#4795 Women's Voices in World Music

Hear music from Grammy-winning Beninese diva Angelique Kidjo; California-based Iranian singer Mamak Khadem; Canadian Inuk musician Tanya Tagaq; and jazz vocalist/composer Kavita Shah.

There’s music from California-based, classically trained Iranian singer Mamak Khadem (who was part of Persian-avant-rock band Axiom of Choice) and a piece that raises a feminist alarm questioning the marriage age of girls and the oppression of women around the globe, while quoting from the 13th-century poet Moulana Jalaledin Rumi. Then, listen to a piece from Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo, supported by a blend of instruments from the world over: piano, flute, drums, electric guitar to didgeridoo, Indian sarod, the Turkish cümbüs-oud and the Armenian duduk-oboe. The music is from her latest record, One Drop of Kindness, which is also the name of her foundation.

There’s also music from Canadian Inuk musician Tanya Tagaq, with a piece rooted in Inuit "throat-singing" – a game of singing into one another's mouths, using the other's throat as a resonating chamber. Hear a tune from Angélique Kidjo’s tribute record to celebrated salsa singer Celia Cruz, which features Beninese group, the Gangbé Brass Band. Then, from a different tribute record, listen to jazz vocalist/composer Kavita Shah and her tribute to morna singer Cesária Évora, Cape Verdean Blues. 

Plus, listen to Mexico’s Magos Herrera from her collaborative album with Paola Prestini, Con Alma; Paris-based Lebanese nun Sister Marie Keyrouz, singing ancient Christian musical traditions of the near east in Arabic; Greek composer and vocalist Savina Yannatou in a song from Armenia, and more. - Caryn Havlik

Program #4795 Women's Voices in World Music (First aired Sept. 26, 2023)

ARTIST: Susan McKeown /Ensemble Tartit
WORK: Oro mhile gra (A thousand times my love) [1:29]
RECORDING: Sweet Liberty
SOURCE: World Village #468029
INFO: Available at Youtube, AppleMusic

ARTIST: Yungchen Lhamo
WORK: Nin Dop (Being Courageous) [6:52]
RECORDING: One Drop of Kindness
SOURCE: Real World Records
INFO: https://lnk.to/RW252

ARTIST: Virginia Rodrigues
WORK: Berimbau [4:09]
RECORDING: Mares Profundos
SOURCE: DG Deutsche Grammophon 4741962
INFO: Available at AppleMusic, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon.com

ARTIST:  Angélique Kidjo
WORK: Quimbara [4:30]
RECORDING: Celia
SOURCE: Universal / Decca
INFO: https://angeliquekidjo.lnk.to/CeliaID

ARTIST:  Kavita Shah
WORK: Um abraço di morabeza (feat. Fantcha) [3:33]
RECORDING: Cape Verdean Blues
SOURCE: Folkalist Records
INFO: https://kavitashah.bandcamp.com/album/cape-verdean-blues

ARTIST: Savina Yannatou 
WORK: Sareri Hovin Mernem [5:38]
RECORDING: songs of an Other
SOURCE: ECM 2057
INFO: ecmrecords.com

ARTIST: Susan McKeown /Ensemble Tartit
WORK: Oro mhile gra (A thousand times my love) [4:29]
RECORDING: Sweet Liberty
SOURCE: World Village #468029
INFO: Available at Youtube, AppleMusic

ARTIST: Tanya Tagaq, with Chris Derksen, cellos
WORK: Force [3:22]
RECORDING: Auk/Blood
SOURCE: Ipecac Recordings
INFO: tanyatagaq.bandcamp.com/album/auk-blood

ARTIST: Mamak Khadem
WORK: Entangled [4:14]
RECORDING: Remembrance
SOURCE: Six Degrees Records
INFO: mamakkhadem.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Magos Herrera / Paola Prestini
WORK: The Creation of the Birds / La creacion de las aves [4:36]
RECORDING: Paola Prestini and Magos Herrera: Con Alma
SOURCE: National Sawdust Tracks
INFO: visionintoart.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Soeur Marie Keyrouz 
WORK: Inna-l-Malak [3:35]
RECORDING: Chant Byzantin
SOURCE: Harmonia Mundi 501315
INFO: Available at Youtube, AppleMusic