WORLD MUSIC

Ivan Rebroff sings Cossack Patrol

2011-11-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

Another great standard by the tsar Ivan, Poljushko Polje!

Ivan Rebroff sings Dark Eyes

2008-07-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

Here is another great Russian gypsy song performed in his inimitable style by the fabulous Ivan Rebroff! (See my 3 other clips.)
Enjoy!

Ivan Rebroff sings Moscow (Area) Nights

2008-07-26T12:13:00.001-07:00

Here is a fantastic rendition of this classic Russian song by the fabulous Ivan Rebroff! (See my two other clips.)
Enjoy!

Sara Montiel

2008-07-08T13:16:00.001-07:00

Here is a great song by legendary singer Sara Montiel.
Sara Montiel (also Sarita Montiel or Saritísima) (born in 1928) is a Spanish singer, and actress. She is still a much-loved and internationally known name in the Spanish-speaking movie and music industries. She was born in Campo de Criptana in the region of New Castile in 1928 as María Antonia Alejandra Vicenta Elpidia Isidora Abad Fernández. After her unprecedented international hit in Juan de Orduña's "El Último Cuplé" in 1957, Montiel achieved the status of mega-star in Europe and Latin America. She was the first woman to distill sex openly in Spanish cinema at a time when even a low cut dress was not acceptable. Montiel was the most commercially successful Spanish actress during the mid twentieth century in much of the world. Miss Montiel's film "Varietes" was banned in Beijing in 1973. Her films "El Último Cuple" and "La Violetera" netted the highest gross revenues ever recorded for films made in the Spanish speaking movie industry during the 50's and 60's. She also played the role of Antonia, the niece of Don Quixote, in the 1947 Spanish film version of Cervantes's great novel. In 1974 Montiel announced her retirement from movies but continued performing live, recording and starring on her own variety television shows in Spain. She kept on at that pace well into the 1990's. In 2000 her autobiography "Memories: To Live Is A Pleasure" became a huge best seller, followed by a second part "Sara and Sex", which highlighted her love life.
Enjoy beautiful Sara's great style!

Fly Agaric Intermezzo

2008-06-30T16:29:00.001-07:00

Here is a little diaporama on the beautiful fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), or toadstool, the "magic mushroom" famous for its hallucinogenic and shamanic properties, found in many civilizations, from Siberia and Russia to South America, also a motive of our Western fairy tales, often considered as a lucky charm. The musical illustration is a traditional shamanic chant from South America.
Enjoy!

La Lupe

2008-02-15T12:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a famous song performed by the legendary La Lupe. La Lupe, or La Yiyiyi (born Lupe Victoria Yolí Raymond in Santiago de Cuba, 1939 - 1992), was a Cuban Latin and Salsa singer. Just like her counterpart, Celia Cruz, she qualified as a schoolteacher before she became a singer. She married in 1958 and formed a musical trio with her husband Eulogio "Yoyo" Reyes and another female singer. This group "Los Tropicuba" broke up with the marriage in 1960. She began to perform her own act at a small nightclub in Havana, "La Red", and acquired a devoted following also appearing on radio. She released her first album, "Con el Diablo en el Cuerpo" ("With the Devil Inside") in 1961. Her expressive performances with their violent sexuality attracted criticism and this led to professional difficulties which together with personal problems made it difficult to stay in Cuba. In 1962 she found herself exiled to the United States. In New York City she performed at a cabaret named "La Barraca", where she was discovered by Mongo Santamaria and started a new career, making more than 10 records in five years. Her passionate performances covered the range of music: son montuno, bolero, Guantanamera venturing into other Caribbean styles like merengue, boogaloo, Venezuelan Golpe Tocuyano, Colombian plena, Puerto Rican bomba, busamba, salsa. In the sixties she was the most acclaimed Latin singer in New York City due to her partnership with Tito Puente. She was the first Latin singer to sell out a concert at Madison Square Garden. She also did a wide variety of cover versions in either Spanish or accented English, including "Yesterday", "Dominique" by The Singing Nun, "Twist & Shout", "Unchained Melody", "Fever" and "America" from "West Side Story". She is interred in Saint Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx. In the 1990's, interest in her music was re-sparked when Pedro Almodóvar included "Puro Teatro", one of her boleros of love and breakup in his film classic "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown". She is often compared to American singer Judy Garland – for her strong, yet raspy voice, and her energetic and unpredictable stage performances – with a dash of Eartha Kitt. In 2002, New York City renamed East 140th Street in The Bronx as La Lupe Way in her memory. After seeing one of her live performances, it is reported that Pablo Picasso declared her a musical genius. The French philosopher Sartre would call her a musical animal and Hemingway a creature of art and frenesy.
Enjoy La Lupe's artistry!

