#4292: A New Sounds Primer, Part 2
Listen to more New Sounds from really recently but also with roots as far back as the 12th Century, in Pakistani Qawwali music by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Balinese gamelan-influenced work by Steve Reich, spiritual jazz by Alice Coltrane, and the extended vocal techniques of Meredith Monk.
The Sufi music of Pakistan known as Qawwali has its origins in the 12th Century, “when the great Sufi saint Hazratja Khawaja Moin-Ud-Din Chishtie travelled to India to bring the message of Islam to the Hindu nation” (Real World Records.) It consists of spiritual texts set to often florid, soaring melodies, driven by what sounds like an almost modern dance beat, supported by handclaps. Hear this ecstatic Sufi prayer music by the great Qawwali singer from Pakistan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn (1948-1997). Listen to the live recording of the iconic song “Allah Ho Allah Ho,” as recorded in our WNYC studios in 1993.
Also, listen to some extended vocal techniques (rehearsal-developed and non-notated) which draw from vocal traditions around the globe ranging from Tibetan to Native American styles of singing in music by New York-based composer, vocalist, choreographer, and fearless collaborator, Meredith Monk. Björk writes of Meredith Monk's breakout 1980-1981 album "Dolmen Music," "I remember hearing "Dolmen Music" as a teenager. It most definitely provided me with one of my musical DNA's. I learned that vinyl by heart." (Q2 Meredith Monk Marathon.) Hear some of Meredith Monk’s “Dolmen Music.”
Then, listen to hocket-based music by composer and vocalist Meara O’Reilly, where “two voices dip, slide and pan your headphones like a bouncy castle set in a cloud level of Super Mario Bros.” (Lars Gotrich at NPR Music.)
There’s also music from the late pianist and harpist, Alice Coltrane, who, after her husband’s death, continued on a spiritual journey via music. Listen to her personal blend of Detroit roots music with the sound of Hindu chants from private recordings made in the 1970's. Also, from the mid 1970’s, hear some of “Music for 18 Musicians,” in which composer Steve Reich references Balinese Gamelan, 12th century Organum by Perotin, and the changes of pattern called for by a drummer in West African music. This seminal Steve Reich work is from a recent recording by Ensemble Signal, conducted by Brad Lubman.
Plus, listen to music from the San Francisco-based Balkan brass band called Brass Menažeri together with the rapper Mr. Lif. They first got together at the Seattle Folk Festival in 2010, and they fit so well that they made an intriguing and wonderful collaborative record, Resilient. All of that music, and much more.
This is part two of a two-part series of music that was in heavy rotation back when New Sounds first began in the 1980's, as well as much more recent works as a way to get an introduction to the range of some of the music you might hear on the show. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4292: A New Sounds Primer, Part 2 (First aired 10/24/2019)
ARTIST: Ensemble Signal, cond. Brad Lubman
WORK: Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians, excerpt [7:27]
RECORDING: Reich: Music for 18 Musicians
SOURCE: Harmonia Mundi HMU 907608
INFO: harmoniamundi.com
ARTIST: Meredith Monk and Ensemble
WORK: Dolmen Music, excerpt [4:43]
RECORDING: Dolmen Music
SOURCE: ECM #1197
INFO: ecmrecords.com
ARTIST: Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Aka Pygmies
WORK: Mohunga [2:33]
RECORDING: African Rhythms
SOURCE: Teldec 86584
INFO: warnerclassics.com
ARTIST: Meara O'Reilly
WORK: II. [1:43]
RECORDING: Hockets for Two Voices
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music
INFO: http://smarturl.it/hockets
ARTIST: Concerto Köln, Bang on a Can Lost Objects Ensemble, DJ Spooky
WORK: Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia Wolfe: Acoustic Apahasia [3:55]
RECORDING: Lost Objects
SOURCE: Teldec 84107
INFO: Available at Arkiv Music
ARTIST: Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd
WORK: Plastic Bag [6:09]
RECORDING: In What Language?
SOURCE: Pi Recordings #09
INFO: pirecordings.com
ARTIST: Mr. Lif & Brass Menažeri
WORK: Rebirth [3:35]
RECORDING: Resilient
SOURCE/INFO: mrlifbrassmenazeri.bandcamp.com ARTIST: DJ Spooky with Kronos Quartet
WORK: The Election and Results, The New Montage [3:39]
RECORDING: Rebirth of a Nation
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Records CA 21110
INFO: cantaloupemusic.com AND rebirthofanation.com
ARTIST: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party
WORK: Allah Hoo [2:54]
RECORDING: Live on New Sounds, November 12, 1993
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: There is a recent reissue of a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 1985 WOMAD concert on Real World Records, which is definitely worth a listen
ARTIST: Alice Coltrane
WORK: Om Rama [3:30]
RECORDING: World Spirituality Classics 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitanada
SOURCE: Luaka Bop
INFO: alicecoltrane.bandcamp.com
