The Whole Music Experience

Music of the Nile Field Recordings by David Fanshawe Arc Music We need to travel back to 2003 for Music of the Nile when Arc Music released the field recordings of David Fanshawe (ethnomusicologist and composer) and even further for the actual field recordings which were produced from 1969 to 1975.   Then in the 1990s, Fanshawe composed the African Diaspora-European fusion chorale African Sanctus (which you can watch on YouTube).   The composer borrowed heavily from the field recordings produced along the Nile River as it snaked its way through Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya.   And yes, Music of the Nile offers both a geography lesson and exploration of music traditions that went the way of the dinosaur. With nearly 80 minutes of diverse tracks ranging from wedding feasts music to lullabies, to fishing songs, as well as, affectionate songs praising camels in Sudan and cows in Kenya, it’s best to listen to this recording in two or more sittings. ...

Blackfoot Confederacy Elders’ Vision Canyon Records Indigenous music falls under “purposeful music” so listening to the CD out of context (in my home), doesn't work for me.   For instance, I enjoy attending pow-wows, watching the dancers in their regalia dancing to the beat of pow-wow drums and passionate vocals, but listening to the music without the dancing and visuals doesn't work for me.   In addition, I'm a high-strung person who needs to relax so I prefer the Native American flute and softer recordings that closely fit my lifestyle.  (Note, I don't listen to rock music for the same reason). Having said all of that, I do support pow-wows.   I encourage the pride that Native Americans have for their traditions, culture, languages, and communities.   I admit as a non-Native I don’t get the nuances of tribal drumming and singing.  I wish that I did.   However, I feel moved by the beautiful sentiments to Native Ame...

Dream Time The Didgeridoo of the Australian Aborigines Arc Music (2010) Want to get your root and sacral chakras open?   Listen to didgeridoo, a percussive-wind instrument made from eucalyptus trees hollowed out by termites.   More than likely, if you listen to global indigenous, new age, or world music, you have come across didgeridoos.   The players mastered circular breathing as they blow into the tubular instrument, often decorated with Australian Aborigines symbols (Dream Time).   Face it, this is an instrument with indigenous mysticism attached to it, but it is an almost rare occasion that you hear Aborigines music played on the didgeridoo in context and by performed by Aborigines musicians.   Dream Time opens a window to music of the Australian bush.   And listeners also get exposed to traditional vocals, percussion, and dance rhythms. So what does this music sound like?   The stickman-vocalist pounds out quick rhythms on ...

Ahmed Mukhtar & Sattar Al-Saadi Music from Iraq (Rhythms of Baghdad) Arc Music (2010) I have listened and watched oud players (an Arabic lute) from Lebanon, Turkey, and other countries, but Rhythms of Baghdad marks the first oud album by Iraqi musicians.   Here we have a duo of Ahmed Mukhtar (oud) and Sattar Al-Saadi on percussion (riqq, tar, dombak and other drums) performing sensuous modes and rhythms.   The robust opener, Souq Baghdadi features “a very old Iraqi rhythm called Gorgena,” but even listeners unfamiliar with the scales, and other architecture of traditional Iraqi music, will find this piece uplifting and full of light. The second piece Mantasf-al-lil carries a darker message.   “It describes a scene of Iraqi refugees on the ocean in the middle of the night looking for land to seek refuge in.”   The slow tempo and melancholic melody played on the lower end of the spectrum wed to tense percussion, convey the sadness and longin...

Daniil Trifonov, Valery Gergiev Mariinsky Orchestra Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Mariinsky label Distributor--Harmonia Mundi While I returned to college in 2007, I relied on classical music for memory retention and for stress-reduction.   I recall listening to the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto, No. 1, along with pieces by Mozart.   The famous concerto seemed as familiar to my ears as melodies from the composer’s Nutcracker Suite .   Now, I’m listening to a new recording by a young Russian virtuoso Daniil Trifonov, who also performs songs by Schubert, Schumann, and Chopin’s Barcarolle .   Certainly, I feel impressed with Trifonov’s wide emotional palette and great dexterity as he interprets Romantic era music representing several countries.   Joining with the Mariinsky Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev (no stranger to me), the program’s focus on the recording, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 , lands on the piano...

