Folk Songs of Nepal

This is an extraordinary recording taking the listener to one of the most isolated nations on the planet, Nepal, generally only known because of its bordering the massive Himalayan peaks like Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain.  Featured here are the folk songs of the tribal groups of the Newars and Tamangs Sherpas.  Ethnomusicologist Stefano Castelli wrote in the liners that "preference was given to social rather than musical values" in choosing the material, so the lyrics of some reflect class and economic concerns, often relating to the exploitation of town laborers or general struggles to make enough money, while some songs deal with the overall conditions of humans, and a heart-wrenching letter to a soldier from home.  Other songs are of courtship and love or relate to religious and philosophical themes and sentiments.

Of course, a listener not knowing the language won't get much out of the social aspect unless particular attention is paid to the translated lyrics and Castelli's admittedly interesting summaries.  The musical interest is in the solo and duo vocalizations that, in general, are reminiscent of singing found in other parts of the world, such as the interior of Africa, or in Papua New Guinea, where isolated tribes sing of everyday themes with very little accompaniment, save percussion or rudimentary string and wind instruments.  In this case, it is all percussion, but often utilizing everyday items like benches.

A song like "Song of Manu Tamang" has an appealing melody that sounds similar to folk tunes from the West and its striking story of is of the title figure, who was homeless after being abandoned by a German woman who promised to take him back to her country, but left him in Kathmandu, where he was a thief and sold LSD to make a meager living.  He also sang another tune with the same title rendered in Italian that was a courtship song with modern references to jeans and radios.  Another highlight is "Jhyaure Evening" and its percussion helping the singer stay on track and the succeeding "Jhyaure of Dharma" with its unusual backing vocalization.  The "Jhayangri", a three-part piece nearly 12 minutes long of shaman therapy by the titular figures who are mysterious nomadic healers, is fascinating with its drums, bells and chants, evocative of ancient practices.

Folk Songs of Nepal is another great release of world music from Lyrichord and provides a remarkable musical glimpse into a mysterious country so far removed from our own.

Anthology of World Music: The Music of Laos

This is another stellar Rounder Records release, from 1999, of the fantastic series of fifty world music recordings overseen by Alain Danielou and produced by the International Institute for Traditional Music between 1968 and 1987.

The recordings are from Radio Vientiane, the Vientiane School of Music, the Palace Orchestra at Luang Prabhang and a village recording.  The mouth organ, percussive instruments of various types (gongs, kettledrums, and others), and vocals evoke the rich history of music in the land-locked nation between Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and China.

Danielou's notes give a good general background of musical traditions in the nation and explains the connection of indgenous developments with influences from China and India.  The variation in large ensemble pieces (including an excellent one drawing on the Hindu masterpiece, the Ramayana) and solo and smaller group works is notable, as well.

Rounder deserves much praise for reissuing the Danielou records on disc and having about a dozen or so of these from various parts of the world, I'm looking forward to getting as close to completing the set as possible.

Musicians of the National Dance Company of Cambodia: Homrong

All praise to Peter Gabriel for founding Real World Records and putting out a slew of great recordings from musicians from around the world.  An example picked up on cassette by this blogger in the early 90s was the excellent and timely Homrong by the Musicians of the National Dance Company of Cambodia.

Years passed and the recording was forgotten until very recently when a conversation with a hairstylist from Cambodia stirred memories of having this great album nearly a quarter-century before.  So, a CD version was acquired recently and it was fantastic getting to rediscover this gem.

Gabriel and his cohorts released this album to not only spotlight Cambodian music, but to heighten awareness of the tragedies wrought upon its people by the phenomenally brutal regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.  This adds a degee of poignancy to the recording, which is full of wonderful and beautiful music, encompassing orchestral, special event and folk stylings.

Some of the folk tunes almost have a bluesy feel to them, especially the opening track "Breu Peyney" and "Nor Khor Reach," both anchored by excellent lute-like playing and a particularly-enthralling vocalizing by a female singer on the former and a male on the latter.

Also a standout is the excellent "Luok Phsar", featuring a keening wind instrument, percussion, and a nicely-harmonized vocal ensemble working with a beautiful melody.  Similar is "Leng Suan" which has another distinctive vocal and melodic concept.  The title track is a religious piece with a fine male vocal, a pair of wind instruments, one in reedy higher register than the one that is more in the background at a lower register.

"Tep Monorom Dance" is carried along by its wind instruments, percussion and, especially, the stately vibraphone, which also feature in "Preah Chinnavong."  Speaking of stately, that aptly describes the gorgeous "Tropangpeay," which moves along at a leisurely pace and has fine melodic statements by its dual wind instruments.

Percussion is a dominant instrument along with a single wind instrument in "Bohrapha," which also has a great male lead vocal with group backing--this is another highlight on the record, especially the ululating-like trills offered in the piece.

A delicate and emotive lullaby sung by a woman is a gorgeous and apt way to conclude this remarkable recording, showing so much of a cultural revival that started in the 1980s and was still underway when the album was released.

The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan

The Silk Road Project is an extraordinary undertaking--founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998 to foster cultural understanding, dialogue and creation in those parts of the Middle East and Asia along the fabled Silk Road trade route.

After fifteen years, it continues along a successful and distinguished path producing remarkable projects of all kinds, including, of course, musical endeavors.  One of the early outcomes of the project was the 2002 double-disc The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan, issued by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.  The label's description for the album asks, "What if Marco Polo had owned a tape recorder?" 

There are forty-seven pieces totaling over two hours and twenty-five minutes of spellbinding music from Turkey to Japan, including areas not well-known to many people, including the Central Asian regions of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and others.

It is impossible, really, to select highlights because the music is uniformly good throughout.  Instrumentals and pieces featuring vocals are given a good balance and there are Tuva throat singers, Japanese shakuhachi (flute), Persian musicians, the amazing Chinese pipa master Wu Man, and street performers. 

The first disc is given over to professionals playing the classic music of the several countries featured under the heading "Masters and Traditions," while the second is for "amateurs" in folk settings on the disc titled "Minstrels and Lovers," with the latter having sub-categories of "The Nomadic Sound," "Traditions of Festivity," and "Spiritual Music."

Playing the entire album at one sitting can understandably daunting, particularly if the listener has little or no background in the music of the varied places, but this blogger, having had some experience with Chinese, Japanese, Persian, and Tuvan/Mongolian music, was captivated and listened straight through spellbound by the diversity, beauty and talent represented.

Unfortunately, this set was purchased without the 47-page booklet with extensive notes by Ma, Jean During and Ted Levin, the latter two producers while Ma has served as artistic director of the project since its inception.  Presumably, the liners have plenty of good information about the project, the various countries, the musicians, the instruments and the pieces. 

In any case, The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan is a mightily impressive compendium, easily one of the best music anthologies this listener has heard, and one of the best "world music" recordings, as well.  While it might be too much to digest at one time, its many pleasures can be sampled in small doses and be very effective as a tool for discovering parts of the world little or not known to Americans raised on Western forms of music only.

For those who have sampled "world music" somewhat extensively, this should be an indispensable addition to a collection.