SEPTEMBER 09′
THE HAMMER DULCIMER PLAYED BY CHET PARKER
Born in 1891, Chet Parker had a few years to hone his craft before Patrick Murphy recorded him for this 1966 Folkways release. Although a quiet LP (low levels), the beloved field recording glazes the tunes with a wonderful living room patina, and you can almost feel the late autumn Michigan sun on the cat curled up on the rocking chair by the window. Like ghosts echoing a past we’ll hardly know, these ditties are enchanted by the mesmerizing sounds of the hammer dulcimer played in a natural and easy way. Mostly traditional old-time mountain tunes, things get interesting on the “B” side when Chet starts singing, the only disappointment being there isn’t more of it. From the liner notes:
“In 1900 a friend introduced him to the dulcimer and let him borrow one. It was “as big as a door and was so loud you couldn’t even hear the piano playing chords. Had to open the doors and windows in a house to keep from being driven out by the noise.” In 1904 Chet made his own dulcimer which he still plays.”
*The LP tracks are identified as ‘bands’, sometimes with songs, medleys and quadrills together within each band. Thus, occasionally you’ll hear breaks within the bands, which are identified by the semicolons below.
Folkways Records FA 2381, 1966
Side One:
Band 1: Devil’s Dream; Medly #1 (2′55)
Band 2: Pick Me Up On Your Way Down; Put Your Arms Around Me; Spanish Two Step; Flickstien (4′36)
Band 3: Medley #2; Medley #3 (4′03)
Band 4: Medley #4; Soldier’s Joy; #2 of First Place Quadrills by Cuberdan (4′04)
Band 5: Medley #5; Medley #6 (4′25)
Band 6: The Bald Headed End of the Broom; Medley #7 (3′49)
Side Two:
Band 1: Medley #8 (3′05)
Band 2: Medley #9 (3′30)
Band 3: Fishers’ Hornpipe; Medley #10 (2′56)
Band 4: Medley #11 (2′59)
Band 5: Medley #12 (2′31)
Band 6: Medley #13 (2′34)
Band 7: First, Second and Fourth Set Quadrills from “My Best Girl” (3′27)
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LOREN MAZZACANE CONNORS & CHRISTINA CARTER “MEDITATIONS ON THE ASCENSION OF BLIND JOE DEATH, VOL. 1″
This sinewy and beautifully haunting record is executed with a delicacy and subtle abstraction that befits both the performers and its itinerant titular reference. An almost perfect marriage between the delicate hidden lace intricacy of Carter’s piano musings, as they mystically commingle with Conner’s emotionally gifted guitar work. A passion play for our mythological American Primitive hero, these meditations aren’t so much a reference to the illusory ’smoke’ and ‘mirrors’ of some terrestrial proxy, but rather, an upward wafting incense offering to the risen Joe, and a mirror reflection of the legacy for those who came to worship. This was a brutally limited release on ECSTATIC YOD, and foreshadowed what one could only hope would be a series of similarly devotional odes on the alter of the alter ego.
ECSTATIC YOD, E#101d/FYPL-41
Side One:
1. Smoke pt. 1 (3′09)
2. Smoke pt. 2 (1′47)
3. Smoke pt. 3 (0′55)
4. Smoke pt. 4 (1′27)
5. Smoke pt. 5 (3′56)
6. Smoke pt. 6 (1′16)
7. Smoke pt. 7 (4′07)
Side Two:
1. Mirrors pt. 1 (5′31)
2. Mirrors pt. 2 (1′58)
3. Mirrors pt. 3 (1′38)
4. Mirrors pt. 4 (1′54)
5. Mirrors pt. 5 (2′26)
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THE DOYEN OF CARNATIC MUSIC: DR. SEMMANGUDI SRINIVASA IYER VOCAL, ACCOMPANIED BY DR. L. SUBRAMANIAM - VIOLIN, GURUVAYOOR DORAI - MRIDANGAM, V.R. KRISHNAN - VOCAL SUPPORT
If you get weak in the knees when you hear brilliant expressions of Carnatic singing accompanied by genius E. Indian violin playing, then you should have no problem spending some time with these four densely seasoned LP sides. Combining the undeniable genius violin playing of Dr. L. Subramaniam with the ecstatic and rarely recorded singing of Dr. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, what results is a lofty treat that should have you seeing the blue light in short order. Considered one of the greatest Carnatic singers of the 20th century, Iyer was discouraged from singing as a child because he had a nasal-sounding voice. He nevertheless persisted, and became a legend in his time. Seems a common thread among virtuoso E. Indian musical giants… This record is complex, long, yet very listenable, and although not surprising musically, it is extraordinary in that it’s not only a recording of Iyer, but one in collaboration with Subramaniam.
