Classical Music Selections

Maggie Holland
Bones
Beyond the bands from which she emerged, singer, guitarist, banjo and bass player Maggie Holland's solo career has spanned from the National Theatre's Mysteries in the '80s to BBC4TV/The Barbican's Folk Britannia in 2006. Some of her supremely crafted original songs like A Place Called England, Perfumes Of Arabia and A Proper Sort Of Gardener have been recorded by folk luminaries like June Tabor and Martin Carthy but she's equally adept at hand-picking and re-interpreting works by others, from the well-known to the obscure. Bones – attractively Digi-packed with extensive notes by journalist/author Colin Irwin and Maggie herself – includes eight of her best-known original songs and two traditionals plus others by Billy Bragg, Bruce Cockburn, Tymon Dogg, Bob Dylan, Dave Evans, Robb Johnson, Peter Rowan, Chris Smither, John Tams, Richard Thompson and many more. It's a maxi-length 'best of' selection from her albums made between 1983 and 1991, plus a few previously unreleased tracks and a new recording of her BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winning song "A Place Called England." The majority are on CD for the first time.

Lokua Kanza
Nkolo
Kanza draws on sounds from his father's village and his native Lingala tongue. A devout Christian, Kanza started out singing in the church in Kinshasha. Kanza, who now lives mainly in Brazil, was known as "The Brazilian" from an early age. The album' is a mixture of ndombolo [Congolese dance music] and samba, but Kanza also introduces instruments from outside these traditions, such as an ondes Martenot and a cristal Baschet (similar to a glass harmonica). Sung in Lingala, Portuguese and French, Nkolo is a strong cross-cultural mix, a blend of melody and atmosphere, with aesthetics defy simple catogorrization. Listen to Elanga Ya Muinda and Dipano

Sonnich Lydom and Morten Alfred Høirup
Svip Svap Svovlstikke
Lydom (1 and 2 row diatonic accordion, harmonica) and Hoirup (guitar/vocals) are both veteran performers on the Danish folk scene. They have each traveled the world with their music, recorded a number of albums and received a combined 9 Danish Music Awards. The album is named for an old dance tune from the island of Fanø. Lydom culled much of the music on the album from old tune collections and from archives at the Danish Institute of Folklore, music that has never before been recorded or published. Also on the album are three original tunes by Høirup, and three Danish songs. They are joine by Danish klezmer queen Channe Nussbaum on vocals, American fiddler Ruthie Dornfeld, Finnish jews harpist Tapani Varis and Danish fiddler Peter Gorm Sørensen, amongst others.

various
Imagine Africa
I do not go in for too many compilations, but this one stands out for its unique set of musicians and its collaborative spirit. East African artists from Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar offer music both traditional and modern, recordings made with care and respect for both the tradition and audio quality. Artistsinclude Witnesz, Bizmana Ntavoyo, Maryam Said Hamdun, Mahsein Ally, Anania Ngoriga, Nakite, and Bob Rudala from Tanzania, as well as Olith Ratego, Susana Owiyo, K'Odhialo, Ogoya Nengo, Katana Bin Kalama, Bismilahi Gargar, and Makadem from Kenya. Listen to Witnesz, Olith Batego and Suzanna Owiyo.

VA
Next Stop... Soweto, Vol. 3: Giants, Ministers And Makers: Jazz In South Africa 1963 - 1984
2-CD set is part of a 3-set series exploring South African music. The focus is on the mid-'60s to mid-'80s. Features saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, drummer Early Mabuza, The Heshoo Beshoo Group, The Drive, Philip Tabane's Malombo, more. See the complete track list

D.O. Misiani and Shirati Jazz
The King of History
Classic 1970s Benga Beats from Kenya - They did not invent benga, the energetic dance music of Kenya and Tanzania, but they defined its modern form, with its hypnotic electric guitars and fabulously active bass, and made it popular throughout East Africa. Their records, released internationally in the late 1980s and early 90s, introduced benga to the world. Because of benga, D.O. Misiani, who was born in Tanzania in 1940 and died in Kenya in 2006, is probably now the second-most famous Luo in the world.

Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat
Songs From a Persian Garden
On 22 May this year KKV and two Western embassies arranged a remarkable concert. In a Persian garden in Tehran, the singers Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat broke the ban on public performances by women. The two sisters were accompanied by Knut Reiersrud and five other Norwegian and Iranian musicians

La Musgana
20
20th anniversary celebration by one of Spain's best known folk-roots ensembles; compilation of earlier recordings

V.A.
Une Anthologie des Musiques Traditionnelles (10 CDs)
This specially-priced set is a comprehensive anthology of the rich cultural heritage of French traditional music. This 10 volume compilation, featuring nearly 300 tracks, provides the listener a complete ethnomusicological panorama of the musical culture of France. The individual titles (recorded between 1900 and 2006) reveal the timeless and lasting nature of a collective memory reaching across whole generations, a memory which, in these times of globalization and uniformity, asserts the diversity of the heritage left to us by popular art-forms.

Amira and Merima Kljuco
Zumra
Although the songs on Zumra are beautiful examples of the standard repertoire of Bosnia's highly complex musical culture, Amira and Merima Kljuco's interpretations are far from standard. The title of the CD translates as 'emerald,' but the term can also be used to denote something that deviates from the norm. The music here is simultaneously original and contemporary. Contemporary not merely in its use of techniques, but also in its approach of the songs from a different perspective. Both with arrangement as well as with interpretation, a new dimension to a traditional song is created. Elements that are hidden in underlying layers are brought to the surface. Amira and Kljuco look at these traditional songs in a new light, and in so doing, 'rediscover' them and present them to us as the true gems they are.

Fotefar and Håvard Lund
Fest
FEST is the first CD from the folk trio Fotefar (Footprints) and clarinet player Håvard Lund. The trio is Lena Jinnegren, Bendik Lund Haanshus and Ragnhild Furebotten. Lena, from Sweden, has deep roots in rock, folk music and folk ballads. Ragnhild was nominated for the same award in 2008 for her solo CD "Endelig vals" (Finally a waltz). Bendik trained at the music conservatory in Trondheim, and plays in the group KADO and the tango music band Orangutango. Håvard is artist in residence for the cultural centre in Troms county, and now has a permanent position there as a musician, composer and arranger. He has played with the band Farmers Market, with Frode Fjellheim of Transjoik and collaborated with Trygve Seim.

Etoile de Dakar featuring Youssou N'Dour
Once Upon A Time In Senegal (2 CDs)
The Birth Of Mbalax 1979-1981 - There are not many African artists whose names are as well-known as Youssou N'Dour's. And it's not just his '7 Seconds' duet with Neneh Cherry, or his frequent collaborations with Peter Gabriel and others. No, you don't reach his status just by who you hang out with, you get there by who you are and what you do. On one level these 2 CDs form a chapter in the story of who Youssou N'Dour is. But on another they show him simply as an equal member of a band … a band in the right place at the right time and doing the right things. That brief but vital moment in time is captured in these 23 tracks selected from the cassettes that Etoile de Dakar recorded between 1979 and 1981. Several have never been released outside of Senegal, and all have been sensitively re-mastered from the earliest available audio source. These are the best sounding recordings of this material available.

Gabriel Yacoub
de la nature des choses
It took seven years for this French artist to compose and record an all new studio work, but the wait is always worth it when you have an artist of such high caliber. Joined by a wonderful ensemble (including Gilles Chabenat, Yannick Hardouin, Julien Biget and many more), his voice is surrounded by deep folk roots and modern sounds, all to the service of 14 rich and marvelous songs. As you might suspect from this description, it comes highly recommended!