INDIA – INDE Amir Khan – Khayal by Ustad Amir Khan – His Master's Voice – EASD 1331

INDIA – INDE
Amir Khan – Khayal by Ustad Amir Khan – His Master's Voice – EASD 1331, released in 1968 (LP)

The unrivalled and highly influential 20th century Hindustani classical Khyal vocalist Amir Khan (1912-1974), was born in Kalanaur, Punjab State. After first studying the bowed sarangi under the tutelage of his father Shahmir Khan, Amir embraced singing, and later founded the Indore Gharana school based on the styles of three towering vocalists, namely Abdul Wahid Khan (1871–1949), Rajab Ali Khan (1874–1959) and Aman Ali Khan (1888–1953).

 

Author Susheela Misra (1920-1998) wrote, “His music combined the massive dignity of Dhrupad with the ornate vividness of Khayal. (…) What set him apart from his contemporary artistes was the fact that he never made any concessions to popular tastes, but always stuck to his pure, almost puritanical, highbrow style.”* 

 

According to musicologist Deepak Raja, “Ustad Amir Khan was easily the single most influential Hindustani vocalist of the 20th century. His music deeply influenced his contemporaries and (…) continues to shape the dominant tendencies in vocalism, as well as instrumental music…he set standards of musicianship that have yet to be bettered.”** Sitar maestro Nikhil Banerjee (1931-1986) echoed the sentiment during a 1975 tribute to Khan: “He has been a constant inspiration in my musical career. In going to develop my own musical ideas I have very often felt that Khan Saheb has thrown a new light on the concept of music and his demonstration has opened up a new horizon with its immense possibilities.”***

 

This superb LP showcases Khan’s deep, mellow baritone voice that effortlessly expressed intensity, sensuality, creativity, dignity and glowing majesty.

 

Khan is accompanied here by Jnan Prakash Ghosh (1909-1997) on the harmonium and Afaque Hussain (1930-1990) on tabla.

Amir Khan (1912-1974), né à Kalanaur, dans l'État du Pendjab, fut un chanteur Khyal classique Hindustani sans pareil et extrêmement influent. Après avoir étudié la vièle à archet sarangi sous la tutelle de son père Shahmir Khan, il se dévoue au chant et fondera par la suite l'école Indore Gharana qui synthétisa les styles de trois chanteurs majeurs d'antan : Abdul Wahid Khan (1871-1949), Rajab Ali Khan (1874-1959) et Aman Ali Khan (1888-1953). 

L'auteur Susheela Misra (1920-1998) affirma : « Sa musique combine la grande dignité du Dhrupad avec la vivacité ornementale du Khayal. (…) Il se distingua des artistes de son époque en refusant de faire des concessions pour s’adapter aux goûts du jour du public et en restant fidèle à la pureté de style, empreint d’érudition, voir même d’une certaine austérité ».*

Selon le musicologue Deepak Raja, « Ustad Amir Khan était de loin le chanteur Hindustani le plus influent du XXe siècle. Sa musique a profondément influencé ses contemporains et (…) continue de façonner les tendances dominantes non seulement du chant classique, mais également de la musique instrumentale ».** Un sentiment partagé notamment par le grand maître du sitar Nikhil Banerjee (1931-1986) lors d'un hommage rendu à Amir Khan en 1975 suite à sa disparition: « Il m’a inspiré tout au long de ma carrière de musicien. En cherchant à développer mes propres idées musicales, j'ai à plusieurs reprises trouvé que Khan Saheb offrait un nouvel éclairage sur le concept de musique et m'ouvrait un nouvel horizon qui élargissait le champ des possibles ».***

Ce magnifique album présente sa voix de baryton suave et profonde qui exprimait l'intensité, la sensualité, la créativité, et la dignité avec une majesté éclatante.

Khan est accompagné par Jnan Prakash Ghosh (1909-1997) à l'harmonium et Afaque Hussain (1930-1990) aux tablas.

*Susheela Misra’s Great Masters of Hindustani Music (1981).

** http://swaratala.blogspot.com/2011/08/ustad-ameer-khan-1912-1974.html

***Music of the Soul by Nikhil Banerjee here

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Our other Amir Khan post:

Rare creations of Amir Khan – Inreco 2411 0001 here

Photograph below is from Gloire des Princes, Louange des Dieux – catalogue for the March-June 2003 Musée de la Musique exhibition in Paris:

Saqinama by Nur al-Din Muhammad Tahir Zuhuri. Twelve musicians play Persian and Indian instruments, 1685:

Please help me purchase important traditional records to pursue my global 

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

                                                              

BULGARIA – BULGARIE Music of Bulgaria – Seven Seas – Ethnic Music of the World Series – GXC-5007

BULGARIA – BULGARIE
Music of Bulgaria – Seven Seas  – Ethnic Music of the World Series – GXC-5007 – Recorded by Fumio Koizumi in 1964 (LP) 

Here’s another inspiring album recorded by Japanese musicologist Fumio Koizumi in Bulgaria in 1964, featuring the 7-hole kaval flute (A1-A4), violin and voice (A5-A9), gadulka bowed fiddles (A10 & A13-A15), female singers (B6-B7) and vocal groups (B1-B5 and B8), male singers (B9-B12) and goat-skin gaida bagpipes (B13-B14).

