Chris Rowbury's monthly music round-up (May 2024) issue #106
May 2024
Welcome to the May edition of my monthly music round-up.
Thanks for signing up and I do hope you enjoy these little snippets.
If a friend has passed this onto you, you can sign up to get your own copy in future by subscribing with your email address.
If you come across something that you think I should be sharing, then just drop me a line: chris@chrisrowbury.com
Beautiful songs from the Republic of Georgia
Been watching a few films from the Republic of Georgia recently. Not only are they great movies, but they all have singing in them at some point! recently we watched And then we danced which has been on Film 4 here in the UK. There was a beautiful rendition of Tsintskaro at a family meal which you can hear in this YouTube video. The whole playlist from the movie can be found on YouTube.
Due to poor assistance, Slovak folk music might vanish from North America
There are far more Eastern European communities in the US than there are here in the UK. I'm often jealous when I hear about amazing Bulgarian or Armenian singing workshops over there! But it seems like not all Eastern European music traditions are as vibrant and flourishing as others.
Another great song from Georgia
In issue #72 of this newsletter, I shared a modern Georgian folk song called Tu Ase Turpa ("If you are so beautiful") sung by Katie Melua on her 2016 album In Winter.
Now here is a version by the Rustavi Ensemble. Music is by Anzor Erkomaishvili, lyrics by poet Ivlita Shaverdashvili. Anzor Erkomaishvili was musical director of Rustavi until his death in March 2021. The song features the incomparable Hamlet Gonashvili.
What makes the perfect song lyric?
“From Nick Cave to Courtney Love, brilliant songwriters use a host of techniques to make the listener think, feel, and – in the case of Enya – sail away.”
Musings on music and sport
Liz Garnett’s blog post on “the ostensible culture clash between music and sports.”
Read more on her Helping you harmonise blog …
Wondering what to do with old gramophone records?
“If you are trying to find a way to give away old music records, you have two choices: sell them to a shop or donate them to an archive. Vikram Sampath, historian and author, launched Archive of Indian Music (AIM) in 2011, a private non-profit trust, to digitise and preserve old and rare Indian gramophone records.”
It’s becoming a Georgian newsletter!
Seems like this issue is developing a real Georgian flavour! I shared a video earlier of the song Tsintskaro from the movie And then we danced. Here is another version, this time all women, from the ensemble Mze Shina.
It was part of a podcast from the fantastic Voices of the Ancestors: “In Georgia’s traditionally patriarchal society the podcast takes time to admire the perspective of folklore from a female viewpoint.”
Unique collection of recorded Greek folk music digitised
“A unique collection of recorded Greek folk music has been digitised and made available to the public by Harvard University’s Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature (a unique repository of Balkan oral traditions). The collection, named after Trinity College Classics Professor James A. Notopoulos, is particularly notable for its wealth of songs that use centuries-old musical and poetic techniques to narrate recent occurrences such as the Italian invasion, Nazi occupation and other events from World War II.”
A blog post you might have missed
Music notation – do singers need it?
I teach songs without using any kind of musical notation. Like other members of the Natural Voice Practitioners’ Network I believe that singing should be accessible to all.
You can learn songs by ear without ever having to know anything about music theory, notation, composition, harmonic structure, musical jargon, etc. But notation obviously has a role in singing. I’d like to look at what that role might be, and why many people are intimidated by musical knowledge.
Song of the month
It’s the beginning of May. Many British folk songs begin with a line like “As I walked out one May morning”, and one of my favourites is Searching for lambs. It was a great favourite of Cecil Sharp and in Somerset he collected five versions between 1904 and 1909. It’s slightly unusual as it has 5 beats in the bar rather than 3 or 4. Though the lyrical content may vary from version to version, the theme is always the same — the shepherdess is searching for her lambs on a May morning and the young man is searching for her love.
The version I love best is an a cappella vocal arrangement by David Bieri with its Eastern European sounding harmonies. It’s sung here by Village Harmony:
As I walked out one May morning, one May morning betime.
I met a maid from home had strayed just as the sun did shine.
What makes you rise so soon my dear, your journey to pursue.
Your pretty little feet they tread so neat strike off the morning dew.
I’m going to feed my father’s flock his young and tender lambs.
That over hills and over dales lie waiting for their dams.
O stay o stay you handsome maid and rest a moment here.
For there is none but you alone that I do love so dear.
How gloriously the sun doth shine how pleasant is the air.
I’d rather rest on my true love’s breast than any other where.
For I am thine and thou art mine. No man shall uncomfort me.
We’ll join our hands in wedded banns and married we shall be
Here is June Tabor’s version:
And here’s John Rutter’s choral version (terribly well enunciated!):
Found this newsletter helpful?
I provide this content free of charge, because I like to be helpful.
If you have found it useful, you may like to buy me a coffee to say thank you.
www | blog | facebook | twitter | youtube | pinterest | email