#4487, Spiritual Music Where East Meets West
Hear excerpts from recordings that focus on mystical or spiritual connections of East meets West featuring Sufi devotional poetry and Celtic harp, kora and orchestra, and healing bass and vocals from composer Arooj Aftab and musicians, Toumani Diabate and the London Symphony Orchestra, and bassist/composer Esperanza Spalding together with versatile vocalist Ganavya.
Brooklyn-based Pakistani-American singer and composer Arooj Aftab weaves together sounds of Western instrumentation with texts from Urdu and Farsi poetry on her most recent album, Vulture Prince, which is dedicated to the memory of Aftab’s younger brother, Maher. Her her rich, thoughtful, and mellifluous vocal lines are supported by somehow floating world chamber-jazz from Celtic harpist Maeve Gilchrist, bassist Petros Klampanis, violinist Darian Donovan Thomas, and Shazhad Ismaily on synths, just to mention some of the talented cast of players.
Then from Grammy-winning bassist, pianist, singer, and composer Esperanza Spalding and the Songwrights Apothecary Lab, there’s music for specific healing purposes, “intended to relieve the tension, grief, and isolation experienced while being home-bound during this global pandemic” (https://songwrightsapothecarylab.com/). Listen to some of a trio of linked works called “Formwela,” featuring the New York-born, Tamil Nadu-raised vocalist and scholar Ganavya.
Listen also to music from Kôrôlén, the record by kora virtuoso Toumani Diabaté and the London Symphony Orchestra, in arrangements by Nico Muhly and Ian Gardiner and conducted by Clark Rundell, commissioned as a special project by the Barbican Centre in London. 'Kôrôlén', translates from the Mandinka language as 'ancestral' - and brings together griot melodies and Western orchestral arrangements. Plus, music by cellist Mike Block and table player Sandeep Das, which adapts an American folk tune.
Program #4487, Spiritual Music Where East Meets West (First Aired 4/21/2021)
ARTIST: Arooj Aftab
WORK: Baghon Main (In the Gardens) [1:31]
RECORDING: Vulture Prince
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records
INFO: aroojaftab.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Toumani Diabate and London Symphony Orchestra, Clark Rundell cond.
WORK: Mama Souraka [6:55]
RECORDING: Kôrôlén
SOURCE: World Circuit Records
INFO: https://worldcircuit.lnk.to/korolenID
ARTIST: Arooj Aftab
WORK: Baghon Main (In the Gardens) [6:44]
RECORDING: Vulture Prince
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records
INFO: aroojaftab.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Toumani Diabate and London Symphony Orchestra, Clark Rundell cond.
WORK: Mama Souraka [7:04]
RECORDING: Kôrôlén
SOURCE: World Circuit Records
INFO: https://worldcircuit.lnk.to/korolenID
ARTIST: Arooj Aftab
WORK: Suroor [5:12]
RECORDING: Vulture Prince
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records
INFO: aroojaftab.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Esperanza Spalding, ft. Ganavya
WORK: formwela 1 [3:35]
RECORDING: Songwrights Apothecary Lab
SOURCE: http://songwrightsapothecarylab.com
INFO: Available at Spotify, YouTube, AppleMusic
ARTIST: Esperanza Spalding, ft. Ganavya
WORK: formwela 2 [6:10]
RECORDING: Songwrights Apothecary Lab
SOURCE: http://songwrightsapothecarylab.com
INFO: Available at Spotify, YouTube, AppleMusic
ARTIST: Toumani Diabate and London Symphony Orchestra, Clark Rundell cond.
WORK: Mamadou Kanda Keita [6:52]
RECORDING: Kôrôlén
SOURCE: World Circuit Records
INFO: https://worldcircuit.lnk.to/korolenID
ARTIST: Mike Block, Sandeep Das
WORK: Glory in the Meeting House [1:51]
RECORDING: Where the Soul Never Dies
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things, Due out June 11, 2021
INFO: brightshiny.ninja/where-the-soul-never-dies
