Produced in part by the Musee de L'Homme (Museum of Man) in Paris, this album is actually more of an exposition of sounds than of pure music. All works on the album are, of course, actual pieces of music in their various lands, though they are not necessarily masterworks. Some of the tracks are simple demonstrations of instruments. Nonetheless the album is an exciting journey through the instruments of the world. The album is broken into four categories, along ethnomusicological instrumental organology. All works are rather short (generally under 3 minutes, if not less) and are mainly to demonstrate the instrument in question. The chordophone section runs through the Indian santoor and the Vietnamese dan tranh, both zithers; the keleli from Chad, the tar from Azerbaijan, the kamayacha fiddle from Rajasthan, the mbela musical bow and the ngombi harp from Central Africa, and the soron harp-lute from Guinea. In the membranophones section, there are drums from Benin, India proper (from Ravi Shankar's tabla player Chatur Lal, no less), Egypt, Rajasthan, and Kerala represented. In aerophones, there are wooden trumpets from Central Africa, the amazingly low pitched dung chen trumpets from Tibet, trumpets from Madhya Pradesh, flutes from Rajasthan and Brazil, panpipes from the Solomon Islands, a mouth organ from Thailand, an accordion from Sardinia, an oboe from Tibet, double clarinets from Rajasthan, triple clarinets from Sardinia, and an ensemble of wooden clarinets from a tribe in Guyana. In idiophones, there are drums from Rajasthan, Central Africa, Guinea, Benin, and the Solomon Islands, and the angklung of Java as well as the Balinese gamelan. The album is worthwhile as far as the academic form of musicology is concerned, and the works on it are often virtuosic pieces from some of the better artists in the respective countries. Those interested in ethnomusicology should consider giving it a listen, as well as looking over the rigorous notes (in English and French). Those that aren't interested in ethnomusicology however, probably wouldn't notice the album, with a French title on top. by Adam Greenberg
Tracklist:
Cordophones
1 Cithare Sur Caisse (Inde) 3:06
Recorded By – Geneviève Dournon
Zither – Omprakash Chorsasiya
2 Cithare Sur Table (Vietnam) 3:09
Recorded By – Jean Schwarz
3 Luth (Tchad) 1:31
Recorded By – Monique Brandily
4 Luth (Azerbâyjân) 2:14
Recorded By – Jean During
5 Vièles (Rajasthan) 2:37
Recorded By – Geneviève Dournon
6 Arc Musical (Centrafrique) 1:56
Musical Bow – Nicolas Masemokombo
Recorded By – Simha Arom
7 Harpe (Centrafrique) 1:35
Recorded By – Simha Arom
8 Harpe-Luth (Guinée) 2:02
Recorded By – Gilbert Rouget
Membranophones
9 Tambours À Une Peau (Bénin) 2:33
Recorded By – Gilbert Rouget
10 Tambours À Tension Variable (Bénin) 1:51
Recorded By – Simha Arom
11 Tambour Sur Cadre (Rajasthan) 1:43
Recorded By – Geneviève Dournon
12 Darbouka (Égypte) 2:08
Recorded By – Hugo Zemp
13 Tabla (Inde) 2:07
Recorded By – Groupe De Recherches Musicales
Tabla – Chatur Lal
14 Ensemble De Tambours (Kérala) 1:58
Recorded By – Pribislav Pitoëff
Aérophones
15 Trompes (Centrafrique) 2:27
Recorded By – Simha Arom
16 Trompes (Tibet) 1:29
Recorded By – Mireille Helffer
17 Trompe (Madhya Pradesh) 1:38
Recorded By – Geneviève Dournon
18 Flûte Avec Bourdon Vocal (Rajasthan) 1:48
Recorded By – Geneviève Dournon
19 Flûtes À Bec (Rajasthan) 2:05
Recorded By – Geneviève Dournon
20 Flûtes À Bloc (Brésil) 1:29
Recorded By – Dreyfus-Gamelon
21 Flûtes De Pan (Iles Salomon) 2:01
Recorded By – Hugo Zemp
22 Orgue À Bouche (Thaïlande) 1:43
Recorded By – Jacques Brunet
23 Accordéon (Sardaigne) 2:03
Recorded By – Bernard Lortat-Jacob
24 Hautbois (Tibet) 1:32
Recorded By – Mireille Helffer
25 Clarinette Double (Rajasthan) 2:04
Recorded By – Geneviève Dournon
26 Clarinette Triple (Sardaigne) 1:59
Recorded By – Bernard Lortat-Jacob
27 Ensemble De Clarinettes (Guyanne) 1:58
Recorded By – Jean-Michel Beaudet
Idiophones
28 Guimbarde (Rajasthan) 1:59
Recorded By – Geneviève Dournon
29 Languettes Pincées (Centrafrique) 2:33
Recorded By – Simha Arom
30 Tambours De Bois À Fente (Centrafrique) 1:37
Recorded By – Simha Arom
31 Xylophones (Guinée) 1:46
Recorded By – Gilbert Rouget
32 Double Xylophone Sur Fosse (Bénin) 1:42
Recorded By – Gilbert Rouget
33 Claquettes (Rajasthan) 1:34
Recorded By – Geneviève Dournon
34 Bambous Pilonnants (Iles Salomon) 1:57
Recorded By – Hugo Zemp
35 Bambous Oscillants (Java) 1:37
Recorded By – Jacques Brunet
36 Ensemble De Métallophones (Bali) 2:59
Recorded By – Louis Berthe
Note
Examples of traditional instruments provided by members of Département d'ethnomusicologie (Department of ethnomusicology) du (at) Musée de l'Homme, and by Research group 165 from Centre national de la recherche scientifique.
