INDIA – INDE Bade Ghulam Ali Khan – Padma Bhooshan – Odeon MOAE 5004

INDIA – INDE
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan – Padma Bhooshan – Odeon MOAE 5004, released 1968 (LP)

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902-1968) was one of the greatest Hindustani vocalist of the 20th century. Born into a family of distinguished musicians in Kasur, near Lahore in present day Pakistan, the child prodigy was successively mentored by his uncle Khan Sahib Kale Khan and his father Ali Baksh Khan. Khan went on to take the Patiala Gharana to new heights and was adulated across the subcontinent.

According to Susheela Misra* (1920-1998), Khan was not interested in political and religious differences. He knew of only two categories of humanity – music-lovers and the uninterested ones. “I know only one thing – Music! I am little interested in other things – I am just a humble devotee of God and Music.” (…) Whether it was a Khayal with a courtly theme, a Thumri with wistfully romantic word-content, a playful Dadra or a soulful Bhajan, Ghulam Ali Khan always put his heart and soul into the song. (…) He could conjure up before the audience, the entire beauty, youthful exuberance, bursting buds, and blossoms, the poignancy of separation and the entire atmosphere of Spring.

 

Rightly called ‘the King of light classical music,’ he had cultivated a full and splendidly modulated voice that charmed listeners. It was a soothing, polished voice that could float effortlessly over 3 octaves, in slow Jong glides (meends) or in taans of inimitable speed. Khan never tried to win the approbation of those classical purists who judge the excellence of a performance by the length of delineation of each raga. His aim was to appeal to the hearts of the millions who heard him. Following his death in 1968, singer Begum Akhtar (1914-1974) paid her tribute thus: “I have never seen such a rare combination of greatness and simplicity. When I first heard him, I felt that I was hearing real music for the first time.”

 

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902-1968) fut l'un des plus grands chanteurs Hindoustani du XXe siècle. Né dans une famille de grands musiciens à Kasur, près de Lahore dans l'actuel Pakistan, son éducation musicale fut prodiguée par son oncle Khan Sahib Kale Khan et son père Ali Baksh Khan. L’incomparable chanteur du Patiala Gharana fut véritablement adulé à travers tout le sous-continent.

 

Selon Susheela Misra* (1920-1998), Khan ne s'intéressait pas aux différences politiques et religieuses. Il ne distinguait que deux catégories de personnes: les mélomanes et les personnes non-intéressées. « Je ne connais qu'une seule chose: la musique ! Je ne suis qu'un humble adepte de Dieu et de la musique ». (…) Que ce soit un Khayal avec un thème courtois, un Thumri mélancolique, un Dadra espiègle ou un Bhajan émouvant, Ghulam Ali Khan y mettait toujours tout son cœur et son âme. (…) Lors de récitals il pouvait évoquer toute la beauté, l'exubérance juvénile, l'éclatement des bourgeons et des fleurs, l'émotion de la séparation et toute l'atmosphère du printemps.

 

Surnommé à juste titre « le roi de la musique classique légère », il modulait magnifiquement sa voix pleine, apaisante, et raffinée sur 3 octaves – allant de glissements lents Jong (meends) à des taans d'une vitesse inimitable avec une aisance déconcertante – qui enchantait ses auditeurs. Khan n'a jamais cherché l'approbation des puristes de la musique classique qui jugent l'excellence d'une performance en fonction de la longueur de la délimitation de chaque raga. Son objectif était plutôt de s'adresser directement au cœur des millions de mélomanes qui l’adulaient. Après sa mort en 1968, la chanteuse Begum Akhtar (1914-1974) lui rendit hommage: « Je n'ai jamais vu une telle combinaison de grandeur et de simplicité. La première fois que je l'ai entendu chanter, j'ai eu l’impression d’écouter de la vraie musique pour la toute première fois. » 

*Great Masters of Hindustani Music by Susheela Misra, 1981.

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Our other male Hindustani vocal shares:

Nazakat & Salamat Ali Khan – His Master's Voice  – 7 EPE 1356 here

Faiyaz Khan – Raag Darbari / Raag Lalit / Raag Bhairavi – Hindusthan Record – LH 5 here

Amir Khan – Inreco 24110001 here

Bhimsen Joshi – ECLP 2264 here
Nasir Aminudin Dagar – EASD 1420 here

Faiyaz Khan, Abdul Karim Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, etc. – EALP 1453/1452 here

“The moment you recognize what is beautiful in this world, you stop being a slave.”

