Another great lp from Deben Bhattacharya, this time on the english label Argo. This label issued many recordings of Mr. Bhattacharya under the generic title “The Living Tradition” in the 1960’s. Now, thanks to Bolingo and his fabulous blog “Anthems of the nation of Luobanya”, you can hear many of this lps, that includes great field recordings from many different countries.
-Here’s a review for the present lp found on Gramophone.net:
An excellent note with the Turkish record reminds us that Konya, the traditional centre of Anatolian cultures, has passed over the centuries through the domination of the Hittites, the Phrygians, the Lydians, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans. This and the geographical situation of Turkey, where Europe joins Asia, have contributed to a folklore of vast variety and many influences. In addition to music which is strange in itself but fascinating, we hear here a wide variety of instruments which are equally unfamiliar, some primitive but some more sophisticated. Among the latter are the Divan Saz, a long-necked lute of eight strings, the Kemenche, a short-necked threestringed fiddle, the Cura Saz, a six-stringed lute, and the Nay, a double-reed woodwind instrument with six finger holes. The former are for the most part percussion instruments ranging from drums of various shapes and sizes to sets of Kasik, wooden spoons used in the style of Chinese chopsticks. As in most folk music the songs and dances deal or are associated with natural events of many kinds, from the harvest to sheep tending and from love songs to dances appropriate to drinking occasions.
Here we are with the last volume of the World Library we haven’t heard yet. This one is a sampling of the diverse folk music of Canada, and in a way it’s a good one to end this serie because of its great diversity. You’ll hear the music of the first inhabitants of the land, from the Iroquois to the Eskimo and the new music brought by the diverse immigrants: The French, the English and the Scottish. This volume was edited and by the canadian folklorist and ethnographer Marius Barbeau. (photo on the right)
This is the last volume in the World Library serie and it’s another stunning sampler of traditional music, this time from Bulgaria. It was recorded in the field by english folk singer and collector of folk song A. L Lloyd in the fifties. Most of the pieces here, either vocal or instrumental use a kind of minor scale and some assymetrical meters typical of balkan dance music. Some instruments heard here are the gaida (goat-skin bagpipe), the kaval (a end-blown flute), the gadulka (bowed string instrument similar to the rebec) and the tambura (lute). The vocal pieces are poweful and moving, sung in open, full-throat style.
THE WORLD'S JUKEBOX 
