INDIA – INDE Pannalal Ghosh – His Master’s Voice - EALP 1354

INDIA – INDE

Pannalal Ghosh – His Master’s Voice - EALP 1354, released in 1970 (LP)

Pannalal Ghosh (1911-1960), born into a musical family in Barisal, in present day Bangladesh, was a major 20th-century Hindustani musician and pioneer, who transformed the bamboo bansuri flute—an instrument played mostly in folk and light classical music—into a deeper-toned solo concert instrument. 

 

Ghosh started out playing the sitar, taught by his father Akshay Kumar Ghosh, and received musical training from his mother Sukumari Ghosh and maternal uncle Bhavaranjan Mazumdar, both accomplished classical vocalists. He also began playing the bansuri flute at a young age, showing tremendous talent.

Ghosh was also a gifted athlete in martial arts and boxing. In 1928, he moved to Kolkata, where he won the All Bengal Boxing Competition and worked as a trainer in an athletic club. All the while continuing to hone his musical skills and writing music for silent films.

Traditional Indian classical flutes tended to be small and high-pitched, but Ghosh wanted a lower-pitched flute with greater resonance for performing on the concert stage. To achieve the sound he wanted, he extended the instrument's length to more than 32 inches (80 cm) and also designed a 40-in (1-m) long bass bansuri flute.

Ghosh's groundbreaking flute playing technique was made even more versatile and expressive by his addition of a seventh hole, as well as the use of vibrato borrowed from Western classical music. This trailblazing modernist's many innovations were quickly adopted by other musicians and soon became the norm.

Ghosh was tutored by harmonium maestro Khushi Mohammed Khan in the early 1930s until Khan's death, and by vocalist and musicologist Girija Shankar Chakrabarty (1885-1948). Despite being an established artist, Ghosh convinced the legendary Allaudin Khan (1881-1972) to accept him as his disciple in 1947. He participated in many music festivals and was asked by such luminaries as vocalist Faiyaz Khan (1886-1950) to accompany them on his flute.

Ghosh's life was cut tragically short in 1960 by a heart attack at the age of 49 at the height of his powers.

This 12-track compilation of shellac 78 RPM records showcases Pannalal Ghosh's utterly brilliant lyricism, his fluid creativity and his unprecedented mastery of the flute. 

Pannalal Ghosh (1911-1960), né dans une famille de musiciens à Barisal, dans l'actuel Bangladesh, fut un musicien Hindustani majeur du XXe siècle et un pionnier qui transforma la flûte bansuri en bambou – un instrument jusque-là limité aux musiques folkloriques et classiques légères – en un instrument de concert soliste aux sonorités plus profondes.  

 

Ghosh commença par jouer du sitar, enseigné par son père Akshay Kumar Ghosh, et reçu une formation musicale de sa mère Sukumari Ghosh et de son oncle maternel Bhavaranjan Mazumdar, tous deux des chanteurs classiques. Il commença également à jouer de la flûte bansuri à un jeune âge, faisant preuve d'un immense talent.

 

Ghosh fut également un athlète doué pour les arts martiaux et la boxe. En 1928, il s'installe à Kolkata, où il remporte la compétition de boxe All Bengal Boxing Competition et travaille comme entraîneur dans un club d'athlétisme. Tout en continuant à perfectionner ses talents musicaux et à écrire des musiques pour des films muets.

 

Comme les flûtes classiques indiennes traditionnelles avaient tendance à être petites et aiguës, Pannalal Ghosh souhaitait une flûte plus grave avec une plus grande résonance. Il étendit considérablement la longueur de l’instrument. Pour obtenir le son qu'il souhaitait, il allongea l'instrument à plus de 80 cm et conçu également une flûte bansuri basse d’un mètre de long.

 

La technique de jeu totalement novatrice de Ghosh gagna encore en polyvalence et en expressivité par l'ajout novateur d'un septième trou, ainsi que par l'utilisation de vibrato emprunté à la musique classique occidentale. Les nombreuses innovations de ce moderniste avant-gardiste sont rapidement adoptées par d'autres musiciens et deviennent la norme.

 

Ghosh reçu l'enseignement du maître de l'harmonium Khushi Mohammed Khan au début des années 1930 et jusqu'à la mort de ce dernier, ainsi que du chanteur et musicologue Girija Shankar Chakrabarty (1885-1948). Bien qu'il soit déjà à l’époque un artiste confirmé, Ghosh convainc le légendaire guru Allaudin Khan (1881-1972) de l'accepter comme disciple en 1947. Il participe à de nombreux festivals de musique et est invité par des grands maîtres, notamment le chanteur Faiyaz Khan (1886-1950), à les accompagner à la flûte.

