Sado

Folk Music of Japan
Ethnic Folkways Library FE 4429
© 1952 Folkways Records, New York

My luckiest  thrift store day in 2011 was the day my wife and I took a road trip to Kiwanis in Cape Coral for the sole purpose of finding records. Among the loot that day were two Folkways records dedicated to Japan. Folk Music of Japan was recorded by Edward Norbeckin 1952 and Traditional Folk Dances of Japan from 1959 by Mary L. Evans. For the sake of comparison (and collecting) I downloaded the liner notes and a few songs from the Folkways record Traditional Folk Songs of Japan recorded by Ryutaro Hattori in 1961. Each downloaded song cost me 99 cents, exactly the price Kiwanis charges for their records. The two vinyl records from Cape Coral were in excellent condition and both contained the original customary booklet with liner notes, commentaries and photos.

Sado Okesa is a love song that originates from the island of Sado. Unlike the word lesbian and the island Lesbos, Sado bears no relationship to the Marquis de Sade or the word sadism. A version on Traditional Folk Songs of Japan was actually recorded on that island but the version that you can listen to below (and download here) comes from Yokohama. It's from Folk Music of Japan. It was sung by a Geisha and is an urbanized version quite different from the original (de Sado version on Traditional Folk Songs could be considered the original version but was recorded nine years later—the true original is of course hundreds of years older).

Liturgical Music

Liturgical Music from the Russian Cathedral
Johannes-Damascenus Choir; Karl Linke, Director
Nonesuch Records, New York, H-71073
Licensed by Eurodisc Musicproduction, Germany

A consequence of the shift in the organization of my records is a shift in my record buying habits. A few months ago I started the process of filing certain records under their company's name. My instinct as a natural collector is then to collect records from those companies. Collecting from the Nonesuch label is a natural extension to the my sub-collections of scholarly folk music records from around the world (Nonesuch's Explorer Series) and of music from before 1700. The last two months I have bought, all at thrift stores, indiscriminately (nine) records from that label. The record depicted above doesn't fit neither sub-collection category though as most of the music on it was composed around one hundred years ago but the roots of Russian Liturgical music are age-old. A nice feature of Nonesuch records is their serial approach to graphics. The records look good all together. Another nice feature is that all Nonesuch records come with a wealth of information. Information about the songs, the musicians, historical and cultural context, technical information about the music and the instruments, and so on. I just received (a few hours ago) a brief history lesson about liturgical music in general and Russian liturgical music in specific. I spare you the details save for part of the opening sentence of the text on the back sleeve (the whole sentence is rather long), "The awesome cathedral music of the Russian Orthodox church—part Oriental, part Western—is one of the great bodies of choral literature..." (Edward Tatnall Canby), which sounds very promising indeed. And indeed my first response upon playing that record was of awe but unfortunately the awe faded after playing it several times. I can imagine the awe upon hearing the music in the real setting (in the Russian cathedral), but it doesn't really come across in the studio and on the record. Maybe it's because the choir on the record is not even Russian but is a German choir from Essen. The sound file below however is not performed by the full choir but is a solo by the bass. The singer has with Michael Trubetzkoi even a Russian sounding name. I think Trubetzkoi is a great bass but I think a Tuvan or Mongolian throat singer could outperform Trubetzkoi in this Epistle to the Romans. So now I made it impossible for you to listen unbiased to this track . (I wouldn't forward you any music if I didn't think it had merit.)

Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar live at Royal 
Albert Hall, London, March 1974
The Gramophone Co. of India Ltd.
made in India, 1974, EMI

I've been a fan of Lata Mangeshkar since the early 90s. You would think I have a lot of her records, but I don't. Her records are hard to come by even as she "had recorded approximately 25,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed songs in 20 Indian languages between 1948 to 1974"(quote: Wikipedia). In fact she was featured in the Guiness book of records for having made the most recordings of anyone. Most of these songs are from over a thousand Hindi films she recorded for, yet, try to find any of these. I've tried, I even looked during a few weeks stay in Calcutta (one of the centers of India's film industry, the other center, of course, is Bombay, well known under the moniker Bollywood, where most of Lata Mageshkar's career was situated). In the twenty some years she's been on my radar, I managed to find one full length tape and a handful compilations she's on, so I was very excited to find a double album, scratchy as it is, in a thrift store in Cape Coral, just across the Coloosahatchee. Unlike all other recordings I have and heard, the ones on the Cape Coral album are not from films but are live concert recordings. They were not recorded in India but in Britain. (Lata –and her younger sister Asha Bhosle for that matter– were born in British India.) 

This week's song to share is Aaega Aane Wala, performed by Lata Mangeshkar live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1974. She first recorded the song for the film Mahal in 1949.

Amalia

11 Quedate Conmigo.m4a

Amalia Mendoza con El Mariachi Vargas de 
Tecalitlan - La Tariacuri, Vol. III
RCA Victor, MKL-1277, Printed in Mexico, 1960

France had Edith Piaf, Milva of Italy, Billie Holiday, Asakawa Mai, Marlene Dietrich, Portugal's Amália Rodrigues, every country had its diva of the tragic song. They're larger than life, adored by all citizens, considered national cultural heritage. They represent the national musical style of the people, the fado in Portugal, tango in Argentina, the blues in the US, and so on. In Mexico they have the mariachi. I found another Amalia, this one singing mariachi, Mexico's femme with the sulky, husky voice. When I saw the record cover (above) with the wet eyes and accentuated lipstick covered lips, I knew this Amalia would be right up there with all those legendary female voices. Her full name is Amalia Mendoza, and her nickname La Tariácuri, which is also the title of the record. The record opens with the sounds of the quintessential mariachi band, the uplifting trumpet sounds and a high pitched man's voice announcing. But then comes Amalia's voice with tragedy dripping off every sentence, every word sung with tears in her eyes as if they would be her last words, or at least announce the death of beloved one. Pathos of plenty but certainly not pathetic.

Folk Music of the United States

01 Old Rattler.m4a

Folk Music of the United States, Album VIII
Negro Work Songs and Calls, Edited by B.A. Botkin
The Library of Congress, Division of Music, 78 rpm discs
Washington, D.C., 1943

Rarely do I look for 78 rpm records when I browse through thrift store bins. And when I do I hardly ever get rewarded with something I'd want, it's even rarer when it is in OK condition. My collection of 78s is modest at best, I have about 40 of them but only half of these are valuable to me... and only two that I'm proud of having. The album Folk Music of the United States, Album VIII is one of these, even though the album is not complete, it is however in mint condition, and it includes the original booklet. There is a stain on the album cover that I first considered an eyesore but after I saw that it vaguely resembled the shape of the United States I considered it a bonus. If I were to sell the record on ebay (which I won't) I would advertise it as a 78 rpm record in mint condition with an original US stain on it. (The shape of Florida is cut off on the image above, it really is much more US than the photo suggests. I still don't have a scanner big enough to scan a full size record, the LoC album is oversized, it measures 14" x 12.5"). The song I picked to share with you is Old Rattler, sung by Moses (Clear Rock) Platt and James (Iron Head) Baker. It was recorded at the Central State Farm, Sugarland, Texas by John and Alan Lomax in 1934.

I found this album about two years ago at the Ohio Thrift Store next to the DeVry University on Alum Creek Drive in Columbus, Ohio.

Au Clair de la Lune

01 Au Clair de la Lune.m4a

Colette Renard – Chansons 
gaillardes de la vielle France
Disque Vogue LP, CLD 615
Made in France

A good day at the thrift store for me consists of finding a whole collection of records interesting enough and cheap enough to keep the set intact. Good days like that occur more often than you would think. My collection of popular music from around the world got started when I came back home from a thrift store with a whole box of Latvian records in my hands. Later on I came back with a great Czechoslovakian collection, then a large number of medieval records, on another day with 40 or so Polish records, a few weeks ago I wrote on this blog about a collection from the Philippines, and now I've come home with a large collection of French records. They once belonged to a certain Henri Janneau who lived in Sunrise, Florida (nice name for a town! Must have been on Florida's east coast.) I found them all in a Goodwill store on the Tamiami trail just before entering Miami. From the stack of records I brought home (I didn't buy them all) I picked this one by Colette Renard to share. The record is a collection of old French (bawdy) folk songs. The song I picked from it is Au Clair de la Lune —click on the link above for a free download. Au Clair de la Lune is a childrens' lullaby but with a double entendre, many versions have been recorded, as a lullaby or as a bawdy libertine song, Renard's belongs to the latter. The song, according to some written by an anonymous composer in the 18th century, others credit the composer Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687), was the first song ever to be recorded. In April 1860, seventeen years before Edison recorded Mary Had a Little Lamb, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville managed to record sound for the first time. To Edison's credit, his Little Lamb could be played back immediately whilst the Frenchman's recording was never heard until 2008, when some American scientists managed to make it into a digital sound file. 

Just South of 1700

04 Leu chansonet'e vil.m4a

Chansons der Troubadours: Lieder und Spielmusik 
aus dem 12. Jahrhundert (sleeve)
Das Alte Werk, Telefunken-Decca, 6.41126, 1970
Made in Germany

A consequence of the habit of shopping for records at thrift stores is the creation of several subcategories inside the larger collection. These categories range from record labels such as Nonesuch to geographical locations (such as Mexico), topical recordings (laments), musical styles and eras. The latter category includes a large collection of music composed before 1700, a date midway through the baroque period that includes the likes of Vivaldi and Monteverdi but not Bach or Handel. A large part of this collection overlaps the Nonesuch collection since they house a large collection of early classical as well as medieval music. The earlier the better. 

Some of my categories I started collecting well into the last Century. In 2000 I made two mixed tapes I distributed among friends that officially established I was collecting early and Mexican music. One was called Just South of Texas, the other Just South of 1700. My first favorite composers of early music were Carlo Gesualdo and Josquin des Pres but as time goes on I realize more and more that the performing musicians are just as important as the composers. The older the music the more open the the compositions are for interpretation. The music of the troubadours (12th through 14th Centuries) barely has any musical notation. The performers of such music rely on written accounts of performances, previous recordings of the material, associations with similar, later, and better documented music, but most of all their personal creativity and interpretive abilities. As far as my humble musical expertise can evaluate these criteria, I rank the group Studio der Frühen Music among the best. While still not fully accepting the vocal interpretations (I have yet to hear a solo voice performance that I think is fantastic) the instrumental music is superb. It is ecstatic, it feels authentic and time-less at the same time. What I like too about it is the clear oriental influence of the music. The performers on Chansons der Troubadours (that I picked up recently) are Andrea von Ramm, Richard Levitt, Sterling Jones, Thomas Binkley, Nigel Rogers, Johannes Fink, Max Hecker, Robert Eliscu, and David Fellow. The song reproduced above was written by Guiraut de Borneilh from Limoges. The song was dedicated to three of his patrons and the 'e vil' of the title is purely coincidental with 'evil'.