La route musicale de la Soie - The Musical Silk Road

[AmbroseBierce]

La route musicale de la Soie - The Musical Silk Road
Accords Croises AC 102, 2004



CD 1
01. Egschligen - The Han Huhiin Mountains
02. Ensemble Neo-Traditionnel De Kotchkorka - Harati
03. Monajat Yultchieva - The Beseecher
04. Court Music
05. Ali Reza Ghorbani - Do Not Listen, My Friend...
06. Sudha Ragunathan - You Are Like A Little Parrot
07. Liang Tsai Ping - Winter Crows Gliding On Frozen Water
08. Abida Parveen - The One For Whom I Chose Ascetism
09. Etsuko Chida - Evening Beauty
10. Diljat Kangeldeva - Agitation
11. Angelique Lonatos - From All The Stars
12. Ustad Mahwash - All My Life
13. Deulet Khudaiberenov - Shukar Baxshi

CD 2
01. Mounir Bachir - The Mad Ud
02. Faiz Ali Faiz - The Sorrow Of Love...
03. Communaute Dirigee Par Le Sheikh Nail Kesova - Sama Ritual
04. Ustad Mahwash - Listen To The Ney
05. Meulam Nureyev - Alamge, Gilgai, Gilmaghai
06. Lu Pei-Yuen - Sounds Of Silk
07. An Hyangnyon - The Song Of Sim'chong
08. Turgun Alimatov - Ferghana Dance
09. Ali Ekber Cicek - The Lion
10. Damira Njazbekova - Of The Same Age
11. Eulogy Of Gengis Khan
12. Goltchereh Sadikova - My Eyes Are Riveted On The Opposite House...
13. La Monica. Extract from XVIII-21. Fleur de Prunus

While this is hardly the first compilation to dwell on the ancient trade route called the Silk that ran from Europe to China and Japan, it's a topic big enough to accommodate more. In this case the loveliest pieces come from the Eastern edge of the world, with Liang Tsai-Ping's "Winter Crows Gliding on Frozen Water" being deliciously evocative in the Chinese manner, while Japan's Etsuko Chida offer an ethereal vocal on "Evening Beauty." The emphasis here is away from Europe and the Middle East (although Mounir Bachir's "The Mad Ud" is definitely worth a listen), and by taking the space of two discs, it's possible to paint a fuller picture of the musical cultures. The biggest shame, though, is the missed opportunity of presenting the pieces in geographic order, which might have offered a way to show how cultures influenced each other. Instead, we jump around from Pakistan to Japan to Kirghizstan to Greece. The music remains satisfying, but it could perhaps have been more. The booklet is informative, with good notes on each track. For all it's enjoyable and informative qualities, though, there's just a sense of slightly missed opportunity here. ~ Chris Nickson

Trade exchanges between the West and the Far East began in the 1st century BC after the Romans first discovered a mysterious fabric called silk. This discovery led to an explosion of maritime expeditions and caravans to support the world's demand for this new and luxurious commodity. German geographer Ferdinand von Richtoffen coined the popular name for these trade routes - The Silk Road. An active trade route for the next two millennia, The Silk Road's rich and colorful history gave birth to an equally colorful and diverse trade in musical creativity. The mutual exchange between the various cultures along the 7,000-mile route enriched and expanded the world's musical vocabulary. This fascinating and comprehensive set from Accords Croisés, packed with information and photographs and offered in a deluxe longbox package, features 26 tracks of music from 14 different countries.

It's not the first such compilation, but "The Musical Silk Road" is a particularly good one. Over two CDs (with a lavish, informative booklet) it presents studio & field recordings from Korea, across the Asian continent & into Mediterranean Europe. The various trade routes collectively labeled "The Silk Road" only became generally known by that name in the 19th century. But those trade routes' history covers more than two thousand years & a vast array of different cultures: Chinese, Turkic, Persian, Arabic & others. Some of the music here is made available on disc for the first time.

320kbps mp3, including 50 page full colour booklet in English and French

http://rapidshare.com/files/62294485/Lrmdls-TMSK.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/62331316/Lrmdls-TMSK.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/62351224/Lrmdls-TMSK.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/62358392/Lrmdls-TMSK.part4.rar