27.1.11

My Garden

North End House, Rottingdean (detail) - Thomas Matthews Rooke. 1842 - 1942.
 
     
My Garden
1997

Tracks:

1: Lieder und Gesänge III, Op 77 (Schumann) - No 2: Mein Garten
2: Lieder und Gesänge I, Op 27 (Schumann) - No 4: Jasminenstrauch
3: Sechs Gesänge, Op 107 (Schumann) - No 1: Herzeleid
4: Drei Gesänge, Op 83 (Schumann/Rückert) - No 2: Die Blume der Ergebung
5: Zwölf Gedichte von Justinus Kerner, Op 35 (Schumann) - No 04: Erstes Grün
6: Lieder und Gesänge II, Op 51 (Schumann) - No 2: Volksliedchen
7: Gedichte von Eduard Mörike (Wolf) - No 13: Im Frühling
8: Gedichte von Eduard Mörike (Wolf) - No 17: Der Gärtner
9: Eichendorff Lieder (Wolf) - No 08: Nachtzauber
10: Lieder nach Gedichten von J W von Goethe (Wolf) - No 28: Frühling übers Jahr
11: Lieder nach Gedichten von J W von Goethe (Wolf) - No 29: Anakreons Grab
12: Gedichte von Eduard Mörike (Wolf) - No 06: Er ists
13: Le mariage des roses, M80 (Franck)
14: Le temps des lilas (Chausson)
15: Cinq Mélodies «de Venise», Op 58 (Fauré) - No 3: Green
16: Les roses d'Ispahan, Op 39 No 4 (Fauré)
17: Lied (Chabrier/Mendès)
18: Toutes les fleurs (Chabrier)
19: From the red rose (Stanford)
20: Roses of Picardy (Wood)
21: Triolet (Musto)
22: The rose family (Musto)
23: Songs of perfect propriety (Barab) - No 8: One perfect rose
24: Red roses and red noses (Berners)
25: Cabbages, Cabeans and Carrots (Stanley/Allen)

Personnel:

Felicity Lott (soprano)
Graham Johnson (piano)
 
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An anthology, in the original Greek, means a collection of flowers; and the garden tended here by Felicity Lott and Graham Johnson contains many species from around the globe: violets, rosemary, mimosa, periwinkles, lilies, daisies, roses, jasmine, immortelles, sunflowers, snowflowers, saffron, primroses, walnut and orange-tree blossom, laurel, carnations, lilac, strawberries, cornflowers, convolvulus, cyclamen, broom, lilies-of-the-valley, marigold, iris and pinks. And these flowers grace gardens in Germany, France, America and England.

There are six songs each by Schumann and Wolf, and delights from four French composers. In the English part of the disc we range from Haydn Wood's well-known Roses of Picardy to the humorous Red Roses and Red Noses by Lord Berners, a take-off of Thomas Moore's The last rose of summer.

The anthology ends irreverently with Cabbages, Cabeans and Carrots, a music-hall song prefaced in the score with the words: 'I think all these Flower Songs are ridiculous'!
 
 
 A London garden -  - Thomas Matthews Rooke. 1842 - 1942.
 

23.1.11

Piano

  
Didier Squiban
Rozbras
12 Images Pour Piano
2001

Tracks:

1. Image 1     5:53   
2. Image 2     2:51   
3. Image 3     3:42   
4. Image 4     2:15   
5. Image 5     5:18   
6. Image 6     6:29   
7. Image 7     2:36   
8. Image 8     4:32   
9. Image 9     3:25   
10. Image 10     6:01   
11. Image 11     3:28   
12. Image 12     5:08   

Credits:

Didier Squiban : piano, compositions et arrangements

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as requested by you :)
  
***
"Dernier volet d'une magnifique trilogie, Rozbras emprunte son titre à un abri maritime entre Riec-sur-Belon et Pont-Aven. Ce barde virtuose livre une suite de douze petites pièces entre jazz et classique contemporain. Un album incontournable, zen comme le vol d'une mouette. 20 sur 20." P.D. / L'EXPRESS
   

 photo source

20.1.11

Muqam

  
Chine-Xinjiang
La Route De La Soie - The Silk Road
1986-87

Tracks:

01 - Dulan Muqam
02 - Nawa Muqam
03 - Bayat-Nawa Muqam [Muqaddima]
04 - Mushawarik Muqam [Dastan Marghul]
05 - Sharh Aman
06 - Khushtarman
07 - Qambarkhan
08 - Nazirkhom
09 - Damulla
10 - Dart Alam
11 - Worksong
12 - Tagh Suleri
Recordings by Anderson Bakewell, 1986-87
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'Musique is tremendously important to the inhabitants of the former 'silk road'. not only are their lives accompanied throughout by musique of professional musicans [sazanda], hired to play at births, circumcisions, weddings & innumerable religious festivals, but musique as an amateur pursuit is, unlike many Islamic countries, actively encouraged. Instruments are found in every home & often played from a very young age. Singers are hired to accompany farmers in the fields, wandering mendicants [habdal] chant religious hymns in the bazaars & virtually any social gathering can be transformed, at the slightest provocation, into a mashrap [celebration], a cultural institution in which song & dance is the central focus.