Orchestra Popolare Campana Directed by Emilio Di Donato CM (Caserta Musica) Records According to the liner notes for Orchestra Popolare Campana, “Few places are more musical than Campania” of southern Italy (Amalfi Coast, Naples, Capri).   I’ll have to take writer Augusto Ferraiuolo’s word because I know little about regional music of Italy.   Certainly, I have heard traditional tarantata (tarantula) songs, in which a rousing one, Tarantella Tosta opens this album.   However, my experience with Italian orchestra music is relegated to movie soundtracks, such as the circus-like Fellini soundtracks composed by the late Nino Rota.   And of course, I have listened to Italian renaissance and baroque music.   Orchestra Popolare Campana threads sacred Christian chants with a carnival lament and primal tarantata into wondrous musical tapestry--the past and the present intermingling. Lead by the early music reed pipe, Ciaramella (which you’ll also...

Narasirato Pan Pipers Solomon Islands Cry of the Ancestors Arc Music If you follow traditional/folkloric music of the world, you have most likely come across panpipe players from the Andes and from Eastern European countries such as Hungary.   I have heard those pipes, but pan pipers from the Solomon Islands have only recently caught my attention on the CD Cry of the Ancestors .   Narasirato represent the Are’are people of Malaita Island and these musicians who sing, play panpipes, and traditional percussion perform music that oddly sounds like a deep forest circus rolling into town or resembles the panpipes of Andes musicians. When vocals appear, (such as on the track Prophetic Word ), they are delivered in raspy voices that soar to the heights of Native American pow-wow vocals.   Call & response voices compete with the jagged panpipes and drums that sound like a heartbeat slapping against one’s chest. Side Step with the Toes (an odd tit...

Best of Greece (The Athenians, Michalis Terzis, Kriteos... Arc Music Listening to Greek music reminds me of eating in Greek restaurants, Zorba the Greek and the movie My Big Greek Wedding .   I know as a music reviewer who has covered the Mediterranean I should know more about Greek music than bouzoukis and brief encounters with Greek blues known as rembetika.   I actually taste spanikopita while I listen to Best of Greece.   The acoustic instruments bouzouki, baglama (a Mediterranean lute), drums, and vocals set an exotic backdrop for winding up a summer’s day.   The music of several bands, The Athenians, Michalis Terzis, Kriteos, and Talking to Charos uplift and we visualize dancers working themselves into frenzies. This 2-CD set creates a dining or dancing atmosphere.   L isten to it alone or preferably in good company of friends and family.   Ugandan musician Samite once told concert attendees that in Uganda it’s not music unless ...

photo: Patricia Herlevi Whether or not the experts have interpreted the Mayan Prophesies correctly, or that we truly understand quantum physics, many of us feel that we live in multiple dimensions.  In this belief system, we believe that lower vibrations or frequencies are the equivalent of hell on earth and the higher frequencies, heaven. Lower frequencies include anger, fear, mistrust, outrage, sadness, grief, and frustration, to name a few emotions.  I'm certainly not saying that we should not allow ourselves to feel darker emotions, only to acknowledge those heavy densities and find a modality to clear them from our mind-body-souls.  If watching the news causes you to feel helpless and hopeless, then stop watching or reading the news.  Chances are the media, corporations, and even governments choose to pass along this helplessness and hopelessness like a contagious virus.  And low frequencies are contagious, along with heavy and disruptive. Some...

Silvia Nakkach and Valerie Carpenter Free Your Voice Awaken to Life Through Singing Sounds True Cross-cultural sound healer and vocalist Silvia Nakkach provides a handbook for healing yourself and others through voice with Free Your Voice .   Only the first 64 pages of the book give an overview of the physiology of voice, a description of vocal techniques from around the globe, as well as a list of benefits that come from working with your voice. The second half of the book acts as a virtual workshop with exercises with online music samples.   The exercises range from simple mind-body meditations to singing raga scales.   (Note: I wasn’t able to do the exercises because I did not have access to the online music). However, I’m impressed with the breadth and scope of Nakkach’s vocal wisdom, her musical expertise, and her engaging writing style.   Personally, I would enjoy going deeper with this book and the exercises in it.   The powe...

Picoso (Mad Latin Flavor) Mas Picao Independent release (Seattle) Any band that gets a park full of picnickers and music fans dancing during the opening of their first song deserves a shout out.   Seattle-based Afro-Latin band Picoso, which translates to “mad Latin flavor”, brought their punchy horns, Afro-poly rhythms, and rousing vocals to Boulevard Park in Bellingham, Washington, and the dancers went mad with their own Latin flavor.   Described as “urban” and “very street,” ( Seattle Sound Magazine ) Picoso mixes salsa, son, reggaeton and other Caribbean genres on their CD Mas Picao .   This recording features Samantha Boshnack on trumpet, but live, a woman trombone player joined her, filling out the band’s horn section.   I only mention this because I’ve never seen women horn players in an Afro-Cuban band prior to this event.   Puerto Rican bandleader/percussionist/vocalist Alfonso Gonzalez sings with gusto so I could see why...