 

Pannalal Ghosh meurt brutalement d’une crise cardiaque en 1960, à l'âge de 49 ans, alors qu'il était au sommet de son art.

 

Cette compilation de 12 faces de 78 tours, publiée en 1970, présente son extraordinaire maîtrise de la flûte, comprenant un jeu fluide et lyrique et des envolées exaltées.

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Our other Indian flute posts:

Vijay Raghav Rao (Hindustani) – Flute – ECLP 2357 here

N. Ramani (Carnatic) – Flute – EASD 1390 here

Flûtes du Rajasthan (Regional) – Le Chant Du Monde LDX 74645 here

Photograph below is from The Sun Symbol of Power and Life by Madanjeet Singh, Published by Abrams, Inc., 1993:

 

Madhavi Mudgal (b. 1951) and her companions performing a sun dance 

in front of the solar deity Sûrya, a 13th-century sculpture from 

the Temple of the Sun, Konarak, Odisha, India:

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to pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog:

UNITED STATES Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians – Tradition Records - TLP 1007

UNITED STATES

Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians – Tradition Records - TLP 1007, recorded by Diane Hamilton, Liam Clancy & Paul Clayton in Virginia & North Carolina in 1956, released in 1957 (LP)

The spirited musical tradition of the eastern United States’ Appalachian Mountains reveals a fascinating hybridization of the many musical cultures brought by immigrant settlers—Anglo-Scottish-Irish ballads and fiddle dance music, the African-style banjo by African Americans introduced after the Civil War, European influences and the introduction of the dulcimer from Northern Europe.

 

Often associated with poor, rural American communities, Appalachian folk music played a seminal role in the development of old-time music and folk dances, such as square dancing, as well as country music, which emerged in the 1920s. Early icons like the Carter family and Loretta Lynn (1932-1922) remained true to the values and music of their native communities in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and eastern Kentucky. Bluegrass, born in the 1940s, brought a faster-paced version of old-time music with more sophisticated solos. Appalachian folk music also played an important role in the American folk music revival outside of mainstream culture that peaked in the 1960s driven by the remarkable popularity of the music of folk-rock artist Bob Dylan (b. 1941).

 

On this landmark LP of instrumental music, recorded in 1956 in Virginia and North Carolina in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, we hear the masterful, inspired playing of Hobart Smith (1897-1965) on the fiddle (A1, A9, B4, B7) and five-string fretless banjo (A2), Etta Baker (1913-2006) on the guitar (A3, A5, B1, B6, B9), Boone Reid (1876-1964) on the five-string banjo (A4, B5), Edd Presnell (1916-1994) on the dulcimer (A6, A10, B8), Richard Chase (1904-1988) on the harmonica (A7, B3, B10) and Lacey Phillips on the five-string banjo (A8, B2).

 

La grande tradition musicale des Appalaches, dans l'est des États-Unis, est le fruit d’une fascinante hybridation de nombreux apports culturels et musicaux des colons-immigrants, notamment les ballades anglo-écossaises et irlandaises et la musique de danse au violon, l’introduction du banjo d’origine africaine par les Afro-Américains après la guerre de Sécession, et les influences européennes et l’introduction du dulcimer en provenance d'Europe du Nord.

 

Souvent associée aux communautés rurales pauvres des États-Unis, la musique folklorique des Appalaches joua un rôle déterminant dans le développement de la musique old-time et des danses folkloriques, telles que le square dance, ainsi que de la musique country, qui apparait dans les années 1920. Des grandes icônes de la country comme The Carter Family et Loretta Lynn (1932-1922) resteront d’ailleurs fidèles aux valeurs et à la musique de leurs communautés d'origine en Virginie et dans l'est du Kentucky dans les montagnes des Appalaches. Le style bluegrass, né dans les années 1940, proposa une version plus rapide de la musique old-time avec des solos instrumentaux plus sophistiqués. La musique folklorique des Appalaches joua également un rôle essentiel dans le renouveau de la musique folklorique américaine (American folk music revival), qui atteint son apogée dans les années 1960, notamment sous l'impulsion de la popularité remarquable de la musique de l'artiste folk-rock Bob Dylan (né en 1941).