There are large number of Uyghur folksongs, many universally known in the tarim basin. they are, like much turkic musique, linked to poetic forms marked by strong rhythms & tinged with melancholy. The subject is almost invariably love: meditations on the beauty of the beloved & the anguish of seperation or unrequited affections. The intersection of the musical genres of the amateur & professional musician makes categorization of Uyghur musique difficult, but the muqum fits the description in the popular mind of a classical musique. The muqum is of great significance to the Uyghurs, not only as a repository of musical inheritance, but also as the symbol of their cultural heritage.'

from the booklet
  

19.1.11

Muqam

  
Makit Dolan Muqam Troupe of Makit County
The Uyghur Muqam


Tracks:
  
01. Bash Bayawan Muqam
02. Zil Bayawan Muqam
03. Chol Bayawan Muqam
04. Otang Bayawan Muqam
05. Bom Bayawan Muqam
06. Sim Bayawan Muqam
07. Jula Muqam
08. Dugamet Bayawan Muqam
09. Hudek Bayawan Muqam
10. Instrumental Music of Dolan Maxirap (Aketamu Folk Song & The Girl with the Long Braided Hair)
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This album showcases the world-renowned muqam of the Uyghur Dolan from Makit County of Xinjiang. The muqam of the Dolan are the heritage of the Dolan’s hunting culture and way of life. A folk art with unique characteristics of the Dolan people, the Dolan Muqam, like its relatives, also embrace elements of Uyghur literature, music, dance and folk tradition. But the tunes and lyrics are very much their own and without much contamination from other regional muqam or folk music. The Dolan muqam differ from others in their rhythmic patterns and their use of powerful and dynamic drumming. Performers display high degree of individualism by following different melodic patterns but nevertheless achieve a unique heterophonic and heterorhythmic harmony.

The Musical Instruments of the Dolan Muqam
The instruments used in the Dolan muqam include the qalun (a plucked dulcimer), a Dolan rawap (a plucked lute), a Dolan ghijek (a bowed fiddle), and three types – high-pitched, middle-pitched and low-pitched – of dap (or frame drum). A Dolan muqam performance begins with an overture by the qalun, the Dolan rawap and the Dolan ghijek, with each playing its own melody and with a leading musician singing on a different tune and pitch at the same time. Although the instruments and vocals follow different melodic patterns, they work in unison, creating a unique heterophonic and heterorhythmic harmony.
note:
tracks 1- 9 can also be found on the CD
Chinese Turkestan - The Muqam of the Dolan, INEDIT
...but I don't know whether it is a different mix or another recording
I never wanted to stop listening just to compare :)
now it is your turn to get caught ;-)
 source: photo

>♥<

18.1.11

Uyghur

 
Uyghur Musicians from Xinjiang
Music From The Oasis Towns Of Central Asia

2000

Tracks:
   
1. Teruq 
2. Mudan Khan
3. Raq Muqam Of Ili 
4. Shahzade Khan 
5. Nimperde 
6. Penjigah Muqam Of Ili 
7. Ejem 
8. Charigah Muqam Of Turpan 
9. Saderbrinji 
10. Nava Muqam Of Turpan 
11. Derdengiz Yaman 
12. Shadiana
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A quick glance in the Times Atlas at the Xinjiang Region in the West of China and straight away you can see that it is a pretty inhospitable place, far away from anywhere. Basically it is a desert. The Uyghur people live there in oasis towns a great distance apart and when times were peaceful they traded in goods along the old Silk Road that ran from China into the Near East and on to Europe. They are a Turkic people, victims of geography who were once part of Ghengis Kahn's huge Mongol empire, then were re-conquered by the Manchu and incorporated into the Chinese Qing empire. Despite these changes over the centuries and today's large-scale immigration of Han Chinese, they have kept their identity, not least through their music. At the heart of this music is the Muqam a set of 12 musical suites, starting with a Taxim-like unmetered introduction the muqadime, moving through a metered slower piece, the dastan and finishing with the meshrep a wild dance piece. The current Uyghur version of the Muqam can be traced back to the 16th century to the court of the Yarkand hanate in Kashgar. It is very much a music of all of the people and is often referred to in terms of a spiritual need. In the words of one old folk singer: “During the Cultural Revolution I was forbidden to sing the Muqam, and I could feel it building up inside me with great heat. Finally I got on my donkey and rode into the desert. I rode until I was far away from all people, then I started to sing. I sang all the Muqam I knew, and then I went back. If I had not done this I would have become ill.”As you might gather from all of this we are dealing with a long and deep tradition in this recording of the Uyghur Musicians of Xinjiang. The roots of the musicians on this CD are in the pre-Communist oral traditions. But the music is very much a living tradition in the oasis towns from which they travelled to the U.K. for a series of concerts arranged by the Asian Music Circuit. It was while they were in London that GlobeStyle took the opportunity to make what turned out to be a remarkable recording of their music. We doubt that it has been documented with such clarity ever before and the whole package is enhanced by Dr Rachel Harris of SOAS's fascinating and entertaining note. 
The music of Chinese Turkestan featured on this CD will transport the listener not only to Central Asia, but also to the very core of the Middle Eastern Makam tradition. This ancient Turanian people have preserved melodies and rhythms that may well be older than those found in Mesopotamia or Egypt. According to one theory, western China and Central Asia were the cradles of the music of the Middle East.


