Corsica Sacra - Sacred songs of Corsica Auvidis B 6842, released 1996
Jacky Micaelli, voix haute et solo Jean-Étienne Langianni, voix basse Marie-Ange Geronimi, voix haute
These traditional songs are hauntingly sorrowful, like the Lament for Jesus from Easter week, or searing celebrations, like the Sanctus from the mass for the dead, or the evocative Corsican national anthem Dio Vi Salvi Regina to the glory of the Virgin Mary.
Sicily - Music for the Holy Week (Musiques de la Semaine Sainte) Anthology of Traditional Music, Unesco/Auvidis 1993
Songs, chants and laments in Sicilian, Latin and Italian, played and sung by different traditional ensembles reflecting the living tradition of Sicilian ceremonial music.
05. Betsimisaraka morceaux tromba: Volamena and Volon’aomby 06. Tromba music on valiha 07. Sompatra 08. Tamby Tambazo vady 09. Tromba performance on valiha 10. Izao No Zavatra Nikasaina 11. Bastos
'The tromba possession ceremonies of the Betsimisaraka and Antandroy in the area of Tamatave on the east coast of Madagascar provide occasions for communication between the living and ancestral spirits.
Musique is crucial to these performances since powerful ancestral spirits will not appear unless attracted by masterful musical performances, and so music itself provides a complex symbolic system with which Malagasy can recall and reconstruct the past. The eleven tracks of this album are examples of the mastery of the musicians playing instruments such as the zither-like valiha, or maro tady as the Antandroy call it, the akordogna (accordion) or the rattle kaiamba. These instruments are vital components for the creation of the Maresaka sound aesthetic typified by a density of sonorities, rhythms, textures, and timbres. Maresaka is characteristic of these performances, which connect the living and the spirits of their ancestors.'
a jubilant collection of field recordings for trance & happily communing with ancestral spirits by virtue of squeezebox song & valiha workouts. these merry melodies are a bridge to the beyond like only the best musique can be & if more contempo 'psychedelic' bands put it down like this, i wouldn't hesitate to champion them too :) 320 + booklet. much love to brother Miguel for sharing this psychoactive sonic nectar
Side A. Movement of Tranquillity - Ritual of the Night Side B. Dance of the Water Spirits
These improvisations for the piano and this rare collection of ancient Tibetan "Singing Bowls" is located very specifically at this mysterious and contemporary meeting point of the East and the West. In Kremski's words it is a "mystic marriage" between water and fire, or rather water and light. The titles alone are already an indication of Kremski's path: towards Dreams, Space, Light, the Infinite, towards the PLACE which cannot be named, the meeting point of the Mind, Matter, the Imaginary and Love. Did Gurdjieff not say: "Take the understanding of the East and the knowledge of the West - and then look.'
30 traque sampler of 30 different regions culled from various old-school Unesco LP's. good fun. 320 + booklet. thx to homorakas & Janas for saving it from the abyss
01 - Conscription [F. Paris] (3:57) 02 - Bourree a Malochet (3:27) 03 - Tambour d'argent (2:43) 04 - Lanlaude (3:24) 05 - Bourree de la chapelotte (trad.) (2:00) 06 - Ego sum pauper (5:29) 07 - Pour l'amour d'une fille (2:47) 08 - L'orientale (3:30) 09 - Passion (4:38) 10 - M'y promenant (2:19) 11 - Bourree a Berot (2:59) 12 - Papillote (2:45) 13 - Rose (4:39)
Vielles & Cornemuses by the quartet Vielleux du Bourbonnais is a very fabulous disque featuring ensemble playing of traditional French instrumental music. As one would expect from the title, the album concentrates on bagpipes and hurdy-gurdy, most of the tunes featuring both instruments with no other accompaniment. The hurdy-gurdy is a viol whose strings are sounded by means of a wooden wheel. Because of its sharp tone, and the fact that several of the strings are drones that sound continuously while the instrument plays, the hurdy-gurdy actually sounds quite similar to the bagpipe, and the two go well together. Like Café Carbons, Vielleux du Bourbonnais play their music with great respect for the melodic traditions they use. The major innovation is the use of bagpipes in several different keys to facilitate playing harmony with one another; this is standard today in French traditional musique, but was unknown 30 years ago. Vielleux du Bourbonnais infuse their musique with great energy and vitality, making 'Vielles & Cornemuses' a fresh & enjoyable album for lovers of bagpipes and hurdy-gurdies. If you don’t know much about this music, however, don’t look for help in the sleeve notes; the booklet has no information about any of the musicians or the music except a brief blurb and credits for the authors; it doesn’t even identify the members of the band.
this is the kinda schtuff i go crazy for. another generous bestowment from majestueux Miguel & his consistently mind expanding Toro y Loco ministries. 320 remerciements pour le partage
Valentine Clastrier »Grand maitres de la Vielle à Roue« 1987 Auvidis, A 6130
01. L'heure dégourdie 02. Madranque 03. Organistrum 04. Ile flottante 05. Petite musique de chanvre 06. Saga 07. Marche anti-militaire du Gué de la pierre 08. Introduction et Ouanigou 09. Danse du tilbet da Haljama 10. Doli doulou 11. Eko Yégoung 12. Abzébef béassda 13. Cigada synthética
French musician Valentin Clastrier (b. 1947) is one of the few performers in the world specializing in contemporary music for the hurdy-gurdy; before Clastrier, the instrument was used primarily in the performance of European Medieval and folk musics.
He began his career as a guitarist, and was introduced to the hurdy-gurdy in 1970. His instrument has 27 strings rather than the conventional six.
Clastrier's strikingly original compositions for the instrument (in both acoustic and electroacoustic versions) have been recorded, in collaboration with other musicians (including tubist and serpent player Michel Godard, accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier, saxophonist/clarinetists Michaël Riessler and Louis Sclavis, and percussionists Gérard Siracusa and Carlo Rizzo).
this totally épique post punk hurdy gurdy slab beats any crummy canterbury twaddle hands down. clastrier unleashes a monster of mad genius. 320 daps to vespucci fer this insanely great 320 rip + pimped out booklet skans.
