Cameroon ~ Baka Pygmy Music - Musical Atlas v. 21, Unesco Collection [EMI Italy / Odeon, 1977] 320 kbps

3C 064-18265

A1. Music For The Buma Dance (Musique Pour Accompagner La Danse Buma)
A2. Hut Song - Chanson De Hutte
A3. Orycterope & Pangolin (Sung - Fable - Fable Chantee)
A4. Song For Gathering Mushrooms (Chanson Pour La Cueillette Des Champignons)
A5. Song To Atract Game (Chanson Pour Attirer Le Gibier)
A6. Music For The Nganga Dance (Musique Pour Accompagner La Danse Nganga)

B1. Lullaby - Berceuse
B2. The Water Drum - Le Tambour D'eau
B3. The Humming Of The Bees - Le Bourdonnement Des Abeilles
B4. Music For The Buma Dance Musique Pour Accompagner La Danse Buma

Recordings & text by Simha Arom and Patrick Renaud, 1975

Featured here are several superb field recordings by ethnomusicologist Simha Arom, whose documentation of pygmy polyphony continue to be pivotal points of reference for contemporary composers. György Ligeti, whose fascination with 'the other' as a source of musical inspiration stated:

Having never before heard anything quite like it, I listened to it repeatedly & was then, as I still am, deeply impressed by this marvelous polyphonic, polyrhythmic music with its astonishing complexity. For composition, [Arom’s research] opens the door leading to a new way of thinking about polyphony, one which is completely different from the European metric structures, but equally rich, or maybe, even richer than the European tradition.' source

Highly inventive and constantly changing, the vocal polyphony and the polyrhythmic sounds of hands and drums are prodigious achievements which astonish contemporary composers. The art of the Pygmies is fascinating for its ingenuity on all occasions, even when children play in the river and clap their hands rhythmically on the surface of the water.

a superlative snapshot of everyday life in the baka pygmy realm circa 1975. at this stage in my development, i've heard enough pygmy musique to be able to discern what i consider the really remarkable recordings & this one's a bona fide head swirler, friend. i figure if more folks played 'water-drums', fings might start looking up for our species. remerciements à zwan et l'idiot. 320 polyphonic portals to pygmy paradise

Unesco/Auvidis - Sicily - Music for the Holy Week

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.

Madagascar - Land of the Betsimisaraka [Unesco Collection]

Madagascar - Land of the Betsimisaraka
Unesco / Auvidis D 8275, CD released 1998

VA - Madagascar ~ Spirit Music from the Tamatave Region [Unesco/Auvidis, 2001]

Auvidis/Unesco D 8282 France 2001
field recordings by Ron Emoff in 1993 - 1995

Part 1 Antandroy Musique

01. Govodora [accordion]
02. Maro tady
03. A cappella singing
04. Antandroy mandolina

Part 2 Betsimisaraka Musique

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

VA ~ Unesco Musical Sources

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

Anthology of World Music - The Music of Azerbaijan

Anthology of World Music - The Music of Azerbaijan
Reedition of the UNESCO collection LP's published 1968-87
Rounder 82161 5142-2, CD released 2003

VA - Indonesia: Java - Music of the Theatre [Unesco,1985] recordings from 1968/70

VA - Indonesia: Java - Music Of The Theatre
Auvidis/Unesco
D8078
1985/99

1. Radio Yogyakarta Musicians - Langen Mandra Wanara
[Entertainment On The Song Of The Monkeys] 30:33

• Leader [Director] - K.R.T. Wasitodipuro
• Narrator [Dalang] - R.S. Bandjaransari
• Vocals - Djalal , Draptodihardjo , Pusposworo
• Vocals [Waranggana] - Nyi Mursinah , Nyi Suratni

2. Pura Mangkunagaran - Langen Driyan
[Entertainment For The Heart] 29:27

• Chorus Master - Soejati Mintoraras
• Leader [Director] - Sundoro Mintoeno Widyatmodjo

Recorded in 1968 [traque 1] & 1970 [traque 2]
Includes a 6 page booklet of notes in English & French

these recordings help make the concept of thyme obsolete. most atmospherique & transportational schtuff. thanks again to zwan & his lovely family

VA - Tunisian Music: A Musical Anthology of the Orient 8 [Unesco, Bärenreiter-Musicaphon, 1960]

Various Artists - Tunisian Music
Unesco Collection - A Musical Anthology of the Orient 8
Bärenreiter-Musicaphon BM 30 L 2008, 1960.
Skans included [commentary in english, french and german]
Vinyl rip by Janas, 320Kbps + Skans

1 Flute Solo
2 Solo for fretted Tunisian Lute (Ud)
3 Solo for Oriental Lute (Ud without frets)
4 Solo for Fretted Tunisian Lute (Ud)
5 Oriental Lute (Ud without frets) Solo
6 Kanun Solo
7 Rabab Solo, forming part of a Bashraf
8 Zorna Solo
9 Religous Recitation
10 Zajal, in spoken Arabic
11 Religious song (Sulamiya)
12 Religious song to accompany ecstatic dances
13 Nuba or Malhuf (last section and finale)
14 Fundu

words fail. utterly essential. owl hail Janas. thanks & praise yet again