16.1.11

Nina

  
Nina Matvienko
We shall sow gold stone
2003

Tracks:
ЧАСТИНА 1

СТВОРЕННЯ СВІТУ
1 Коли не було з нащада світа

ВЕСНА СВІТУ
2 Ой, ти, соловейку Play
3 Весняні забави Play
4 Русальна
5 Орел поле поорав

РУСЬ ПРАДАВНЯ
6 Заклинання, Жертвоприношення
7 Сьогодні Івана
8 Купалочка
9 Засвічу свічу
10 Ой, до бору стежечка
11 Що Петрівочки дві неділечки

КНЯЖА ДОБА
12 Слава Стольному Києву
13 Нава радость нам явилась
14 Гой, питалася княжа корона
15 У нашого пана
16 Орда
17 Плач-колискова

Загальний час звучання : 61:14

ЧАСТИНА 2

КОЗАЦЬКА ДЕРЖАВА
1 Господи, силою Твоєю Play
2 Мати милосердна Play
3 Днесь пора і той час
4 Щиголь тугу має
5 А у полі річка
6 Стоїть явір над горою
7 Танець в обробці М. Ділецького
8 Орда
9 Ой, горе тій чайці
10 Ой, полети, галко

ВВІЙДИ І ТИ У ЦЕЙ СОБОР
11 Камерна кантана 3, на вірші П. Тичини
12 Шуміла ліщина
13 Глибокий колодязю
14 Світи, місяцю, не вечорися
15 Горілець лежить моє село
16 Ввійди і ти у цей собор

Загальний час звучання : 53:25
 
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Nina Matviyenko is by no means a star. At least because she herself is both the whole universe and its inspired Father. Her universality has been proved more than once, but this time we have something completely unusual. This edition is announced as musical performance and it is really like that. It is not a simple collection of musical compositions which would show the performer’s art, it is the whole mythological and philosophical conception of creation and development, life, death and rebirth presented in musical form. And this form may be regarded as disputable and alternative, but there’s no doubt – it is internally absolute, integrated and harmonious, because this is not a bookish story – papers have this peculiarity to be burnt and to be rewritten – this is a sound and rhythmical story. It finds its roots in mentality, in heart and in the most secret and pure nooks of soul. This is not the music of moods. This is the sounding of state which concerns our deepest strings and achievements.

Anton Jozhik Leyba (Hedgehog)
 
  
 

15.1.11

Prayer

  
Ніна Матвієнко
МОЛИТВА
2006

Tracks:

01. Molytva
02. Oj chyje zh to pole
03. Syzokrylyj holubon'ku
04. Oj pidu ja do Kyjova
05. Cherez nashe sel'ce
06. Vedu rusalku
07. Oj vyjdu ja na vulycju
08. Zhuravlyky odletily
09. Na zhovten'komu pisochku
10. Rano-rano hovoryla jablun'ka
11. Oj spy, dytja
12. Oj jak prylitaly ta j dva sokolon'ka
13. Oj tam Semenko
14. Schedryk-schedryk, schedrivochka
15. Iz-za hory
 
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The disk Молитва "Prayer" (actually, as well as "Lullaby to a Star") represents songs performed by Nina Matvienko that have never been released before. They sounded, attracted attention, got popularity – but were not released. Now, finally, this has been corrected – and I consider that the both disks are an invaluable present for everyone. For those who are grasped by Nina Matvienko's talent and creativity. And for those who are interested in the Ukrainian song as such. And for those who just never stay indifferent to beauty – irrespective of in what form it is revealed. As singing by this woman is something much more than skills. It seems to me that Nina Matvienko long ago became a guide to something so subtle, light, sincere, that there are no words in human language for this. The beauty that she carries already cannot be called only Ukrainian – it goes beyond national and geographical borders, it has universal importance. The same relates to roots on which she leans – here, much more than history and culture of one separate people is intersected. And, consequently, to listen to this singing means, as to me, to get access to that very well on which all beauty realized by mankind lives. Multitude of displays, one essence.

Anton Jozhik Leyba (Hedgehog)
 
***

Nina Matvienko

National artist of Ukraine Nina Matviyenko is an unsurpassed performer of Ukrainian folk songs. She possesses a unique, owing to its timbre and expressiveness, magnificent voice. The singer’s repertoire comprises a great variety of folk songs: ritual, lyric, funny, ballads and also Ukrainian songs of XVII-XVIII cultural and historical period. Nina Matviyenko is constantly co-working with outstanding Ukrainian modern composers: Yevhen Stankovych, Oleg Kiva, Myroslav Skoryk, Iryna Kyrylina, Ganna Gavrylets’.
Nina Matviyenko’s talent was also revealed in theatre and cinema. She took part in television performances ("Marusya Churay", "Kateryna Bilokur", "Water overflowed across four fords"), feature films ("Straw bells", "Missed deed", "Wedding is accused"), radio performances ("Arrow’s flight", "Clarinets of tenderness"). She added sound-tracks to a number of popular scientific, newsreel and documentary films, several television and radio programs. In 1988 her first video was shot – "Mermaid’s week".
  
Nina Matviyenko has personal works as a director at the theatre. Her artistic gift embodied in course of a music performance creation – "Under the Sun" (1997) with participation of a Japanese dancer Tadashi Ando, and a grandiose music and stage event "We sow a gold stone" (1998). Besides, the artist played in 16 performances with an American theatre "La Mama E.T.C." (New York, USA) in 1995.
 
Since 1966 till 1991 Nina Matviyenko was a soloist of a voice studio at State Honored Ukrainian Folk Academician Choir named after G.Veryovka. Besides, since 1968 she simultaneously started singing in vocal trio "Zoloti Klyuchi" (Golden keys) with Valentyna Korotya-Kovalska and Maria Mykolaychuk. Nina Matviyenko’s career as an artist is marked by the following achievements: in 1978 she was conferred with the title of Honored Artist for her great contribution into development of Ukrainian art and for an intensive cultural activity; in 1985 – she was awarded with the title of National Artist of Ukraine. A new period in the singer’s career is connected with co-work with National ensemble of soloists "Kyevan Camerata", which soloist she became in 1991. Incredibly expressive character of the artist folk singing is combined perfectly with an academician style of "Camerata" performing, which helps to vary the concert repertoire of this music group.
  