Olga Guillot

2008-02-12T11:39:00.000-08:00

Here is a great dramatic song performed by the legendary Cuban singer Olga Guillot. Olga Guillot (born in 1922 in Santiago de Cuba) was known to be the queen of bolero. As a teenager, she and her sister performed together, as the "Duo Hermanitas Guillot". It wasn't until 1945 that her talent as a bolero singer would be discovered. Soon after, Guillot met Miguelito Valdes, who took her to New York city, where Guillot was able to record her first album, with the Decca label. Guillot traveled to Mexico in 1948. There, she established herself as an international singer and actress, participating in various films and making her second album. In Mexico, Guillot began to enjoy much popularity for the first time in her career. In 1954, she recorded her song "Mienteme" ("Lie to Me"), which became a hit across Latin America, and earned her three consecutive awards back home in Cuba as Cuba's best female singer. 1958 proved to be an important year for Guillot, as she toured Europe for the first time, including stops in Italy, France, Spain and Germany. She sang alongside the equally legendary Édith Piaf during a concert held in Cannes. She toured around the world, singing in places such as Israel, Japan, Hong Kong and many others. In 1963, Guillot was given the Golden Palm award as "best bolero singer of Latin America". She received the award in Hollywood, California. Guillot sang in 1964 at New York's famed Carnegie Hall. Guillot continued on touring for the next forty years, releasing over fifty albums and winning numerous awards for her activity in the music world. She was very good friends with Celia Cruz, to whom she often referred to as "(her) sister".
Enjoy Olga Guillot's great voice and style!

Esther Ofarim

2007-12-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

Here is a beautiful song in Hebrew ("Dark Girl", actually the Hebrew version of a Ladino song) performed by the lovely Esther Ofarim. Esther Ofarim (born Esther Zaied in 1941 in Safed) is one of Israel's greatest female vocalists. She met Abi Ofarim, a guitarist and dancer, in 1959 and subsequently married him. With her husband and without him she began to sing Hebrew and international folk songs. In 1961 Esther won the Song Festival in Tel Aviv. Two years later, Esther made the 2nd place at the Eurovision Song Contest, representing Switzerland. From then on, her duo with her then husband Abi Ofarim began take off. In 1966 they had their first hit in Germany. Their greatest success in Germany was "Morning of my Life" in 1967, which was written by the Bee Gees. In 1968 the Ofarims had their international breakthrough. They played many live concerts in New York and London, and in 1969 they toured around the world. They divorced in 1970. Esther started her solo career with several albums and concerts. In 1984 she played in Joshua Sobol's piece "Ghetto", in Berlin (Germany). There she sang some songs. The play was extremely successful, which was attributed in part to Esther's strong presence. Since 1998, Esther Ofarim has been performing several concerts each year, especially in Israel and Germany. This includes annual concerts in the Hamburger Kammerspiele.
Enjoy Esther Ofarim's sweet and strong voice!

Amália Rodrigues

2007-12-13T12:09:00.000-08:00

Here is a beautiful song about Lisbon by Portugal's greatest and most famous singer, Amália Rodrigues. Born in Lisbon, Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues (1920 – 1999) was known as the "Rainha do Fado" ("Queen of Fado") and was most influential in popularizing the fado worldwide. She was unquestionably the most important figure in the genre’s development, by virtue of an innate interpretive talent carefully nurtured throughout a 40-year recording and stage career. Rodrigues' performances and choice of repertoire pushed Fado’s boundaries and helped redefine it and reconfigure it for her and subsequent generations. In effect, Rodrigues wrote the rulebook on what fado could be and on how a female singer — or Fadista — should perform it, to the extent that she remains an unsurpassable model and an unending source of repertoire for all those who came afterwards. Rodrigues also remains the sole truly international star to have ever come out of Portugal, with an extensive international career between the 1950's and the 1970's, although in an era where such efforts were not as easily quantified as today.
Enjoy Amália Rodrigues' inimitable style!

