursor of Juche (self-reliance), who sought to counter 

Western influence and defend Korean sovereignty.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Please help me purchase important traditional records to 

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