Nina Matviyenko is a laureate of a contest "Young voices", Ukraine, (1978), International radio contest of folk songs in Bratislava (1978), All-Union television contest "With a song along the life" (1979), the XI International festival of youth and students (Moscow, 1985), a laureate of the State T. Shevchenko Prize of Ukraine (1988), since 1989 she’s a member of Film-Makers Union of Ukraine. In 1996 the singer was awarded with the highest award of the International M. A. Kasyan Prize Fund – Order of Mykola Chudotvorets’. Besides, in 1997 Nina Matviyenko became a Holder of a State Award – an Order of Princess Olga, the 3d degree.
 
Since 1967 the singer has been actively touring with concerts. She made successful tours in Mexico, Canada, USA, Czech republic, Poland, Finland, Korea, France, countries of Latin America. Her career as a singer resulted in numerous records of Ukrainian folk songs, audio-records ("Lullaby of Dawn", "Prayer"), CDs with songs of various genres. Among the most well-known singer’s CDs are: "And heart will find rest", "Zolotoslov" ("Goldenspeaker") (1997), several CDs "The songs of Ukrainian people" (1998-1999) with vocal trio "Golden keys", "Sleep, Jesus" (2000) with the participation of men’s choir named after L. Revutsky, "Oh, voluptuous Venus" with an Ensemble of ancient music under leadership of K. Chechenya.





12.1.11

Finnish Folk Song

  
Folk Voices
Finnish Folk Song Through Ages
1999

Tracks:

01. Kuulin aanen (I Heard the Voice) - MeNaiset - 03:37
02. Hiien hirven hihdanta (Hunting the Devil's Elk) - Heikki Laitinen - 03:03
03. Rakkauden Myrkky Kaikki Surut Tappaa (Love's Poison Kills All Sorrows) - Von/AF - 02:24
04. Tellun Polska (Tellu's Polska) - Tellu - 02:11
05. Lehmikutsu (Calling the Cows) - Meri Tiitola - 02:34
06. Tulen Synty Loitsu (the Origin of Fire) - Tiina Kaaresvirta/Petri Korpela - 02:26
07. O Kriste, Kunnian Kuningas (O Christ, King of Glory) - Tallari - 04:25
08. Heikin Polska (Heikki's Polska) - Heikki Laitinen/Erik Siikasaari -02:17
09. Merin Polskarallatus (Meri's Polska) - Meri Tiitola - 01:25
10. Laksin mina kesayona kaymaan (One Night in the Summer I Did Wander) - Sanna Kurki-Suonio - 04:08
11. Morsiamen Itketys (the Bride's Weeping) - MeNaiset - 04:37
12. Oi aiti (O Mother) - Pia Rask - 01:33
13. Pommaripoika (Lucky Lad) - Heikki Laitinen - 02:07
14. Istuinpa sankys laidalla (I Sat on Thy Bed) - Sirkka Mostrom - 02:35
15. Varfar grymtar du (Why Are You Sad) - Marianne Maans - 00:53
16. En sjaman ar sa litet estimerad (A Seaman Ejoys Little Esteem) - Marianne Maans - 02:20
17. Tuolla Mun Kultani (Yonder My Sweetheart) - Tellu - 02:16
18. Illan Hiljaisuudessa (in the Still of the Evening) - Von/AF - 04:32
19. Tuu Tuu Tupakkarulla (Lully My Baby) - Sanna Kurki-Suonio - 02:14

Artists:

MeNaiset Vocal Ensemble
Tallari
Von & Af
Tiina Kaaresvirta, conjuring
Pertti Korpela, shaman's drum
Sanna Kurki-Suonio, vocalist
Marianne Maans, vocalist
Sirkka Moström, vocalist
Pia Rask, vocalist
Meri Tiitola, vocalist
Tellu Turkka, vocalist
Tellu Virkkala, soprano
  
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Folk music is typically influenced by Karelian traditional tunes and lyrics of the Kalevala metre. Karelian heritage has traditionally been perceived as the purest expression of Finnic myths and beliefs, thought to be spared from Germanic and Slavic influences. In the west of the country, more mainstream Nordic folk music traditions prevail. The Sami people of northern Finland have their own musical traditions, collectively Sami music. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in the recent decades, and has also become a part of popular music.

Spirits of the North

9.1.11

Oskar

  
Oskar Merikannon kauneimmat
Best of Oskar Merikanto
1993 
 
Tracks:

01 - Kesäillan valssi
02 - Valse lente
03 - Romanssi
04 - Mä oksalla ylimmällä
05 - Annina
06 - Pai, pai paitaressu
07 - Itkevä huilu
08 - Merellä
09 - Tuulan tei
10 - Miss' soutaen tuulessa
11 - Soi vienosti murheeni soitto
12 - Lastentaru takkavalkealla
13 - Idylli
14 - Scherzo
15 - Oi muistatko vielä sen virren
16 - Laatokka
17 - Miksi laulan
18 - Myrskylintu
19 - Jo valkenee kaukainen ranta
20 - Kesäillan idylli
with Izumi Tateno, Raija Kerppo, Kaija Saarikettu, Erkki Rautio,
Ralf Gothoni, Jorma Hynninen, Jaakko Ryhänen, ...
  