Hoang Mong Thuy: Ho Doi

2007-11-23T12:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a traditional Vietnamese song performed by one of Vietnam's finest singers, Hoang Mong Thuy. Vietnamese music is one of the most interesting and varied of the Southeast Asian region. There are examples of remarkable percussion and odd timings, eerie ritual chants like throat-singing, and various stringed instruments. Enjoy this little tribute to the music and beautiful culture of Vietnam!

Saami Musical Tribute

2007-11-21T11:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a beautiful song, "Gula Gula", by Norway's greatest Saami singer, Mari Boine. Mari Boine Persen is known for having added jazz and rock to the yoiks (traditional singing style) of her native people. Boine (born in 1956) grew up amidst discrimination against her people. She was asked to perform at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, but refused because she perceived the invitation as an attempt to bring a token minority to the ceremonies. "Gula Gula" (1989) was her breakthrough release (her album was discovered by Peter Gabriel), and she continued to record popular albums throughout the 1990's. She is gifted with a magnificent voice, highly delicate and able to reach an absolutely phenomenal guttural power.
Enjoy this little tribute to the great and beautiful Saami culture!

Inuit Musical Tribute

2007-11-19T12:03:00.000-08:00

Here is an extract of traditional Inuit throat singing, followed by a great song called "Inuit wedding" by the one and unique Sainkho Namtchylak, the famous Siberian singer, whose Tuvan singing style is close to the Inuit style. Originally, Inuit throat singing was a form of entertainment among Inuit women while the men were away on hunting trips. It was regarded more as a type of vocal or breathing game in the Inuit culture rather than a form of music. In Inuit throat singing, two Inuit women would face each other either standing or crouching down while holding each other's arms. Sounds produced can be voiced or unvoiced and produced by inhalation or exhalation. Both Inuktitut words and meaningless syllables are used in Inuit throat singing songs. When meaningless syllables are used, they are often portrayals of sounds the Inuit hear in their natural environment such as animal sounds or even water running down a creek. Unfortunately, there is no written record of when the Inuit first developed their form of throat singing which differs from the type found in Mongolia and other parts of the world that has some form of throat singing. The Inuit did not keep any written records and history was simply passed down from generation to generation orally. There has been a resurfacing of this traditional activity in the Inuit communities during the last 20 to 30 years. The revival of Inuit throat singing has been so popular that in September of 2001, the first throat singing conference was held in Puvurnituq, Nunavik, where different types of Inuit throat singing from different Arctic regions of Canada were demonstrated and shared.
Enjoy this little tribute to the fabulous Inuit culture!

Hawaiian Falsetto

2007-11-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

Falsetto (Italian diminutive of falso, "false") is a singing technique that produces sounds that are pitched higher than the singer's normal range, in the treble range.
In Hawai'i, many Hawaiian songs feature falsetto, called "leo ki'eki'e". Falsetto singing, most often used by men, extends the singer's range to notes above their ordinary vocal range. The voice makes a characteristic break during the transition from the ordinary vocal register to the falsetto register. In Western falsetto singing, the singer tries to make the transition between registers as smooth as possible. In Hawaiian-style falsetto, the singer emphasizes the break between registers. Sometimes the singer exaggerates the break through repetition, as a yodel. As with other aspects of Hawaiian music, falsetto developed from a combination of sources, including pre-European Hawaiian chanting, early Christian hymn singing and the songs and yodeling of immigrant cowboys during the Kamehameha Reign in the 1800's when cowboys were brought from Mexico to teach Hawaiians how to care for cattle. Falsetto may have been a natural and comfortable vocal technique for early Hawaiians, since a similar break between registers called "ha'iha'i", is used as an ornament in some traditional chanting styles.
The singer featured here (a man!) is one of the most famous Hawaiian falsettos and he plays with his voice in a remarkable manner.
Enjoy this original aspect of the fantastic Hawaiian culture!

Lela Tataraidze: Lomo, She Lomis Moklulo

2007-11-12T13:53:00.001-08:00

Here is a beautiful Georgian folk song ("You, Lion, Killed by a Lion"), performed by one of Georgia's greatest singers, Lela Tataraidze.
Born in 1952, Lela grew up in a family from Tusheti, the mountainous region of Georgia. With her sad eyes but a happy face, she is an excellent accordion and panduri player, and also a brilliant vocalist, who sings the popular songs of the mountains with a lot of emotion. She was brought up in the musical atmosphere of her family and continued her studies at the school of music and later on at the philharmonic ensemble of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. She toured in Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and France. She made her first recordings with Melodiya Records in 1988. She founded the trio ensemble of Kesane ("myosotis, forget-me-not", a flower of Tusheti) and recorded her first CD in Holland in 1999, "Janghi" ("morning fog"). Her last CD is from June 2007, it is entitled "Songs of Survival: traditional music of Georgia". Lela Tataraidze is the great lady of Georgian traditional song, a popular art coming from time immemorial and from the majestic landscapes of the legendary Georgia. Enjoy!

Kinshi Tsuruta: Epic recitation of the genre Satsuma-Biwa

2007-11-10T11:57:00.000-08:00

Recitations of epics date from the 17th century and owe their name to the province of Satsuma (northern Japan), as well as to the pear-shaped lute biwa. This extract tells of one of the numerous battle episodes between the Heike and Genji clans during the 12th century. Kinshi Tsuruta is the most famous of such performers. She has a particularly deep voice: she sings in the chest register, whilst switching to head voice to execute the ornaments.
Enjoy her artistry and the beauty of Japanese culture and art!

Australian Aboriginal Music: Song with Didgeridoo

2007-11-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a sample of the traditional music of the native people of Australia, the so-called Aboriginals (actually several peoples, each with its own language), who possess a most original and beautiful culture and are the heirs of the most ancient wisdom of the world.
Enjoy this masterpiece of aboriginal folk music and the fascinating sound of the didgeridoo (the traditional aboriginal wooden "drone pipe")!

Kim Young-im: Jeonseon Arirang

2007-10-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a beautiful song by one of South Korea's most renowned traditional singers, the gorgeous Kim Young-im. This song is a South Korean local version of the song Arirang, probably the most famous and popular Korean folk song with many versions (this one has been sung in Jeongseon County for more than 600 years). Arirang is an ancient native Korean word with no direct modern meaning. "Ari" means "beautiful", "Rang" can mean "dear". Because of those words, Arirang could be interpreted to mean "beautiful dear". Arirang is a mountain in Korea.
The song performed here comes from the beautiful Korean film "Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom" ("Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring") from 2004.
Listen to the incredibly powerful voice of Kim Young-im and enjoy the beauty of Korean music and culture!

Safiye Ayla: Çile Bülbülüm (My Grieving Nightingale)

2007-05-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a beautiful Turkish song, magnificently performed by one of Turkey's most renowned singers, Safiye Ayla.
Safiye Ayla (1907-1998) learned music as a teenager with the greatest masters, Eyüplü Mustafa Hoca and Yesari AsIm Arsoy. She had her first hit in 1931 and soon became Turkey's first lady of song. She was a great admirer of Atatürk whom she met several times and she sang for him his favourite songs. He even taught her a song that he liked especially, "Mani Oluyor Halimi Takrire Hicabim", and this song became her own anthem during 50 years. Safiye worked with the group of Daruttalim-i Musiki, where she had the opportunity to meet the greatest masters of the era: Zekaizade Ahmet Irsoy, Sadettin Kaynak, Selahattin PInar or Nevres Bey. She was famous not only in Turkey but in the whole Middle East: she was worshipped in Beyrouth, Lebanon, and in Aleppo, Syria. She also toured in Egypt, in Germany and Switzerland. She stopped her career in 1950, after having married Muhiddin Targan, a descendant of the Prophet and a famous player of 'ud, the Turkish lute, and she devoted herself entirely to her new life. When her husband died in 1967, she came back to stage and gave numerous concerts on radio and TV (she was the first artist to be broadcasted on the new-born Turkish TV). Safiye Ayla recorded more than five hundred 78s, EPs and LPs. She captivated and still captivates the Turkish audiences with her so special voice and her melancholy tunes.
Enjoy this song, where she shows an incredible breath control!

Miriam Makeba

2007-05-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here is the signature song of Miriam Makeba, the greatest African singer and a living legend.
Miriam Makeba (born in 1932) is a South African singer, also known by the name "Mama Afrika".
She was born in Johannesberg; her mother was Swazi and her father was Xhosa. Her professional career began in the 1950's with the Manhattan Brothers, before she formed her own group, The Skylarks, singing a blend of jazz and traditional melodies of South Africa. Her break came when she starred in the anti-apartheid documentary "Come Back, Africa". When the Italian government invited her to the première of the film at the Venice Film Festival, she decided privately not to return home. Her South African passport was revoked shortly afterwards. Makeba then travelled to London where she met Harry Belafonte who assisted her in gaining entry and fame in the United States. She released many of her most famous hits there including ""Pata Pata", "The Click Song" ("Qongqothwane" in Xhosa), and "Malaika". In 1966, Makeba received the Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording together with Harry Belafonte for "An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba". In 1963, after an impassioned testimony before the United Nations Committee Against Apartheid, her records were banned in South Africa and her South African citizenship and her right to return to the country were revoked. She was persuaded to return to South Africa in 1990. In 2004, Makeba was voted 38th in the Top 100 Great South Africans. Makeba started a 14 month worldwide farwell tour in 2005, holding concerts in all countries she had visited during her life.
Enjoy this exotic song that clicks!

Melina Mercouri

2007-05-05T16:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a famous Greek song ("Ta paidia tou Peiraia" - "The children of Piraeus"), from the movie "Never on Sunday" ("Pote tên Kyriakê"), performed by the great singer and actress Melina Mercouri.
Melina Mercouri (Μελίνα Μερκούρη) (Athens, Greece, 1920 - New York City, 1994) was born Maria Amalia Mercouri, and became well-known to international audiences when she starred in the 1960 film "Never on Sunday", directed by her husband Jules Dassin. In fact, she had been making movies since 1955, first appearing in the Greek film "Stella". Nominated for an Academy Award for "Never on Sunday", she went on to star in such films as "Topkapi", "Phaedra", and "Gaily, Gaily". During the period of dictatorship in Greece from 1967 to 1974, Mercouri lived in France, where she recorded four records, one with Greek lyrics and the other three with French lyrics, all created by Greek musicians. They were highly popular, and they are still critically acclaimed and remastered. When democracy returned to her home country, she returned, and became first a member of Parliament and then Minister of Culture. Mercouri retired from film acting in 1978. Melina Mercouri died in 1994 in a New York hospital at the age of 73. Her body was returned to Athens and she received a state funeral equivalent to that of a Prime Minister.
Melina Mercouri's husky and unusual voice made her the perfect performer of some great Greek songs which are known classics and performed by hundreds of singers. Listen to this tune, let yourself gain by Mercouri's Greek charm and enjoy!

Tante Leen: Diep In Mijn Hart

2007-05-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a beautiful Dutch song ("Deep In My Heart") performed by the most famous singer Tante ("Aunt") Leen.
Tante Leen (1912 - 1992), born Helena Kok-Polder, was a Dutch popular singer. With her companion, Johnny Jordan, she began singing in her own café, first to amuse the guests, and soon attracted the attention. She became quickly famous and then was nicknamed "the nightingale of the Willemsstraat". She remained popular throughout the sixties and the seventies and is now considered as a true institution.
Enjoy the vibrant voice of Tante Leen, the Dutch Edith Piaf!

Another great song by the wonderful Tante Leen!

Zarah Leander

2007-05-03T15:32:00.001-07:00

Here is a song performed in English by the legendary Swedish-German singer Zarah Leander.
Of Swedish origin, Zarah Leander was a huge star in German movie productions of the 1930's and 1940's. She could be seen as the anti-Garbo and also as the anti-Dietrich. After the war, she made a come-back and toured in the late 1950's and 1960's, being an object of nostalgia. With broad shoulders, large moist brown eyes, long flowing hair, and a thrillingly deep voice, she appealed to fans across every conceivable spectrum.
Listen to this nostalgic song, from her last period, and enjoy!

Another famous standard by the great Zarah!

And several German and Swedish songs.

Hildegard Knef

2007-05-03T15:30:00.001-07:00

Here is a very interesting and provocative song ("The Masters Of This World") performed by one of Germany's greatest singers.
Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef (1925 - 2002) was a German actress, singer and writer. She was billed in some English language films as Hildegard(e) Neff. Arguably, her most influential roles were in the film "Die Mörder sind unter uns" ("The Murderers Are Among Us") (the first film released after the Second World War in East Germany) as well as her role in "Die Sünderin" ("The Sinner") in which she performed the first nude scene in German filmmaking. The incident in the latter film sparked one of the largest scandals in German filmmaking history. She played in many famous films, such as "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (with Ava Gardner), "Fedora". She was the first and only German to have a successful Broadway show ("Silk Stockings" written by Cole Porter). She was sometimes compared to that other great German actress, Marlene Dietrich, in that they both were, or portrayed as, the liberated, self-confident woman. Hildegard Knef was one of the most important actresses of post-war Germany. In the 1960's and 1970's she enjoyed much success as a singer of German chansons, which she often co-wrote. She has published several books. Her autobiography became the best selling German book after World War II. Ella Fitzgerald described Hildegard Knef as "the best singer without voice".
Enjoy Hildegard's style and beauty!

Another great standard by the sophisticated Hildegard Knef!

Annemarie Leitner: Tyrolian Song Without Words

2007-05-03T15:29:00.001-07:00

Here is a typical yodeling song by a Tyrolian singer, member of the famous Austrian group "Linzer Buam", from a rare LP of 1968, "Welcome to Tyrol". Yodeling is famous throughout the world, but it originates in Switzerland and Austria.
Listen to this refreshing yodeling and enjoy!

Ros Sereysothea: Old Sour And Sweet

2007-05-03T15:27:00.001-07:00

Here is a rare song of 1972 by one of Cambodia's greatest singers.
Ros Sereysothea was a Cambodian singer-songwriter in the 1960's and 70's. She was part of a thriving pop music scene in Cambodia, music that was influenced by rhythm and blues and rock and roll. She was a frequent singing partner with Sinn Sisamouth, Cambodia's top male singer of the era. Born Ros Sothea in Battambang Province, her family was poor and made a living by performing Khmer traditional music. Singing duets with her brother, Serey, the Serey-Sothea pair became quite well known and went to the capital Phnom Penh, where they found work performing in clubs. With her bell-like singing voice and diva-like qualities, Ros became a solo artist, changing her name to Ros Sereysothea. Her high, clear voice, coupled with the rock backing bands made for an intense, haunting sound that is best described today as psychedelic rock. In addition to her abilities as a performer, she was a prolific songwriter, composing hundreds of songs. Sothea would often take popular Western rock tunes, such as John Fogerty's "Proud Mary" for example, and refashion them with Khmer lyrics. She was honored by King Norodom Sihanouk with the royal title, "Preah Rheich Teany Somlang Meas", the "Golden Voice of the Royal Capital". This songbird's career was cut short with the takeover by the Khmers Rouges in April 1975. With the cultural upheaval by the Khmer Rouge, scant evidence of Ros Sereysothea's life and the Cambodian rock and roll scene remain. However, many recordings have survived and have started to gain exposure through reissues on cassette and CD. Songs by Sothea, Sinn Sisamouth and other Cambodian singers of the era are featured on the soundtrack to Matt Dillon's film "City of Ghosts". Enjoy this exotic trip!