#4184: Harps Around the World
Hear Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita from their 2018 collaborative record, SOAR and a song, “Tèranga-Bah” which means “Great Hospitality.” Then, listen to Samite, a musician born in Uganda, but now based in upstate New York. From his record, Resilience, hear “Waterfall” for the rare East African harp, the litungu. Hear music for kamalé ngoni, or “The Young Man's Harp,” a six-stringed instrument. However, the late blind Malian kamalé ngoni virtuoso Vieux Kanté eventually doubled that number of strings to twelve, and bent the strings like a blues player. Listen to his tune, “Fatoumata,” possibly a tribute to the Malian singer.
There’s music from Silk Road Ensemble harpist Maeve Gilchrist and bassist Viktor Krauss (brother of bluegrass musician Alison Krauss), where Krauss wields bass and High Strung Guitar to Maeve’s Celtic harp & celeste. Then, hear music for kantele, traditional Finnish table-harp, by Pauliina Syrjälä using a few untraditional methods. She strikes it like a hammered dulcimer and sometimes uses knitting stick [needle] and paintbrush. Hear a work from her record, Lunkula. It’s back to music for the kora with new music from a record by Danish-based kora player Dawda Jobarteh. There’s also music for western harp and a North Indian violinist, together with a saxophone in music by the Elements Trio. Plus, music by harp virtuoso and innovator Zeena Parkins. -Caryn Havlik
Program #4184: Harps Around the World
ARTIST: Vieux Kanté
WORK: Fatoumata [1:00]
RECORDING: The Young Man's Harp
SOURCE: Sterns Music STCD 1127 CD
INFO: sternsmusic.com or forcedexposure.com
ARTIST: Catriin Finch & Seckou Keita
WORK: Tèranga-Bah [6:01]
RECORDING: SOAR
SOURCE: bendigedig
INFO: bendigedig.org
ARTIST: Samite
WORK: Waterfall [3:57]
RECORDING: Resilience
SOURCE: Samite Music
INFO: samite.com
ARTIST: Vieux Kanté
WORK: Fatoumata [5:07]
RECORDING: The Young Man's Harp
SOURCE: Sterns Music STCD 1127 CD
INFO: sternsmusic.com or forcedexposure.com
ARTIST: Maeve Gilchrist & Viktor Krauss
WORK: Octave[4:23]
RECORDING: Vignette
SOURCE: Adventure Music 1107
INFO: Available at Amazon.com
ARTIST: Pauliina Syrjälä
WORK: Timotei II [5:30]
RECORDING: Lunkula
SOURCE: Kansanmusiikki-instituutti
INFO: kauppa.kansanmusiikki-instituutti.fi
ARTIST: Nuiko Wadden, Kristen Theriault, Megan Conley, and Zeena Parkins
WORK: Determined [7:15]
RECORDING: Three Harps, Tuning Forks & Electronics
SOURCE: Good Child Music
INFO: zeenaparkins.bandcamp.com
Online bed music only:
ARTIST: Makaya McCraven (feat. Brandee Younger, harp)
WORK: Young Genius [1:00]
RECORDING: Universal Beings
SOURCE: International Anthem
INFO: intlanthem.bandcamp.com
On-Air:
ARTISTS: Ablaye Cissoko & Ensemble Constantinople
WORK: Lountang [7:02]
RECORDING: Jardins migrateurs (Itinerant Gardens)
SOURCE: ablayecissoko.lnk.to
INFO: constantinople.ca/creations
ARTIST: Dawda Jobarteh
WORK: Firifiroolu [3:59]
RECORDING: I Met Her By the River
SOURCE/INFO: dawdajobarteh.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Elements
WORK: Ambika [2:54]
RECORDING: The Alchemy
SOURCE: Earth Brother Music
INFO: sixdegreesrecords.com