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Biography by Robert Cummings

Oskar Merikanto was undoubtedly overshadowed by his Finnish countryman and contemporary, Jean Sibelius. That said, Merikanto was an important musical figure in his sphere still, particularly for his work in opera, song, and church music. He was instrumental in bringing operatic performances to the stage in Finland, and his Pohjan neiti (Maiden of the North) was the first Finnish-language opera ever produced. In the realm of church music Merikanto was active both as an educator and composer. But he will probably be best remembered for his songs. A good many of them from his numerous collections (nearly 150 in all!) and from among various lone efforts scattered throughout his output without opus, are regularly heard in recitals and on recordings. Perusing Merikanto's works list, one is struck by its enormity: for chorus alone there are well over 100 entries (some representing sizable collections), and for piano over 80, a body of work that contains, however, not one sonata or concerto! Merikanto typically wrote short works for solo instruments and voice, but his operas and incidental scores for the theater broke with this miniature-like pattern.

Oskar Merikanto was born in Helsinki, Finland, on August 5, 1868. Like Sibelius, his parents were Swedish speakers. The family name, too, Mattsson, was Swedish, which the father changed to the more Finnish-sounding Merikanto. Young Oskar divulged musical talent early on, with exceptional skills on the organ and piano.

In the period 1887-1888, Merikanto studied music at the Leipzig Conservatory. Even by this time, though, he was already active as a composer, with numerous piano works to his credit, including the Fantasia, for four hands (1885) and Two Träumerei (1887), as well as pieces for organ and songs.

Merikanto concluded his studies in Berlin in 1890-1891. In 1893 his son Aarre was born. He would also become a noted composer, his father being his first teacher and a profound influence in his life. In 1898 the elder Merikanto wrote the aforementioned opera Pohjan neiti, but it was not staged until 1908. From the early twentieth century Merikanto worked to promote opera in Finland, conducting and arranging many major performances.

Merikanto remained quite active in composition throughout his life. Perhaps his most popular sacred work, the hymn Thank you, Lord! from 1924, was among his last. But it still showed his usual mastery and inspiration. Merikanto died in Hausjärvi-Oitti on February 17, 1924.
  
***
  
Merikanto was the first composer in Finland to use Finnish texts in his songs, and this is the cause of the widespread popularity that his songs enjoy even today almost a century after many of them were written. A sympathetic interpretation by the deservedly distinguished Finnish baritone Jorma Hynninen adds considerably to the simple beauty of these songs. Merikanto had produced over 150 songs at his death in 1924, many of which are surprisingly Schubertian for a composer who consistently rejected the German influence in favour of developing his own national voice.
  
***
 
  
This is one of these rare records that touched my heart from the first note played till the last one and repeat and again ... not a weak track ... well best of ... I have to admit that I did not know Oskar Merikanto ... yes I don't know much ... but now I do ... I always loved Jorma Kaukonen (I had to make this joke, but its no joke :)) ... and now there is Jorma Hynninen too ... just got it cause it says Finlandia, this label I knew ...  many of his songs have attained folk song status in Finland ... no wonder :) 
Tio Miguel (some time ago) 

  

7.1.11

Jorma

  
Jorma Hynninen
Ilkka Paananen
Elämälle - Songs By Oskar Merikanto

2008

Tracks:

1 Omenankukat (Apple blossom)1:22
2 Linnulle kirkkomaalla (To a Bird in the Churchyard)1:52
3 Suvi-illan vieno tuuli (Summer Evening’s Breeze)1:41
4 Muistellessa (Remembering)3:55
5 Miksi laulan (Why I Sing)1:11
6 Kullan murunen (You Are a Nugget of Gold)1:37
7 Merellä (At Sea)4:13
8 Myrskylintu (Stormbird)3:03
9 Laatokka (Lake Ladoga)3:30
10 Iltakellot (Evening Bells)2:37

Haudoilta-sarja (From the Graves)
11 Valkeat ristit (White Crosses)2:39
12 Laulaja taivaan portilla (A Singer at the Gate of Heaven)1:36
13 Käy kirkkomaata illoin (In the Churchyard at Eventide)4:15
14 Päivännousu kultaa kirkkomaan (Sunrise Gilds the Churchyard)1:58

15 Hyvästi! (Farewell!)1:22
16 Hyvää yötä (Good Night)2:22
17 Hämärissä (In the Twilight)1:26
18 Elämälle (To Life)2:13
19 Annina3:32
20 Illansuussa (At Nightfall)1:57
21 Nocturne2:25
22 Balladi (Ballad)2:38
23 Nuoruuden ylistys (Praise of Youth)1:59
24 Soi vienosti murheeni soitto (Play Softly, Thou Tune of My Mourning)1:54
25 Ma elän! (I Am Alive!)1:29

Personnel:

Jorma Hynninen: Baritone
Ilkka Paananen: Piano
Frans Oskar Merikanto (1868 - 1924)- Composer
  
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Oskar Merikanto was apparently a very popular composer in Finland during the years around 1900; the booklet notes tell of a Helsinki musician touring the countryside and being asked whether there were any other great composers in Helsinki besides Merikanto. Merikanto made a varied living of the sort undertaken by composers in nascent concert scenes, working as a pianist, church organist, "organ inspector" (whatever that was), conductor, critic, and teacher. He wrote about 150 songs, pleasant, foursquare creations with attractive melodies that have drawn comparisons to Paolo Tosti. They're not quite that far toward the popular end of the spectrum, but they don't sound like Sibelius at all, and they show minimal influence from any composer of German lieder after Schubert. Probably the closest comparison would be Tchaikovsky's songs: imagine the Nocturne, track 21, in Russian, and you can imagine that Merikanto started from some of the same Tchaikovskian sources Sibelius did, even if he went in a different direction. More is generally happening in the accompaniment than in the vocal line, and baritone Jorma Hynninen and pianist Ilkka Paananen execute the balance here -- simple, sensuous vocal line underlaid by fairly detailed piano part -- very well. The more serious pieces, such as the cycle of four songs From the Graves, Op. 74 (tracks 11-14), are the most successful, but there are also folk-like pieces (try the slight Suvi-illan vieno tuuli [Summer's Evening Breeze], Op. 87/2, track 3) that will stick with you. ... All texts are in Finnish and English. ~ James Manheim
  
  
Jorma Hynninen is one of the most celebrated Finnish vocal artists. This disc contains the legendary baritone's very personal account of songs by his compatriot Oskar Merikanto (1868-1924). Many of the 25 songs remain to this day among the all-time favourite Finnish songs of any genre (such as the title song of this disc, Elämälle - 'To life').

