El Tanbura – Between The Desert And The Sea - traditional Egyptian music

 

El Tanbura is an Egyptian band, formed in the 1980's by Zakaria Ibrahim, the organizer. Its performances are based on traditional Egyptian music, featuring the simsimiyya and tanbura instruments.

In 1989, a small nucleus of veteran performers recruited by Zakaria came together to form the fledgling El Tanbura group, augmented by younger singers. In the formative years, El Rayis Imbabi, one of the group members, was responsible for passing key repertoire from Port Said's past to the younger members.

The Simsimiyya is a five-stringed instrument of the lyre family. Originally, the body was made of wood in a bowl/box shape, covered with stretched goat or camel skin. The strings, once various intestinal parts, are now made of wire. The Tanbura is a large six-string lyre. It was often used in private healing ceremonies during the 19th century following the Egyptian conquest of Sudan.

The Tanbura is very similar to the Simsimiyya. However, compared to the Simsimiyya, the strings of the Tanbura are softer and it has the addition of tuning pegs which can expand melodic range and nylon replacing dried animal gut strings, allowing for more refined tuning and intricate performances.

Their second album, Between the Desert and the Sea, was named by Songlines Magazine as one of the all-time Top 50 world music albums.

1 Waziery

2 I Saw The Moon

3 My Heart Was Burnt by Love

4 Sar a Lay

5 Zayy el Nhardah (The Canal Song)

6 Between the Desert and the Sea

7 One Day We Blamed Each Other

8 Dundarawi

9 Shoft Toshy

10 Salah

11 Gamel Weno

Between The Desert And The Sea

The Alias Acoustic Band – Irish Songs Of Rebellion, Resistance And Reconciliation

 

Easter 1916 / Caoimhneagdh Roisin 1:05

To Welcome Paddy Home 2:47

Boolavogue 5:01

Shan Van Vocht 2:04

Erin's Lovely Lee 4:57

Boys Of Bar Na Strade 5:03

Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya 3:36

Brennan On The Moor 3:05

Wind That Shakes The Barley 3:43

Reconciliation 5:26

Grand Aul' Dame Britania 2:16

Glory-o To The Bold Fenian Men 4:23

Pursuit Of Farmer Michael Hayes 4:05

James Connolly 3:40

Roddy McCorley 3:57

Dunlavin Green 5:41

Reobert Emmett's Last Words / Scaffold Passage 1:23

Cry Cry Cry 4:11

Kitty/Tadie O'Neill 6:17

Force Of Argument / Lament Of Limerick 2:42

Wearing Of The Green 3:11

Patriot Game 5:25

Skibereen 3:29

Home Fire/Beyond The Pale 4:14

Foggy Dew 6:00

Boys Of County Cork 2:46

Follow Me Up To Carlow 2:56

Four Green Fields 5:37

God Bless England 2:08

Boys Of Mullaghbawn 3:28

Praties They Grow Small 2:31

Truth And Understanding 4:08

Mountains Of Pomeroy 7:01

Sands Of Time / Kesh Jig 4:46

Rocks Of Bawn 3:47

Sea Around Us 2:36

Nation Once Again / Amhran Na Bhfiann (National Anthem) 4:39

Irish Songs Of Rebellion, Resistance And Reconciliation

Café Istanbul (Minarets And Mosques, Turkish Delight And The Black Sea) - various artists

 

1 Ensemble Hüseyin Türkmenler– Karacabey Çiftetellisi / Nigde Baglari

2 Ensemble Hüseyin Türkmenler– Bir Zamanlar Bir Yar Vardi

3 Hüseyin Türkmenler– Zülüf Dökül Müs Yüze

4 Ensemble Hüseyin Türkmenler– Çalgici Karisi Binnazarısı Binnaz

5 Hüseyin Türkmenler– Misket

6 Hüseyin Türkmenler– Kaşlarin Karasina

7 Hüseyin Türkmenler– Bölemedim Felek Ile Kozumu (Uzun Hava)

8 Ahmet Kusgöz Ve Arkadaşlari*– Gönen Çiftetellisi

9 Ahmet Kusgöz Ve Arkadaşlari*– Tulum Roman Havasi

10 Ahmet Kusgöz Ve Arkadaşlari*– Gül Ali

11 Ensemble Hüseyin Türkmenler– Arabia

12 Ensemble Hüseyin Türkmenler– Kaşik Oyun Havasi

Café Istanbul 

Various Artists – African Voices: Songs of Life

 

Tracklist
1    Ayub Ogada–    Kothbiro    5:32
2    Ayub Ogada–    Dala    3:15
3    Ayub Ogada–    Ondiek    4:00
4    Vieux Diop–    Sutu Kun    6:19
5    Vieux Diop–    Jali    7:20
6    Samite–    Ekobobo    5:57
7    Samite–    Ndere    2:12
8    Samite–    Wasuze Otya?    3:49
9    Lucky Diop–    Ngak    4:50
10    Lucky Diop–    Igne    4:19
11    Lucky Diop–    Mamadi    4:19
12    Kevin Nathaniel–    Woza Azania    3:50
13    Kevin Nathaniel–    Tatenda    3:20

 African Voices: Songs of Life

Stephan Micus – Athos (A Journey To The Holy Mountain)

 

Athos is a 1994 album by Stephan Micus that was released on ECM.

Based on a three-day visit to Mount Athos, Micus tries to capture his experiences with the Greek Orthodox liturgy he experienced in the monasteries there, framing it with pieces that evoke his emotions at going to and leaving the isolated peninsula. Between them he recreates the liturgical experience of the services during his stay, in six alternating pieces of night and day.

