Req: Resource suggestions - internat'l music

Subject: Req: Resource suggestions - internat'l music
From: Tara
Date: 09 Jul 98 - 02:01 PM

I play in an informal early music ensemble (misc. woodwinds, some percussion, occasionally strings) and some of our members have become interested in buying more exotic instruments but we're not sure what to play on them. :)

Does anyone here have good reccommendations for web or book resources for traditional music from places other than the US or western Europe?

We are interested in Asian, Eastern European, Middle-Eastern, African... Sheet music, or descriptions of traditional music.... Anything that might broaden our repertoire, really.

Thanks! -Tara

Subject: RE: Req: Resource suggestions - internat'l music
From: Jon W.
Date: 09 Jul 98 - 02:23 PM

The Lark In The Morning catalog lists a number of books from many different musical traditions as well as instruments. The Mid-East Mfg Co is another resource, more for instruments than for books.

Subject: RE: Req: Resource suggestions - internat'l music
From: Chet W.
Date: 09 Jul 98 - 08:47 PM

Don't know much about sheet music, but if you look under "countries" in Yahoo or some other search you'll find that some of the countries you're interested in will have lots of information (often not in English) on their traditional music, while others do not. It's worth a surf. I have to recommend a couple of my Central European favorites (never say Eastern Europe until you at least get as far as Ukraine). There is a wonderful Hungarian singer, Marta Sebestyen, and her band, Muszikas, that have about 10 albums available here, mostly on the Ryko/Hannibal labels. They are fine scholars as well as performers; you can learn a lot just from their liner notes. There is a Czech brother and sister team named Petr and Hana Ulrichovi, with their band Javory, who are also wonderful, but albums are harder to get here. If you like accordion, I'll highly recommend a Finnish player named Maria Kalamieni. I've gotten her albums from Amazon.com. Finally a Croatian band (with one album available on which they play mostly Bosnian music) called Vujisciscs. It's fascinating to listen to Middle Eastern music, go through Turkey, the Balkans, the Czechs, Poles, the Baltic countries on up into Scandinavia. You'll begin to hear an unbroken path of gradually changing styles of rythms, harmonies, and melodies. Good luck and have fun.

Chet W.

Subject: RE: Req: Resource suggestions - internat'l music
From: Cuilionn
Date: 10 Jul 98 - 12:36 AM

The University of Washington (State, that is) has been known for its ethnomusicology program, though I'm not sure what their current resources are. You might cast about for other universities that have ethnomusicology programs/ departments. They may have files and archives from which you could borrow, and at the very least they'd have some very educated guesses about how your search might proceed.

Gabh spòrs,

--Cuilionn