During his lifetime, Oskar Merikanto was just as popular as Jean Sibelius. He was the co-founder of what would become the Finnish National Opera and composed major contributions to the song and opera repertoire: a real master of melody who incorporated elements of folk music into his works, Merikanto rightly provokes comparisons with such composers as Schubert and Mahler.

Jorma Hynninen has contributed not only to a renewal in the art of interpreting solo songs but also to the creation of contemporary operas by Rautavaara and

Sallinen, to name but two composers. His greatest musical love though has always been Lieder, a genre on which he successfully concentrates on this new recording.

Pianist Ilkka Paananen has appeared numerous times together with Jorma Hynninen and is an equally appreciated Lied partner of Elina Garanca, Dilbèr, Matti Salminen and Gabriel Suovanen.
 
wiki
  

Oskar Merikanto composed himself – especially with his songs - into the hearts of Finnish people; Jorma Hynninen makes the same with his masculine, sensitive voice which has still grown richer.
Pentti Ritolahti, Sana, March 6, 2008
 

Jorma

  
Jorma Kaukonen
River of Time

2009

Tracks:

01. "Been So Long" (Jorma Kaukonen) – 3:58
02. "There's a Bright Side Somewhere" (Rev. Gary Davis) – 3:01
03. "Cracks in the Finish" (Kaukonen) – 3:30
04. "Another Man Done a Full Go Round" (Roy Book Binder) – 3:39
05. "Trouble In Mind" (Traditional) – 3:25
06. "Izze's Lullaby" (Kaukonen) – 3:32
07. "More Than My Old Guitar" (Merle Haggard) – 3:45
08. "Nashville Blues" (Alton Delmore, Raybon Delmore) – 3:23
09. "A Walk with Friends" (Kaukonen, Barry Mitterhoff, Larry Campbell) – 4:33
10. "Operator" (Ron McKernan) – 3:48
11. "Preachin on the Old Camp Ground" (Mississippi John Hurt) – 3:48
12. "River of Time" (Kaukonen) – 2:56
13. "Simpler Than I Thought" (Kaukonen) – 6:10

Personnel:

    * Jorma Kaukonen – guitars, vocals
    * Larry Campbell – guitar, baritone guitar, tenor guitar, resophonic guitar, fiddle, dobro, mandolin, cittern, percussion, producer
    * Barry Mitterhoff – banjo, mandolin, tenor guitar
    * Lincoln Schleifer – bass
    * Levon Helm – drums on "Cracks in the Finish" and "Trouble in Mind"
    * Teresa Williams – vocals on "More Than My Old Guitar", "Nashville Blues" and "Preachin' on the Old Camp Ground"
    * Myron Hart – bass on "More Than My Old Guitar" and "Nashville Blues", vocals on "Preachin' on the Old Camp Ground"
    * Justin Guip – drums on "More Than My Old Guitar", "Nashville Blues", and "Operator"
 
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While America was in the throes of rock & roll's dawn, his ears were elsewhere as a devotee of acoustic bluesmen of the past. After relocation to San Francisco, he was one of the first to back another recent arrival (from Texas) named Janis Joplin. As founding member of Jefferson Airplane, he became pioneering architect of the guitar sound that became the genre Psychedelic Rock. His music became the soundtrack of the Counterculture and the Woodstock Generation, it's accompanying lifestyle / philosophy influenced millions. At the height of Airplane's fame as the most successful American rock band of the 1960s, he walked away to play roots music in Hot Tuna. The following decades he forged his own solo career and continued with Hot Tuna, was elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and founded the Fur Peace Guitar Ranch.

RIVER OF TIME is the perfect distillation of the journey, some 50 years after he bought his first guitar.

Produced by Larry Campbell (Dylan Band) at Levon Helm's Woodstock studio, RIVER features Levon on drums and a cast of stellar musicians including mandolin virtuoso Barry Mitterhoff. Campbell also plays and his wife Teresa Williams lends her outstanding vocal prowess.

Six of it's thirteen songs are Jorma originals, a prolific showcase with themes of family, friends and inspired memory throughout.

The album also revisits the blues and country music that Jorma first fell in love with in his youth, featuring bright new interpretations of Mississippi John Hurt, Merle Haggard and Rev. Gary Davis...and pays tribute to old friend "Pigpen" Ron McKernan on the Grateful Dead's "Operator." Whether reinterpreting classics or crafting new originals and shimmering instrumentals, RIVER OF TIME finds Jorma at the top of his game with inventive arrangements and his strongest songwriting to date.
 
 
Time has aged Kaukonen's voice into a warm, deep chestnut grain, his vocal approach to the songs ranging from an energetic whisper to a soulful drawl. Accompanied by his impressive guitarwork, which Kaukonen has honed to near perfection over the past five decades, the songs on River of Time are a near-perfect blend of Delta-inspired blues and dustbowl folk that is lively, thoughtful, and laid-back with a carefree energy that makes the album a real pleasure to hear.