Weaving rich sonorities, complex rhythms and fascinating harmonies, these performances transport us back to a time when traditional village music was closely connected to various horo folk dances at the heart of Bulgarian rural culture and identity.

Voici un nouvel album inspirant enregistré par le musicologue japonais Fumio Koizumi en Bulgarie en 1964, comprenant des flûtes kaval à 7 trous (A1-A4), du violon et du chant (A5-A9), des violons à archet gadulka (A10 et A13-A15), des voix de femmes solo (B6-B7) ou dans des ensembles vocaux (B1-B5 et B8), des voix d’hommes (B9-B12) et des cornemuses en peau de chèvre (B13-B14).

Ces musiques qui tissent des rythmes complexes et des sonorités et harmonies riches et fascinantes nous plonge dans le monde traditionnel d’antan où la musique de village était étroitement liée à une multitude de danses folkloriques horo au cœur même de la culture et de l'identité rurales bulgares.

A1 – Kopanitsa Horo Dance

Metodi Yanchev – kaval flute.

A2 – Ovcharska

Metodi Yanchev – kaval flute.

 

A3 – Chetvorno Horo Dance

Metodi Yanchev – kaval flute.

A4 – Paidushko Horo Dance

Metodi Yanchev – kaval flute.

 

A5 – Tonight, I'll See My Girl

Peter Ivanov Tennov – violin and voice.

A6 – Gankino Horo Dance

Peter Ivanov Tennov – violin and voice.

A7 – Why Don't You Buy At My Shop?

Peter Ivanov Tennov – violin and voice.

A8 – Ruchenisa Horo Dance

Peter Ivanov Tennov – violin and voice.

A9 – Sitno Severnyashko Horo Dance

Peter Ivanov Tennov – violin and voice.

A10 – Puppet Dance Music

Vasil Petrov Minchev – gadulka.

A11 – Folksong from Radomir

Gena Chekova Stefanova – female vocalist.

A12 – Lile Lile (Za Raka Horo Dance)

Gena Chekova Stefanova – female vocalist.

A13 – Severnyashko Horo Dance

Yanko Stoilov Bojilov – gadulka.

A14 – Folk Song

Yanko Stoilov Bojilov – gadulka.

A15 – Folk Dance Song

Yanko Stoilov Bojilov – gadulka.

B1 – A Shepherd and a Girl (Mowing Song)

Lazarina Stankova (lead) Nevena Mirchva, sIvanka Tsvetanova – female vocalists.

 

B2 – Maro Le Maro (Mowing Song)

Lazarina Stankova (lead), Nevena Mirchva, Ivanka Tsvetanova – female vocalists.

 

B3 – Petrunko (Horo Dance Song)

Lazarina Stankova (lead), Nevena Mirchva, Ivanka Tsvetanova – female vocalists.

B4 – Sedenkia (Night Work Song)

Lazarina Stankova (lead), Nevena Mirchva, Ivanka Tsvetanova – female vocalists.

 

B5 – A Lad Is Coming In (Sedenkia Song)

Lazarina Stankova (lead), Nevena Mirchva, Ivanka Tsvetanova – female vocalists.

 

B6 – Bulgaria Was Sad (Lyrical Song)

Vasilka Todolova – female vocalist.

B7 – Petkana Said ... (Mowing Song)

Vasilka Todolova – female vocalist.

 

B8 – The Sun Is Shining (Mowing Song)

Petra Muadenova (lead), Kirka Yordanova, Traika Koleva – female vocalists.

 

B9 – Christmas Song I

Unknown – male vocalist.

 

B10 – Christmas Song II

Unknown – male vocalist.

 

B11 – Song for Walking to the Fields

Unknown – male vocalist.

 

B12 – Farming Song

Unknown – male vocalist.

 

B13 – Can You Cut All the Barley in the Fields? (Mowing Song)

Vasil Petrov Minchev – gaida bagpipe.

B14 – Horo Dance Song

Vasil Petrov Minchev – gaida bagpipe.

 

*Kindly note there are errors in the track-list. I tried to correct them as best I could, but not sure about the actual name of each track. Verification by a native speaker is more than welcome.

