ALBANIA – ALBANIE Folk Music of Albania – Topic Records – 12T154

ALBANIA – ALBANIE

Folk Music of Albania – Topic Records – 12T154, recorded by A.L. Lloyd in 1965 (LP)

Albania is a small country located about 50 miles (80 km) across the Adriatic Sea from the southern tip of Italy and bordering Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece. Despite its turbulent history – including five centuries of Ottoman rule – Albanians have shown great resilience in defending their identity, language, culture and distinctive music, which often had to be nurtured in secluded rural and mountainous areas.

 

I first discovered traditional Albanian music in the mid-1980s when I came across this brilliant album recorded by A. L. Lloyd* in 1965 and published on the British folk music label Topic Records. This anthology presents a comprehensive collection of northern Albanian music on Side A and southern Albanian music on Side B, and includes dances (A2, A4, B1, B9), instrumental improvisations (B5, B7, B10), ballads (A7, A8), shepherd’s melodies (A6, B3), a mountain signal (A1), a pastoral melody (A9), a lullaby (A3), a funeral lament (A5), a ritual song (B4) and a political song (B6). 

 

These pastoral and rural sounds – with voices (A1, A3, A4, A5, A7, A8), fascinating southern Albanian polyphonic vocal ensembles (B2, B6, B8), flutes (A2, A4), violins (A1, A5, B1, B2), cifteli lutes (B4, B6, B7), clarinets (A1, A5), a zurna oboe (A9) and bagpipes (B3) – create a rich palette of intense, fluid, abstract and quirky sound textures that testify to Albania’s vibrant musical traditions, brimming with vitality and emotion.

 

L'Albanie est un petit pays limitrophe du Monténégro, du Kosovo, de la Macédoine et de la Grèce, situé à environ 80 kilomètres de la pointe sud de l'Italie de l’autre côté de la mer Adriatique. Malgré une histoire mouvementée – avec notamment cinq siècles de domination ottomane – les Albanais ont toujours vaillamment défendu leur identité, leur langue, leur culture et leur musique, souvent en cachette dans des zones rurales ou montagneuses isolées. 

J'ai découvert la musique traditionnelle albanaise au milieu des années 1980, lorsque je suis tombé sur ce brillant album enregistré par A. L. Lloyd en 1965 et publié sur le label de musique folklorique britannique Topic Records. Cette anthologie présente des exemples pertinents de musique albanaise du nord sur la face A et de musique albanaise du sud sur la face B, avec notamment des danses (A2, A4, B1, B9), des improvisations instrumentales (B5, B7, B10), des ballades (A7, A8), des mélodies de bergers (A6, B3), un signal de montagne (A1), une mélodie pastorale (A9), une berceuse (A3), une complainte funèbre (A5), un chant rituel (B4) et un chant politique (B6). 

Ces sonorités pastorales et rurales, avec des voix (A1, A3, A4, A5, A7, A8), de fascinants ensembles vocaux polyphoniques du sud de l'Albanie (B2, B6, B8), des flûtes (A2, A4), des violons (A1, A5, B1, B2), des luths cifteli (B4, B6, B7), des clarinettes (A1, A5), des hautbois zurna (A9) et des cornemuses (B3), forment une riche palette de textures sonores intenses, fluides, abstraites et sinueuses, qui témoignent de la richesse et de la vitalité des traditions musicales albanaises.

 

NORTHERN ALBANIA

 

A1 – Këngë Majekrahi (mountain signal)

Vocals by Zef Deda;

Nikaj-Shalë, Shkodër region.

 

A2 – Valle E Lezhës (dance)

Çifteli lute by Mark Pashku;

Lezhë, Lezhë region.

 

A3 – Këngë Djepi (lullaby)

Vocals by Mri Jaku;

Gjadër, Lezhë region.

 

A4 – Ti Në Kodër, Un Në Kodër (dance song)

Vocals and çifteli lute by Tom Nikola;

Iballe, Püke region.

 

A5 – Vajtim (funeral lament)

Vocals by Dila Gjoni;

Gjadër, Lezhë region.

 

A6 – Dhent Në Mrizë (shepherd’s melody)

Fyell flute by Martin Vata;

Ishulli i Lezhës, Lezhë region.

 

A7 – Kenga E Çun Mulës (ballad)

Vocals by Tom Marashi & Zef Deda;

Nikaj-Shalë, Shkodër region.

 

A8 – Zenel Kadrija (ballad)

Vocals & çifteli lute by Mark Pashku;

Lezhë, Lezhë region.

 

A9 – Melodi Baritore (pastoral melody)

Zumare clarinet by Gjon Shahini;

Merq, Lezhë region.

 

SOUTHERN ALBANIA

 

B1 – Valle E Gajdës (dance)

Gajdë bagpipes by Sadik Diko & daÎre tambourine by Reshit Shehu

Përmet, Përmet region.

 

B2 – O Bilbil Sakat, Sakat (lyrical song)

Vocals by Kili Dano, Kristo Dano, Nikollaq Dano & Vangjel Dano;

Sheq i Madh, Fier region.