Oriental Records, BGRP 1015 1016, 1979
Side One:
1. Kshinamai Tiruga, Raga Mukhari (6′32)
2. Birana Brovayithe, Raga Kalyani (12′51)
Side Two:
1. Vinarada Na Manavi, Raga Devagandhari (4′37)
2. Dwaitamu Sukhama, Raga Ritigaula (16′04)
Side Three:
1. Deva Deva, Raga Mayamalavagaula (11′10)
2. Padavi Ni, Raga Salaga Bhairavi (12′29)
Side Four:
1. Srinivasa, Raga Hamsanandi (6′01)
2. Kanakamaya (Manipravala), Raga Huseni (5′20)
3. Parulanna Matta (Javali), Raga Kapi (5′55)
TIBETAN FOLK SONGS FROM LHASA AND AMDO
Super amazing Lyrichord release of field recordings made in and around Tibetan refugee settlements in northern Himachel Pradesh, during the autumn of 1973. The recordings feature voice as well as an an array of traditional instruments that includes the damyin, a long-necked fretless lute; the yangchin, a zither/dulcimer affair; the peewan, a two stringed fiddle; and the lingbu, or flute. This bounding, light-hearted and stirring music has a universal familiarity, and here, as is often the case, I am amazed at how folk music from worlds apart can have so much in common; the yangchin might as well be a hammer dulcimer, or Persian santur, while the damyin could pass for a banjo or some similar stringed instrument from the African continent. The short a cappella song cycles are nice too, fleshing out what should appeal to one and all.
Lyrichord Stereo, LLST 7286, 1974
Side One:
Music From Lhasa
1. Tung Tung Dhon (Cranes flight) - damyin solo (2′00)
2. Gyagar Shar - lingbu solo (3′18)
3. Namden Tong - damyin and voice (3′34)
4. Yangchin solo (2′25)
5. Ameleho - damyin and voice (2′53)
6. Gor Shey - duet for two girls (1′30)
7. Gar Kershar - damyin solo (3′16)
Music From Central Tibet
8. Dakto Karpo (White Mountain) - yangchin solo (1′56)
9. Khamsun Wangdu - damyin and voice (1′45)
Side Two:
Music From Amdo
1. Rinchen Chabum - yangchin and lingbu (2′45)
2. Desomro - peewan, yanchin, lingbu, damyin, and 2 voices (1′14)
3. Motsache - 2 voices (’48)
4. Getanspa - 2 voices (’57)
5. Gyallu - solo voice (1′53)
Music From Kham
6. Gyata Ma Shone (Don’t ride Chinese horses) - lingbu solo (1′50)
7. Kilalunpa (Happy Country) - damyin and voice (3′27)
8. Patriotic song (’38)
9. Nadnpa - solo voice (’36)
10. Tyamlu - solo voice (1′03)
Music From Western Tibet
11. Ngalam Thongla - Damyin and voice (4′22)
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BALI ETERNEL
Typically louder, faster, and more aggressive than the music of it’s regional counterparts, this is jam packed yet refreshingly light stuff, an unfurling of the creative profusioin that is Balinese culture. Balinesse music and art, like the culture, is a continuum where creative expression is found in all facets of every day life - It’s hard to imagine an entire population whose artistic energies aren’t directly tied to commodity and personal gain. Those familiar with Indonesian and Javanese gamalon music will find similarities here, but these tracks feature short-form variations on the regional style, all with familiar yet unique threads. Unfortunately (for me), the liner notes are in French, so I don’t know much about the production, other than it’s is a really beautiful LP well worth your bandwidth.
Arion 33544, 1980
Side One:
1. Le Legong (5′50)
2. Baris (3′30)
3. Oleg Tambulilingan (4′00)
4. Raja Pala (2′00)
5. Tari Tenun (1′55)
6. Panji Semirang (5′00)
Side Two:
1. Le Ramayana (9′49)
2. Prelude (3′30)
3. Pendet (6′00)
4. Kriss Transe A Kuta (4′30)
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FLOATING PETALS… WILD GEESE… THE MOON ON HIGH: MUSIC OF THE CHINESE PIPA, LUI PUI-YUEN, PIPA
The pipa is a four-stringed fretted lute, introduced to China sometime in the 6th century from the Middle East. Lui Pui-Yuen, gifted prodigy, virtuoso, etc., etc., gets some MASSIVE traction here, playing traditional arrangements with a commanding brilliance - blazing performances that nearly melt the cartridge right off the turntable each time. There are contemporary nods nestled here and there, but the performances are so spellbinding your instantly lost, relinquishing all concern for context, stunned by pure music. The recordings were done by David Lewiston in 1979, and this record is directly mid-point for the great field recording project that was the Nonesuch Explorer series from 1976 - 1984.
Nonesuch Records H-72085-B, 1980
Side One:
1. Shi Mian Mai Fu (Ambuscade From Ten Sides) (6′35)
2. Fei Hua Dian Cui (Floating Petals Decorating The Green Leaves) (3′56)
3. Ping Sha Luo Yan (Wild Geese Descend On The Smooth Sand) (4′24)
4. Gao Shan Liu Shui (High Mountain, Flowing Streams) (3′01)
Side Two:
1. Yang Chun Bai Xue (Snow On A Sunny Day) (3′24)
2. Yue Er Gao (The Moon On High) (8′48)
3. Yizu Wu Qu (Dance Of The Yi Tribe) (6′24)
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