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Koizumi Fumio (1927-1983) was a major Japanese ethnomusicologist who studied aesthetics at Tokyo University and Japanese music with Eishi Kikkawa. He taught at Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku (Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music) and at Wesleyan University in the United-States and recorded many disappearing musical traditions during his numerous field trips across the world. His years of work culminated with the 1981 release of the 50-LP Great Anthology of Traditional Music.

More authentic village-music posts from the Balkans:

*Albanian Folk Music / Folklor Instrumentale Shqiptare – Disques Vendémiaire - VDE/PAL 114 here

*

Marcel Cellier Présente – L'Albanie Folklorique – Disques Cellier N° 010 here

*Srbija Instrumenti – Narodna Muzička Tradicija – PGP RTB 2510030 here

*Musik der Pontos-Griechen – Nordgriechenland – Museum Collection Berlin MC5 here

*Greek Folk Music Volume III – Wedding Songs - Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation PFF 3 here

*Macedonian Folk Dances Vol. III – Folkraft  Records LP 25 here

*Village Music of Bulgaria - A Harvest, a Shepherd, a Bride – Nonesuch H 7234 here

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

*Yugoslavia Muzika I Tradicija – Vol. 1, Pesme I Igre Naroda Jugoslavije – PGP RTB – LPV 190 here

Vintage postcard of a country dance near Rutzschuk (Ruse), Bulgaria:

Please help me purchase important traditional records to pursue my global 

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

CHAD – TCHAD Anthologie de la Musique du Tchad – Le Mayo-Kebbi Occidental – Ocora OCR 37

CHAD – TCHAD
Anthologie de la Musique du Tchad – Le Mayo-Kebbi Occidental – Ocora OCR 37 – recorded by Charles Duvelle & Michel Vuylsteke,  photographs by Charles Duvelle, 1966 (from 3 LP Box Set)

                Best wishes for 2023! 

                                                    Meilleurs Vœux pour 2023 !

We kick off 2023 with a first record from the gorgeous three-LP anthology of Chadian traditional music released on the legendary first Ocora series. Here we showcase the music of the Massa, Moundang and Toupouri people from the Western Mayo-Kebbi region near the Northern Cameroonian border. We will post the two other LPs shortly. 

 

Nous commençons la nouvelle année avec ce premier disque tiré de la magnifique anthologie de trois disques sur la musique traditionnelle du Tchad. Ce disque sur la légendaire première série Ocora présente la musique des Massa, des Moundang et des Toupouri du Mayo-Kebbi Occidental près de la frontière du nord Cameroun. Nous posterons également les deux autres 33 tours du coffret d’ici peu.

Massa people

A1 – Bringing back their herd to the village;

Two shepherds each sing and blow a one-holed whistle;
Recorded near Bongor, April 1966.

 

A2 – Millet milling song;

Female voices and millet grinding rhythm (see photograph scan 8);

Recorded near Bongor, April 1966.

 

A3 – Narration of a journey; 

Sung by Moudaksou and accompanied by three dilla four-stringed harps (see photograph scan 10)

Recorded in Koumi, April 1966.

 

Moundang people

A4 – Youngou is played and danced by a group of costumed men;

Singer and chorus, cylindrical drum, horn whistle, metal rattles worn by the dancers (see photograph scan 11);

Recorded in Léré, April 1966.

 

A5 – Funeral of a female Moundang healer;

Hou-hou calabash horn/megaphone and a bilim cylindrical drum, while venerable women from the healing secret society execute slow dance movements (see photographs scans 12 & 13)

Recorded in Léré, April 1966.

 

Toupouri people

B1 – Daï Djakman Faré is performed before the harvest;

The orchestra includes four four-holed manday flutes, godjé metallic ankle rattles; two oumkara and one matigéon straight calabash horns; two long tubular calabash megaphones; and five koutchatchin calabash rattles (see photographs scans 14 & 15);

Recorded in Daoua, Fianga region, April 1966.

 

B2 – Sirléh performed during the harvest;
Ensemble with ten horns and calabash bells (see photographs scans 16 & 17);

Recorded in Forkoumaye, Fianga region, April 1966.

 

B3– Harvest celebration

Singer and wind instrument ensemble with three mandan and two parouai flutes, a transverse horn-megaphone, and calabash bells (see photographs scans 18 & 19);

Recorded in Tikem, Fianga region, April 1966.

 

B4 – Gourouna milk drinkers’ secret society music and dance;

Gourouna choir, three large tourabal cylindrical drums and two difna horn whistles (see photograph scan 21); 

Recorded in Fianga, April 1966.

 

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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.

 

Our other Chadian music post:
Chad (Kanem) – Unesco Collection – BM 30 L 2309 here

Please help me purchase important traditional records to pursue my global 

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