Thursday 18 June 2009

Music in the World of Islam - 1: The Human Voice

"...In 1976, 'Music In the World Of Islam' is released, a 6-LP box set of recordings by Jean Jenkins and Poul Rovsing Olsen. Jean Jenkins, Appalachian banjo player, ethnomusicologist, and curator at the Horniman Museum, London, wrote this in her sleeve note: "The human voice is the foundation of all music within the Islamic world. Indeed, in some areas it is the only type of music which exists." Her recording of "Abu Zeluf", sung by Dunya Yunis, a girl from a northern mountain village in Lebanon, is sampled for two tracks on Eno & Byrne's 'My Life In the Bush of Ghosts'..."
(David Toop - from 'My Life In The Bush of Ghosts' site here.)
Review of the complete series of recordings from 'The Wire' here.

Tracklisting:

1. Recitation Of Verses Of The Qu'ran (Al-Ateuf, near Ghardala, Algeria)
2. Dhikr (A Sufi Ceremony: Fayoum Oasis, Egypt)
3. Houri (Secular Vocal Musci: Sandandaj, Kurdistan, Iran)
4. Bedouin Wedding Songs (South of Wadi Musa, Jordan)
5. Ghazal, Or Love Song (Tarif, Abu Dahbi)
6. Gurdum Gurdum (Love Song: Daulatabad, North Of Balkh Afghanistan)
7. Song At The Feast After Ramadan (Near Nagfa, Eritrea, Ethiopia)
8. Haddadi (Muharraq, Bahrain)
9. Kavali (A Devotional Song: Hyderabad, Deccan, India)
10. Abu Zeluf (Beirut, Lebanon)
11. Leader / Chorus Song (Jijiga, Harar Province, Ethiopia)
12. Radha / Ga's (Bedouin Song, Sharjah, UAE; Ga's - Fayoum, Egypt)
13. Love Song (Aqcha, Afghanistan)
14. Tahlil (Baghdad, Iraq)

Reposted from my other blog here.

3 comments:

  1. Hello
    I am not very good on the net but I notice that on your site you post a photograph of The Master Musicians of Jajouka with a photo of Bachir Attars' sisters' husband Hamido Attar as dancer.It has often been used stating that it is a photo of some other person named Ahmed.
    Firstly a friend of mine took this photograph and owns the copyright.I will forward this to him as I am given credit for this photo which is not mine but his.

    Cherie Nutting
    photographer and manager of Hamido Attar and the group The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar

    ReplyDelete
  2. 2CN/
    I do hope that it will still be OK to use the photo...if not I shall of course remove.
    Regards/

    ReplyDelete