Christine Stevens Music Medicine The Science and Spirit of Healing Yourself with Sound Sounds True (publishing date: August 1, 2012) I joined my first drum circle at a Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle during the 1990s.   A master Brazilian percussionist handed out exotic percussion and drums, gave us a quick lesson, then off we went.   The drum circle took place in a large tent that vibrated with polyrhythms of the 20+ drummers and percussionist that gathered. While I felt self-conscious, I still enjoyed myself and all the drummers participating in the circle.   You didn’t even need to know the others’ names and still feel bonded to them. Flash forward to 2009, when I interviewed master percussionist Will Clipman, mainly known for his musical contributions to Canyon Records artists, especially R. Carlos Nakai.   Will opened up the world of drumming to me with his masterful global percussion practice and his debut solo album, Pathfinder....

Photo by Patricia Herlevi Music resonating within you Psychoacoustic researcher Joshua Leeds introduced me to resonance and rhythmic entrainment in 2008 when I interviewed him for my radio show.   At the time, we were discussing how a sonic environment affects our canine companions, but we also spoke about how a sonic environment affects humans through rhythmic entrainment and resonance. I will give you a non-musical example of resonance.   Imagine a time when you walked into a party or a gathering of some kind.   How were you feeling before you walked into this gathering? And did your feelings change as you spent time in the room with the other people? Did someone walk in with dark cloud emotions and change the vibration or feeling in the space? How did this person resonate with you? Did this person resonate with your subconscious in such a way that he or she brought up your matching core issues? My focus in this essay revolves around musical resonan...

Samite Mulondo, Charles Evans, Jr., & Tony Cedras Trust Independent  I admit that I have sat on the recording Trust by Samite, Charles Evans, Jr. and Tony Cedras for over a month because I didn’t know how to frame the music on the CD.   First, and most important, Trust acts as a fundraising album for Samite’s nonprofit Musicians for World Harmony which brings music and music therapy to at-risk groups in Africa, mainly East Africa.   Second, the CD comes with a warning that the music that appears on the recording is from the movie Addiction Incorporated in which Samite composed the soundtrack.   And with all that gravity, you probably expect sad ballads with social messages, none of which you will find on this CD. The musicians mention in the press notes that they wanted to create a danceable African recording without drums.   And darn if you don’t want to get up and dance listening to these polyrhythmic songs that feature acoustic ...

Exploring Music from Childhood and Beyond (Healing Potential) music of my teen years In the realm of healing with music, two theories predominate.   First, music therapists employ music to remove blocked emotions, relieve overtaxed brains and nervous system, help with brain diseases and malfunctions, motivate depressed or lethargic clients, etc... Second, sound healers raise the frequency or vibration of their client’s body.   So this leads to two views of what to do with harder-to-digest music such as heavy metal or hard-edged hip hop.   While I understand both points of view, and practitioners and researchers from both camps have evidence to back up their work with music, if someone’s goal is to lift their vibration, heavy metal and hip hop with hateful lyrics won’t accomplish this mission. However, for the purpose of this article, I’m gazing at music therapy in the form of a psychological tool.   After acquiring a higher speed internet service a...

Maurice Ravel 1. Prokofiev, Piano Concerto 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKJm3Wre1iU 2. Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto 3 (Olga Kern) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAoQoZBTqLs 3. Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7b1FkZYarU 4. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT7_IZPHHb0 5. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (Dance of the Swans) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd4VsbM4fOo&feature=related 6. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOxX0xGTOyE 7. Mozart's Magic Flute (Queen of the Night Aria) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJJW0dE5GF0 8. Bach's Goldberg Variations (Glenn Gould) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64Xb3qiXR9Y 9. Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez (Yepes) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxwceLlaODM 10. Ravel Piano Concerto in G (Grimaud performing 2nd movement) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRTWLQ4nI6Q This list of pieces runs...

photo by Patricia Herlevi, "Summer Fun" Experiment with water and music Let the Journey Begin I have already shared information about keeping a music journal on WME.   We have also explored music of other cultures and sacred traditions.   We know about musical and sound effects on the brain and nervous system.   We know that frequency + intention = healing as Jonathan Goldman describes in his work with sacred sounds. Many of you have already come across the work with water, intent, and music of Dr. Masaru Emoto of Japan.   I actually came across this work around 9 or 10 years ago.   I did expose water and food to high-frequency music for a while, but then I grew distracted and forgot about this practice until recent days.   I have received visions of morphogenetic fields and clearing these fields with sound.   Our bodies also contain these fields and we can lift our vibration with the right music.   Obviously, from Dr. Em...