As in his other works, Micus uses a combination of traditional instruments from various cultures to capture the feel of the monastery. These include: the sattar (a bowed 10-string instrument used by the Uyghur), the shakuhachi (a Japanese bamboo flute), the suling (a reed flute from Bali), the ney (a Middle Eastern flute), and 22 flowerpots, filled with water, which he plays with his hands and with mallets. These instruments are only used in the pieces representing the days on Mount Athos.

To emulate the Greek Orthodox tradition of not using musical instruments in their services, his pieces devoted to the nights are performed by a 22-man choir singing prayers to the Virgin Mary.

Tracklist
1        On The Way 4:57
2        The First Night 5:35
3        The First Day 6:38
4        The Second Night 4:47
5        The Second Day 3:32
6        The Third Night 6:19
7        The Third Day 5:55
8        On The Way Back 8:58

 Athos (A Journey To The Holy Mountain)

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Enya....Christmas Secrets

 

Oíche Chiúin (Silent Night)     3:46
We Wish You A Merry Christmas     3:40
White Is In The Winter Night     3:00
Adeste, Fideles     3:59
Christmas Secret     3:48
Journey Of The Angels     4:47
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel     3:40
Amid The Falling Snow     3:38
The Magic Of The Night     3:34
The Spirit Of Christmas Past     4:18
Dreams Are More Precious     4:26
Oíche Chiúin (Chorale)     3:50

Christmas Secrets

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 https://youtu.be/zgPvkmhS8-k

Christmas Around the World - A Collection of Christmas Music and Carols

 

 Tracklist
1     –Traditional     Quelle Est Cette Agreable (French)    
2     –Traditional     Suo-Gan (Welsh)    
3     –Traditional     Still, Still, Still (German)    
4     –Pietro Yon*     Gesu Bambino (Italian)    
5     –William G. James     The Silver Stars Are In The Sky (Australian)    
6     –Anatoly Liadov     Christmas Song (Russian)    
7     –Traditional     Bred Dina Vida Vingar (Swedish)    
8     –Joachim August Zarnack     O Tannenbaum (German)    
9     –Ariel Ramirez     El Nacimiento (Argentinian)    
10     –Traditional     Rorate (Scottish)    
11     –Adolphe C. Adam     Cantique de Noel (French)    
12     –Traditional     Nu zijt wellekome (Dutch)    
13     –Traditional     Sweet Little Jesus Boy (American)    
14     –Traditional     The Wexford Carol (Irish)    
15     –Larry Sitsky     Sonatinetto on Russian Christmas Carols (Russian)    
16     –Traditional     Marche de Rois : Ce Matin (French)    
17     –Traditional     Buenos Reyes (Spanish)    
18     –Traditional     Noels roumains (Romanian) (traditional)    
19     –Peter Cornelius      The Three Kings (German)    
20     –Henry John Gauntlett*     Once in Royal David's City (English)    
21     –William G. James     Country Carol (Australian)    

 Christmas Around the World

Ali Farka Touré...Niafunké...West African blues..a traditional album concerning Mali

Ali Ibrahim "Ali Farka" Touré (31 October 1939 – 6 March 2006) was a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent's most internationally renowned musicians. His music is widely regarded as representing a point of intersection of traditional Malian music and its North American cousin, the blues. The belief that the latter is historically derived from the former is reflected in Martin Scorsese's often quoted characterization of Touré's tradition as constituting "the DNA of the blues". Touré was ranked number 76 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and number 37 on Spin magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".


As the first African blues man to achieve widespread popularity on his home continent, Touré was often known as "the African John Lee Hooker". Musically, the many superpositions of guitars and rhythms in his music were similar to John Lee Hooker's hypnotic blues style. He usually sang in one of several African languages, mostly Songhay, Fulfulde, Tamasheq or Bambara as on his breakthrough album, Ali Farka Touré, which established his reputation in the world music community.

Niafunké was released in 1999. The title reflects the name of the village in Mali where it was recorded. It is largely a traditional album concerning Mali.

Niafunke

Within the album liner notes Touré discusses his motivation for creating the album and how the music might relate to its audience. "This record is more real, more authentic. It was recorded in the place where the music belongs - deep Mali. We were in the middle of the landscape which inspired the music and that in turn inspired myself and the musicians. My music is about where I come from and our way of life and it is full of important messages for Africans. In the West perhaps this music is just entertainment and I don't expect people to understand. But I hope some might take the time to listen and learn." — Ali Farka Touré,

Niafunké marked the first of a series of albums he recorded towards the end of his career in his home town. The album was released around the same time he retired to his farm in a remote region of Mali.

find out more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Farka_Touré

official website: http://www.worldcircuit.co.uk/#Ali_Farka_Toure

What is World Music and How is it Defined

It's been said that ALL music is World Music, and, if taken in that context, that is correct. The term "World Music" was originally coined to distinguish various forms of music from the more traditional and popular music that most western countries and communities are used to. 

The average music listener or aficionado knows the genres of pop, rock, jazz, blues, country and their variations, but if they look a little further or broaden their musical tastes a bit more, there is a whole plethora of instruments, rhythms, vocalisations, songwriting and production techniques that are just waiting to be discovered and appreciated.

At almost every corner of our globe from the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, Pacific and all points in between, there is indigenous music that has been around for decades, if not centuries, that can open our mind and ears and take us on a musical journey that is practically endless.

World Music has now become a popular form of music within itself, and artists now tour the world to present their sounds to populations that may not have heard or seen them before, and there also many collaborations between western artists and indigenous musicians that have resulted in multi-selling albums and music awards. 

Take some time out and discover these sounds, you'll be enlightened beyond your dreams.

Next post: Music Rough Guides: Out of This World