3.1.11

Dansons!

   
L'Ame de l'Auvergne
1998

Tracks:

01. Henri Momboisse - Lo marianno fiolerbo (bourrée)
02. Martin Cayla - Lo mourolliado (bourrée)
03. Martin Cayla - L'aigo de roso (scottisch)
04. Henri Momboisse - Lo grondo (valse)
05. Jean Ségurel - La fille du fermier (valse)
06. Martin Cayla - Polka piquée
07. Ernest Jaillet - bourrée lozérienne
08. Adrien Bras - Lo glaoudo (bourrée)
09. Martin Cayla - Le  pas du loup (scottisch)
10. Martin Cayla - L'aoure de la combo torto (valse)
11. Martin Cayla - Préto mou mé (valse)
12. Antoine Bouscatel - Regret et marche nuptiale (mélodie)
13. Martin Cayla - Les garçons de la montagne (bourrée)
14. Fernand Constantin - Fiou de lono (bourrée)
15. Achille Marc - Lo Bolontinou (polka)
16. Géraud Sudre - Valso oubergnato (valse)
17. Henri Momboisse - Vous reviendrez (valse)
18. Martin Cayla - La demenon lo nostro nobio (marche)
19. Ernest Jaillet - Le brise pied (scottisch)
20. Antoine Bouscatel - La bororiairo - Flour de ginesto (bourrées)
21. Antoine Bouscatel - Cantalise - Mignonette (bourrées)
22. Jean Pradal - Si vous saviez jeune fille (bourrée)
23. Joseph Aigueperse - L'escloupetto (bourrée)

23 enregistrements originaux remasterisés, interprétés par des chanteurs et musiciens originaires du Cantal, de l'Aveyron, de la Corrèze, de la Lozère et du Puy-de-Dôme.
 
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Auvergne is a region in France. Its best-known form of folk music is that played on the cabrette (little goat in Auvergnat), a bagpipe made of goatskin. This is used to play swift, 3/8 dance music, slow airs (regrets) and other styles. The traditional master Joseph Rouls taught many modern players, including Dominique Paris, Jean Bona and Michel Esbelin. Other styles of music include the shepherd's calls known as ballero.

Joseph Canteloube was a well-known composer from Auvergne in the early 20th century, and produced a famous collection of folk music called Songs of the Auvergne.

The hurdy gurdy became the basis for bal-musette music, which arrived in Paris by 1880 as a result of Auvergnat migration. The influence of Antoine Bouscatel led to bal-musette incorporating the Italian accordion, which soon came to dominate the music. This is the period that produced internationally known masters like Léon Chanal, Emile Vacher and Martin Cayla. Vacher's light style, rhythmic nature and distinctive tremolo defined the genre for many audiences in France and beyond. During World War I, elements of American jazz became a part of bal-musette. The style also became the basis for a genre called valse musette.
 
   
The valse musette is a blend of folk music from Auvergne and light Parisian music from the 19th century. It matured into its current form during the 1930s under the influence of Italian immigrants. A distinctive jazzy flavor was introduced by Gypsy musicians who had quickly picked up on the new American style. (Django Reinhardt started his career as a banjo player in musette and dance bands.) Guitarists like Boulou and Matelot Ferre, Didi Duprat and Didier Roussin made the Musette accompaniment style a very recognizable one. Accordionists like Gus Viseur instilled a definite swing flavor into the genre. The musette name itself refers to a small bagpipe-like instrument that was played in the center of France, especially in Auvergne ("musette" being the name for a small bag).
  
 
 
This is a scan of an original post card showing the famous Auvergnat bal musette band leader, Martin Cayla. There were many thousands of Auvergne immigrants living in Paris during the 1920s-40s, the period during which his "orchestra" made most of its recordings on it's own label Disques Soleil. Cayla was a highly regarded cabrettaïre and accordéonist.
 
 
note:

Track: 03. Martin Cayla - L'aigo de roso
 
we already know: 

Chants d'Auvergne: 1st Series: Trois bourrée: “L'aio de rotso (L'eau de source)”

 

more to read 

musette


2.1.11

Dansons la bourrée!


Dansons la bourrée!
Muisque & Tradition Vol. 1


Tracks:

Robert Bras - Roland Brunel

1 - Les garçons de la montagne
2 - La montagnarde

Marcel Pelat-Charly - Joseph Ruols

3 - Les cinq noisettes
4 - La bourrée à Joseph

Charly Charbonnier- Didier Pauvert

5 - Bourrée du Fridefont
6 - La bourrée du Falgoux

Louis Rispal - Gabriel Chiva

7 - La bourrée du Louis
8 - La tricoutado
9 - La bourrée des familles

Tonin Troupel - Claude Descombels

10 - La bourrée en Auvergne
11 - La bourrée de Royat
12 - Le tourniquet

Jean-Claude Labouchet - Denis Salesse

13 - La bourré de bouteilles

Duo cabrette/accordéon:

Cabrette: 
Roland Brunel, Joseph Ruols, Didier Pauvert, Louis Rispal, Claude Descombels, Denis Salesse

Accordéon: 
Robert Bras, Marcel Pelat-Charly, Charly Charbonnier, Gabriel Chiva, Tonin Troupel, Jean-Claude Labouchet
 
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The bourrée (also borrèia) is a dance of French origin common in Auvergne and Biscay in Spain in the 17th century. It is danced in quick double time, somewhat resembling the gavotte. The main difference between the two is the anacrusis, or upbeat; a bourrée starts on the last beat of a bar, creating a quarter-bar anacrusis, whereas a gavotte has a half-bar anacrusis. It often has a dactylic rhythm. In his Der Vollkommene Capellmeister (Hamburg, 1739), Johann Mattheson wrote of the bourrée, "its distinguishing feature resides in contentment and a pleasant demeanor, at the same time it is somewhat carefree and relaxed, a little indolent and easygoing, though not disagreeable".

Composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Frédéric Chopin used the musical form of the bourrée. The dance survives to this day in the Auvergne and has been successfully "exported" to the UK and other countries. The bourrée of lower Auvergne, also called Montagnarde, is in triple time, while that of high Auvergne is in double time.
 
  

Why don't you sing along...

1.1.11

Songs of the Auvergne

  
Netania Davrath
Songs of the Auvergne
New Songs of the Auvergne

1963/1966

CD 1

01. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 1 No. 1: La pastoura al camps (02' 41'')
02. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 1 No. 2: Bailero (06' 40'')
03. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 1 No. 3: Trois Bourrees (06' 47'')
04. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 2 No. 1: Pastourelle "E passo de dossai" (02' 57'')
05. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 2 No. 2: L'Antoueno (03' 00'')
06. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 2 No. 3: La pastrouletta e lou chibalie (01' 51'')
07. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 2 No. 4: La delaissado (05' 01'')
08. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 2 No. 5: Deux bourrees (05' 23'')
09. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 3 No. 1: Lo fiolaire (02' 40'')
10. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 3 No. 2: Passo pel prat (04' 01'')
11. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 3 No. 3: Lou boussu (02' 28'')
12. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 3 No. 4: Brezairola (03' 41'')
13. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 3 No. 5: Malurous qu'o uno fenno (01' 36'')
14. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 4 No. 1: Jou l'pount d'o Mirabel (03' 46'')
15. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 4 No. 2: Oi, ayai (03' 38'')
16. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 4 No. 3: Pour l'enfant (02' 39'')
17. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 4 No. 4: Chut, Chut (02' 39'')
18. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 4 No. 5: Pastorale "Bailero, lero, lero" (04' 06'')
19. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 4 No. 6: Lou Coucut (02' 10'')

CD 2

01. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 5 No. 1: Obal, din lo coumbelo (03' 17'')
02. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 5 No. 2: Quan z'eyro petitoune (02' 43'')
03. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 5 No. 3: La-haut, sur le rocher (03' 30'')
04. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 5 No. 4: He! Beyla-z-y d'au fe! (01' 51'')
05. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 5 No. 5: Postouro, se tu m'aymo (01' 48'')
06. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 5 No. 6: Te, l'co, te! (00' 42'')
07. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 5 No. 7: Uno, jionto postouro (02' 08'')
08. Chants d'Auvergne, Series 5 No. 8: Lou diziou be (01' 16'')

Chants  du Languedoc, des Pays Basques (arr. Gershon Kingsley)

09. Chants paysans-Auvergne et Quercy: La mere Antoine (01' 26'')
10. Chants paysans-Quercy: Oh ! Madelon, je dois partir (02' 00'')
11. Chants paysans Bearn: Rossignolet qui chants (03' 51'')
12. Chants du Languedoc: La fille d'un paysan (01' 57'')
13. Chants des Pays Basques: Comment donc savoir (02' 01'')
14. Chants du Languedoc: Mon pere m'a plasee (02' 19'')
15. Chants paysans-Quercy: Lorsque le meunier (01' 35'')
16. Chants du Languedoc: O up ! (01' 23'')
17. Chants des Pays Basques: Le premier de tous les oiseux (02' 15'')
18. Chants du Languedoc: Moi j'ai un homme (01' 24'')
19. Chants des Pays Basques: J'ai un douce amie (01' 52'')
20. Chants des Pays Basques: Dans le tombeau (04' 00'')
21. Chants des Pays Basques: Allons, beau rossignol (02' 03'')
22. Chants du Languedoc: Quand Marion va au moulin (02' 48'')
23. Chants paysans-Quercy: Reveillez-vous, belle endormie (02' 59'')

Personnel:

Netania Davrath: Soprano
Orchestra cond. by Pierre de la Roche / Gershon Kingsley
Baumgarten Hall, Vienna, Austria 03/27/1963, 03/16/1966
 
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Netanya Davrath's Songs of the Auvergne has stood as the reference recording in this music since the mid-1960s when it was first issued, and while challenged by the likes of Victoria de los Angeles, Frederica von Stade, and Kiri Te Kanawa, it remains without peer. Davrath was one of those unclassifiable singers (Nati Mistral was another) whose voice belonged in the sort of stylized folk music so beloved of composers working in the Romantic Nationalist style. Her boyish timbre--plaintive and penetrating but never harsh--was further tempered by extraordinary care with diction and unusually accurate pitch sensitivity--truly a case of "the art that conceals art".

And so hearing her wrap her tongue around the quicker songs such as "L'aio de rotso" is a joy whether or not you understand the words or even care about them at all, while the affecting simplicity of her "Bailero" never--as it does with Te Kanawa--comes to sound like a Prima Donna tripping languidly on acid.

This set also has an enticing coupling in the form of the New Songs of the Auvergne, orchestrations of additional Canteloube voice-and-piano settings that never made it into the official sequence. The pick-up orchestra under Pierre de la Roche shares the same virtues as Davrath: its tone is earthy and honest in a way that singularly suits the material, and the fine recorded sound has hardly dated. One problem: the track listing on the back of the jewel case is barely legible against the dark background. But the bottom line here is simple: this is the best available, and it's less expensive than ever.

~David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com