 

« Dès l’instant que vous apprenez à reconnaître la beauté dans ce monde, vous cessez d’être un esclave. »

Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938)

The photographs below are from Paintings from the Muslim Courts of India, British Museum, London, 1976, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Open Access initiative, which gives access to more than 400,000 images of public-domain artworks from The Met collection available for free and unrestricted use (www.metmuseum.org):

Yellow-backed Woodpecker, painted by Mansur, Mughal, c.1585:

Shah Jahan on Horseback, painted by Payag, Mughal, c. 1530:

Please help me purchase important traditional records to pursue my global 

curation project and share the best finds with you on this blog:

ETHIOPIA – ÉTHIOPIE Éthiopie – Amharas & Nouer – Alpha 1019

ETHIOPIA – ÉTHIOPIE

Éthiopie – Amharas & Nouer – Alpha 1019, recorded by Christian Monty, 1969 (Vinyl 7 inch, 45 RPM)

This inspired 7-inch album released in 1969 on the Belgian label Alpha features traditional music of the Amhara people, aka Abyssinians, from Northern Ethiopia, and the pastoral Nuer people from western Ethiopia. 

 

The Amhara music showcases the flute and kabaro drum (A1), singing and the krar lyre (A2) masinKo, or masenqo, single-stringed bowed lutes (A3-A4), and Christian rituals (A5, B1, B2) – most Amharas are members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church founded in the 4th century. The record ends with two Nuer music tracks with collective chants, drumming, a trumpet, and a pastoral xylophone (B3, B4).

 

Ce 45 tours inspiré sorti en 1969 sur le label belge Alpha présente la musique des Amharas, également appelés Abyssiniens, du nord de l'Éthiopie, et des Nouers de l'ouest de l'Éthiopie.  

 

La musique Amhara présente la flûte et le tambour kabaro (A1), le chant et la lyre krar (A2), la vièle à archet monocorde masinKo, ou masenqo (A3-A4), des rites chrétiens (A5, B1, B2) – la plupart des Amharas sont membres de l'Église éthiopienne orthodoxe Tewahedo fondée au IVème siècle. L'album se termine avec deux morceaux de musique Nouer comprenant des chants collectifs, des percussions, une trompette, et un xylophone pastoral (B3, B4).

Arhamra people, aka Abyssinians (northern Ethiopia)

A1 – Flute and kabaro drum;

A2 – Epic song accompanied by krar lyre; 

A3 – Song accompanied by masinKo, or masenqo, single-stringed bowed lute (see front cover), Lasta district;

A4 – MasinKo solo;

A5 – Religious chants sung by deacons, Axum;

B1 – Psalms sung at Lalibela, Lasta district;

B2 – Popular dances, Lasta district;

Nuer people (Gambela region, western Ethiopia)

B3 – Warrior’s dance 

B4 – Pastoral xylophone 

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Our other Ethiopian music posts:

Azmari Music of the Amharas – Anthology AST 6000, 1967 here

Polyphonies des Dorzé – Le Chant du Monde, 1975 here

Vintage postcards:

Minstrel playing the krar lyre (A2):

Priest at the Christian holy city of Lalibela, home to 11 rock-hewn churches (B1)

More about the Lalibela churches here

Priest celebrating a Coptic cult:

Priests celebrating Easter, Axum (A5), 1965:

Please help me purchase important traditional records to pursue my global 

curation project and share the best finds with you on this blog:

IRAN Music of Iran – Seven Seas – Ethnic Music of the World Series – GXC-5004

IRAN
Music of Iran – Seven Seas – Ethnic Music of the World Series – GXC-5004, recorded by Fumio Koizumi (1927-1983) in 1977 (LP)

This outstanding recording of Iranian classical and regional music on the Japanese label Seven Seas showcases the tar and setar lute, the kamanche bowed string, wind instruments (dozaleh double-piped clarinet, double-reed zurna oboe, balaban flute), singing, drums and percussion (dohol drum, double-headed davul drum, naqareh percussion) all played by master musicians, including Dariush Talai, who would later notably record on the label Ocora.

Cet excellent disque de musique classique et régionale iranienne sur le label japonais Seven Seas présente les luths tar et setar, la vièle à archet kamanche, des instruments à vent (la clarinette dozaleh à double corps, le hautbois zurna à anche double, la flûte balaban), le chant et des instruments percussifs (le tambour dohol, le tambour davul à deux faces, les percussions naqareh), tous joués par de grands musiciens, dont Dariush Talai, qui enregistrera par la suite notamment sur le label Ocora.