 

B3 – Vajtim (shepherd tune)

Cyledyjare flute by Sadik Diko;

Përmet, Përmet region.

 

B4 – Llazore (ritual song)

Vocals by Kili Dano;

Sheq i Madh, Fier region.

 

B5 – Avazi I Dy Motrave (instrumental improvisation)

Llaute lutes by Riza Muhaxhiri & Qerim Baki;

Korçë, Korçë region.

 

B6 – Do Dalim Nga Myzeqeja (political song)

Vocals by Kili Dano, Kristo Dano, Nikollaq Dano & Vangjel Dano;

Sheq i Madh, Fier region.

 

B7 – Kaba Vençe (instrumental improvisation)

Accordion by Hysen Zizolli, clarinet by Refki Taho &

drum by Ahmet Metolli;

Vranisht, Korçë region.

 

B8 – Fuat Bahani (historical song)

Vocals by Ali Kondi, Nevruz Kondi & a group of farmers; 

Vranisht, Korçë region.

 

B9 – Valle Kolonjarçe (dance)

Gajdë bagpipes by Feim Feizo & daire tambourine by Riza Muhaxhiri;

Kolonjë, Korçë region.

 

B10 – Kaba Me Gërnetë (instrumental improvisation)

Accordion by Qerim Hajre, clarinet by Rakip Muhaxhiri,

llaute lute by Qerim Baki & violin by Festim Përmeti.

Korçë, Korçë region.

Download:

Flac 

MP3

*Albert Lancaster Lloyd (1908–1982) was an English folk singer and collector of folk songs who played a pivotal role in the British folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s. While Lloyd is best known for his contributions to British folk music, he also had a keen interest in the music of Spain, Latin America, Australia and Southeastern Europe, where he made field recordings in Albania and Bulgaria.

More Albanian music posts:

L'Albanie Folklorique – Disques Cellier N° 010 here

Folklore Instrumental Albanais – Disques Vendémiaire - VDE/PAL 114 here

Vintage postcard of flute player, Northern Albania: 

Vintage postcard of a woman from Shkodra, Northern Albania:

Vintage postcard of two farmers from Dibra, northeastern Albania:

Albanian wedding ensemble, wool, cotton, silk, metal c. 1900:

(www.metmuseum.org)

Help me purchase important traditional records 

to pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog:

GHANA Musica Cerimoniale e Celebrativa / Ceremonial and Commemorative Music – Albatros – VPA 8400

GHANA

Musica Cerimoniale e Celebrativa / Ceremonial and Commemorative Music – Albatros – VPA 8400, recorded by John Tanson, 1978 reissue of Folkways FW 8858 (LP)

This excellent panorama of traditional drumming music from various regions of Ghana includes examples from the Ashanti and other Akan ethnic/cultural groups in southern and central Ghana (A2-A7 & B2-B3), the Ewe and Krobo in southeastern Ghana (A1 & B5), and music from northern Ghanaian ethnic/cultural groups including the Lobi (A8), Bayama (B1) and Gonji (B4).

 

Cet excellent panorama des tambours traditionnels de diverses régions du Ghana comprend des exemples des Ashanti et d'autres groupes ethniques/culturels Akan (A2-A7 & B2-B3) du sud et du centre du Ghana, des Ewe et des Krobo du sud-est du Ghana (A1 & B5), et  de la musique des groupes du nord du Ghana, notamment les Lobi (A8), les Bayama (B1) et les Gonji (B4).

A1 – Borbobor music played at durbars and festivals by the Ewe people of the southeastern Volta region;

A2 – Asafo – a traditional Akan warrior group – drumming from the southeastern Volta region;

A3 – Apitim drumming for Ashanti chiefs;

A4 – Fontomfrom drumming for Ashanti chiefs;

A5 – Kete dance drumming from the Ashanti Akan clan;

A6 – Adowa Nyamkoro women’s music from the Ashanti region;

A7 – Adowa drumming from the Ashanti region;

A8 – Lobi dances from northwestern Ghana;

B1 – Bayama drumming from northern Ghana;

B2 – Adenkum dance music from central Ghana;

B3 – Kpanlongo music from the greater Accra region;

B4 – Gonji drumming from northern Ghana;

B5 – Krama dance of the Krobo people of southeastern Ghana;

B6 – Talking drums.

Download:

Flac

MP3

Eric Agyeman's I Don't Care (modern Highlife which 

incorporates traditional Akan rhythms), 1978:

Photographs below are from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Open Access initiative, which gives access to more than 400,000 images of public-domain artworks (www.metmuseum.org) and L'Art Africain by Jaques Kerchache, Jean-Louis Paudrat and Lucien Stephan, Mazenod, 1988:

 

Memorial head, Akan people, Ghana, 18th century:

Buffalo Head, Ewe people, Kpandu, Eastern Ghana, 

19th-20th century:

Golden Ashanti head, treasury of King 

Kofi Karikari (1837-1884),

 Ghana:

Help me purchase important traditional records 

to pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog:

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 

Download:

Flac

MP3

My 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:

Please help me purchase important traditional records 

to pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog:

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. 

Download:

Flac

MP3

My 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: