Chris Rowbury's monthly music round-up (March 2024) issue #104
March 2024
Welcome to the March 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
Bela Lakatos and The Gypsy Youth Project
I absolutely love this kind of music! Guaranteed to get you dancing and put a smile on your face.
The song is called Lina. The mission statement of Bela Lakatos & the Gypsy Youth Project is in their name. The quintet of young Hungarian Roma (Gypsy) musicians set out in the late '80s to ensure the survival of traditional Gypsy folk songs sung in the Romani language. The group is known at home as Ternipe (“youth”).
Musicians in America during the Covid-19 Pandemic
This is a really interesting project. "Musicians in America during the Covid-19 Pandemic - A Documentary Project of the Society for Ethnomusicology". There are 240 video interviews with musicians, recorded between August and November 2020.
The interviews focused on the impact of the pandemic on the musicians’ artistry, careers, and communities, while also addressing alternative modes of music-making in outdoor spaces and in virtual concerts via the Internet. All the musicians are based in the US and (surprisingly, considering it's the Society of Ethnomusicology), there are big gaps in the musical genres and cultures covered. Still, it's an interesting insight.
Read more (and watch interviews) …
Francis Bebey and his bamboo flute
Cameroonian musicologist, writer, composer, and broadcaster Frances Bebey (1929 — 2001) had a major role in popularizing the n'dehou, a one-note bamboo flute created by the Central African pygmies. Bebey conducted field research among pygmy tribes, focusing especially on their musical traditions. Here he is in 1995 giving a demonstration:
Amazing what you can do with one note plus the human voice and body!
Here you can read a longer appreciation of Bebey written by his children.
Why you don't like the sound of your own voice
“Your voice is indistinguishable from how other people see you, but your relationship with it is far from obvious. Rébecca Kleinberger studies how we use and understand our voices and the voices of others. She explains why you may not like the sound of your own voice on recordings, the differences between your outward, inward and inner voices — and the extraordinary things you communicate without being aware of it.” A TED talk by voice expert Rébecca Kleinberger.
"Lean on Me" by the Purple Tunnel People in the Purple Tunnel of Doom!
During Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, so many people turned up that those with purple tickets were unable to get in. Police directed the purple ticket holders into what became known as the Purple Tunnel of Doom. Thousands of people patiently queued in freezing temperatures under Washington’s National Mall. Many queued for hours, but didn’t make it in time to see the inauguration.
There could have been panic, anger and chaos, but instead, the crowd started singing:
The power of music! Read more …
A life in music
Interesting series on BBC Radio 4: A life in music. Journalist Jude Rogers speaks to musicians, neuroscientists, psychologists and music-lovers to discover how fundamental music is at each stage of our lives. Four episodes: Early life, Teenage life, Adult life, Later life. Each episode is just under 30 minutes long.
Hanna Tuulikki - 'Away with the Birds'
'Away with the Birds' or ' Air falbh leis na h-eòin' by Hanna Tuulikki is a cross-art form project exploring the imitation of birds in Scottish Gaelic song. The piece was made in collaboration with ornithologists, sound recordists, song tradition bearers, sound archives, poets, costume designers, film-makers, photographers and vocalists.
Hanna is a British-Finnish artist, composer and performer based in Scotland. The piece explores the mimesis ("process of imitation or mimicry") of birds in Gaelic song. Here she is explaining the project in more detail:
Auļi sing of oak trees
A bit of Latvian joy traditionally sung at the summer solstice. This is the folk song Ozoliņi ("Oaks") performed by Auļi, the Suitu sievas ethnographic ensemble, and others. The song is praising oak trees — one of the symbols of masculinity in Latvian folklore. During the summer solstice (Jāņi) men (especially those named Jānis) will wear crowns made from oak leaves. The lyrics are about how mighty, powerful and old the oak tree is.
A blog post you might have missed
How to have an English sing-along
(And I do mean English … not Irish or Welsh or Scottish) Is it possible to have an unplanned, spontaneous and genuine gathering of people singing together in England?
When was the last time you had a spontaneous sing-along other than at a football match or at a pub karaoke session? Have you ever tried to start a group singing only to fizzle out half way through the first verse because nobody can remember the words? Or you launch into what you believe to be a well-known song only to be met by confused silence as nobody joins in with you?
Throughout Eastern Europe (and probably many other countries), there are still many, many communities where everyone sings together on a regular basis. It is typical for individuals to have up to 40 or so songs in common, so very easy for groups of people to break into song. But not in England.
Song of the month
I began this month’s newsletter with Bela Lakatos & the Gypsy Youth Project. I thought I’d continue with some more Gypsy music.
Here is half an hour of Balkan Gypsy music and song:
Romani music or Gypsy music is the music of the Romani people (or Roma), who have their origins in northern India, but today live mostly in Europe. Historically nomadic, though now largely settled, the Romani people have long acted as entertainers and tradesmen. In many of the places Romanies live they have become known as musicians.
The Traditional Music Channel on YouTube (a great resource for music from other cultures) has several playlists of Roma music from across Europe (Hungary, Balkans, Bulgaria).
Coming up in June is Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month. Why not make some space in your rehearsals or repertoire to explore their rich musical heritage? There are several general resource packs on the Gypsy Traveller website.
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