A1 – Bayat -E- Esfahan

Dariush Talai, tar lute. 

 

A2 – Daramad Rastpanjgah

Dariush Talai, tar lute.

 

A3 – Segah 

Dariush Talai, setar lute.

 

A4 – Shur 

Dariush Talai, setar lute.

 

B1 – Dozale double-piped clarinet and dohol drum

Mohammad Sabopa, dozaleh double-piped clarinet,
Ramazan Rezai, dohol drum.

 

B2 – Balaban flute and dohol drum

Mohammad Sabopa, balaban flute,

Ramazan Rezai, dohol drum.

 

B3 – Double-reed zurna oboe and davul drum

Mohammad Sabopa, double-reed zurna oboe,

Ramazan Rezai, double-headed davul drum.

 

B4 – Kurdish Folksong 

Baha El-Din Noruzi, vocal and dayereh frame drum,
Mohammad Sabopa, double-reed zurna oboe,
Ramazan Rezai, double-headed davul drum.

B5 – Folksongs from the Gīlān Province

B5a – Avaze-Deylaman

B5b – Gole Pamchal

B5c – Shal-E-Mahtab

Bahram Khuji Nedjad, dayereh frame drum,

Reza Navazande, naqareh percussion,

Moarafat Allah Fiyuji Nedjad and Ezzatollah Rutibasiyan, kamanche bowed string,

Saied Hossein Ghavami, singing.

 

B5d – Khāstegārī 

Ramazan Rezai, double-headed davul drum, 

Mohammad Sabopa, double-reed zurna oboe.

 

B5e – Avaze-Deylaman (original) 

Said Hossein Mir Ahmadi, singing.

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Our other Persian/Iranian music posts:

Traditional Persian Music – Ahang Rooz Record Company here

Iran Musique Traditionnelle – Disques Alvarès EX 1514 here
Musique Persane Vol. 2 – Vogue EXTP 1034 here

Music of Iran – Santur Recital – Nasser Raster-Nejad – Lyrichord LLST 7135 here

200 Posts!

This album marks my 200^th post since the blog’s inception, in November 2017. I take this opportunity to thank the countless music lovers from every corner of the world who have visited MusicRepublic or contacted me to express their appreciation and encouragement. 

 

I’d also like to convey my heartfelt thanks to João, who has significantly enriched the blog with so many of his rare records and tapes, and Nuno for helping to make the visuals look great. Gratitude to the blog’s many friends, like Hakim in Marrakesh, who is deepening my knowledge of Moroccan music through his discovery of many dozens of 7-inch records, and all those who have taken the time to provide precious background information on these music: Eden in India, who has translated Urdu and Hindi lyrics into English for the blog, and friends in Benin and Burkina Faso, all of whom provide glimpses into the timeless and borderless poetic & metaphorical spirit of the bygone traditional world. 

 

Music is ephemeral. To stay alive it must be heard. At a time of an alarming increase in tensions and fragmentation worldwide, questioning of our identity and values, and when our global heritage is at its most fragile and endangered, preserving our musical legacy is more urgent than ever. I will continue to highlight the incredible beauty, excitement and diversity of these musics, with optimal sound, in a context that inspires in-depth exploration and discovery. All with great passion and utmost pleasure.

Music that is planned is tradition,

Music that is unplanned is imagination,

Music that is both is Spirit.

Sufi proverb
                                                                    Une musique qui est planifiée est la tradition,
                                                                    Une musique qui n'est pas planifiée est l'imagination,

                                                                    Une musique qui est les deux à la fois est l'Esprit.

    

                                                                    Proverbe Soufi

Photographs below are from Images en Terre d'Islam by Oleg Grabar (1929-2011), RMN, 2009, and Iran - Les Traditions Musicales by Nelly Caron and Dariouche Safvate, Buchet/Chastel, 1966:

Detail from The Court of Kayumars, Folio from the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp, attributed to Safavid master Sultan Muhammad, Tabriz , Iran, c. 1525:

Târ lute master Aqâ Hosein Qoli (1854-1916): 

Bowed-string kamanche master Hosein Khân:

Please help me purchase important traditional records to pursue my global 

curation project and share the best finds with you on this blog: