The Whole Music Experience

World and folkloric recordings make up the bulk of CDs I reviewed in 2012.  Because of that, I came up with two top 10 lists for World Music.  You'll find the other list on World Music Central later this month, http://worldmusicentral.org For the purpose of this list, World Music includes Americana and Native American along with Latin American, African, and European recordings (excluding jazz and classical).   This list is not in any specific order. 1. Antonio Zambujo, Quinto, World Village (Portugal) 2. Le Vent Du Nord, Tromper Le Temps, Borealis Records (Canada) 3, Radmilla Cody with Herman Cody, Songs for the People, Canyon (Navajo/US) 4. Lo'Jo, Cinema el Mundo, World Village (France) 5. Hijos de Agueybana, Agua del Sol, Tumi Music (Puerto Rico) 6. The Mountain Music Project, A Musical Odyssey from Appalachia to Himalaya, Independent release (US/Nepal) 7. Good Lovelies, Let The Rain Fall, Warner Music Group (Canada) 8. The Toure-Raichel Co...

Annalivia Barrier Falls 5-String Productions I don’t know how many Irish ballads I’ve heard with the title John Riley since I began covering world music, but a few. And since each ballad has its own distinct signature, I visualize Irish phonebooks containing pages of John Riley. The version that appears on Boston-based Celtic quintet Annalivia’s Barrier Falls , delights my ears. Lead vocalist/guitarist Liz Simmons possesses one of those voices, clear, immaculate, and chockfull of delicate emotions that does the Irish tradition proud. Annalivia with its Celtic chamber sound comprised of banjo, dual fiddles, acoustic guitar, double-bass and vocal harmonies, hits the spot on this rainy Sunday afternoon. The band performs both melancholic love ballads and heartwarming jigs and reels, hailing from Cape Breton, the British Isles, and the US. The musicians polish each track, adding a few twists and 3-part vocal harmonies in the opening and closing tracks. I envision this band pla...

Anonymous 4 The Cherry Tree Harmonia Mundi Having sold 2 million copies of their 20 albums, there’s nothing anonymous about this vocal ensemble comprised of Ruth Cunningham, Marsha Genensky, Susan Hellauer and Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek. Anonymous 4’s popularity can be attributed to continuous glowing reviews of its live performances, albums, programs, and ethereal voices that blend seamlessly. Similar to Bulgarian women’s choirs, Anonymous 4 transports its listeners to other realms but with its repertoire of European and American early music—sung a cappella. The Cherry Tree features Christian ballads, hymns, carols, and songs from England, Ireland and America. This doesn’t surprise me since Anonymous 4 introduced early Americana music on its album American Angel which was released several years ago. After that album, the ensemble mysteriously broke up, only to reunite with the release of a greatest hits album, Four Centuries of Chant in 2009. What impresses me the most a...