 

Ce disque historique de musique instrumentale, enregistré en 1956 en Virginie et en Caroline du Nord dans les Appalaches du Sud, présente le jeu magistral et inspiré de Hobart Smith (1897-1965) au violon (A1, A9, B4, B7) et au banjo fretless à cinq cordes (A2), d’Etta Baker (1913-2006) à la guitare (A3, A5, B1, B6, B9), de Boone Reid (1876-1964) au banjo à cinq cordes (A4, B5), d’Edd Presnell (1916-1994) au dulcimer (A6, A10, B8), de Richard Chase (1904-1988) à l'harmonica (A7, B3, B10) et de Lacey Phillips au banjo à cinq cordes (A8, B2).

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Vintage postcard of an Appalachian or mountain dulcimer, a fiddle and a fretless banjo:

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TOGO Togo – Music From West Africa – Rounder Records 5004

TOGO

Togo – Music From West Africa – Rounder Records 5004, recorded by Dan Khan & Bill Nowlin, released in 1978 (LP)

 

BEST WISHES FOR 2024!

                                                 

 

We kick off the New Year with a panorama of inspired Togolese music released in 1978 on the excellent Rounder Records label, featuring traditional music, including the griot of Pagouda Houwenema (A3, A7, B6), Ewe female mourners from the village of Klo Mayondi (A4, B1, B5), Kotokoli flutists and drummers from the village of Kegbaflo (A2, A8, B3), lullabies (A9), children singing a welcome song (A1), as well as more modern/urban sounds with Ali Bawa (A6, B4, B8) and Akofa Akoussah (A5, B2, B7).

Nous démarrons la nouvelle année avec un excellent panorama de musique togolaise publié en 1978 sur le label Rounder Records, avec de la musique traditionnelle, notamment le griot de Pagouda Houwenema (A3, A7, B6), des pleureuses Ewe du village de Klo Mayondi (A4, B1, B5), des flûtistes et des percussionistes Kotokoli du village de Kegbaflo (A2, A8, B3), une berceuse (A9), des enfants chantant une chanson de bienvenue (A1), ainsi que des musiques plus modernes/urbaines avec Ali Bawa (A6, B4, B8) et Akofa Akoussah (A5, B2, B7).

A1 – Miawo-ezon Lo-o – Children singing a welcome song: “welcome to you who has traveled so far;” 

Diane and Shango.

 

A2 – Instrumental – Praises to rulers from the Kotokoli region during funerals, festivals and social events;

Kotokoli flutists and drummers from the village of Kegbaflo in Northern Togo.

 

A3 – Edzade Tom Doa – Narration of a plane crash that nearly killed Togo’s President Eyadema (1935-2005) in 1974; 

Houwenema, the griot of Pagouda in Northern Togo accompanied by Mola. The Kabiyé people.

 

A4 – Adjame Le Wo Tawo – Funeral song in the Kpalimé region speculating about one’s fate or fortune and wondering if this is a result of one’s actions our an external force;

Female mourners from the village of Klo Mayondi led by Akowissa Koffigan.

 

A5 – Maboule – Modern-style lament;

Akofa Akoussah (1950-2007) male and female vocals, percussion, shakers, cowbells.

 

A6 – Ki Man Wo

Ali Bawa vocal, guitar; percussion, backing vocals.

 

A7 – Kasa Bu

Houwenema, the griot of Pagouda in Northern Togo accompanied by Mola. The Kabiyé people

.

 

A8 – Instrumental – Praises to rulers from the Kotokoli region during funerals, festivals and social events;

Kotokoli flutists and drummers from the village of Kegbaflo in Northern Togo.

 

A9 – Medley of lullabies

Ayawa Aladji.

 

B1 – Drodope

Female mourners from the village of Klo Mayondi. The Ewe people.         

 

B2 – Lili – Love song;

Akofa Akoussah.

 

B3 – Instrumental – Praises to rulers from the Kotokoli region during funerals, festivals and social events;

Kotokoli flutists and drummers from the village of Kegbaflo in Northern Togo.

 

B4 – Unayafame

Ali Bawa vocal, guitar; percussion, backing vocals.

 

B5 – No Ne Ku

Female mourners from the village of Klo Mayondi. The Ewe people.         

 

B6 – Mandza Tom Halu

Houwenema, the griot of Pagouda in Northern Togo accompanied by Mola. The Kabiyé people

 

B7 – Mitoe Ne Ayehawo

Akofa Akoussah.

 

B8 – N'San

Ali Bawa vocal, guitar; percussion, backing vocals.

 

B9 – Thumb piano 

Mola who also also plays with Houwenema (on A3, A7, B6).

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Photograph below is from Man's Earliest Music: The World of Music by Richard Carlin, Facts On File, 1987:

Houwenema and Mola (A3, A7, B6, B9):

Please help me purchase important traditional records 

to pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog: