Music – Page 5 – OZTHOUGHTS

Where Have All The Flowers Gone? A Universal Song

My wife is currently reading a book called “Gone To Soldiers” by Marge Piercy, and I found myself gazing at the cover yesterday and wondered why it sounded so familiar to me.

And then it dawned on me why… it was because of the “folk” song by Pete Seeger that was so popular in the late 60’s and early 70’s of the last century, “Where have all the flowers gone”.

So I sat there, racking my brain trying to remember whose version of it I had loved all those years ago, Was it the version by Joan Baez? Or the Peter, Paul and Mary version? Or whose?

Simply couldn’t remember, so off I shot to my favourite music reference library, Youtube, and was astounded to see how many people from so many countries had recorded this song. I then went to Wikipedia to see what it had to say about the song. And it confirmed what I had seen on Youtube, this is a truly international song, as you will see on the list of recordings of this song I shall put lower down in this post.

But first, lets hear the original version by the guy who wrote it, and go from there.

Apparently the words were actually from an Ukrainian Cossack song called “Koloda-Duda”, which had the phrase “Where are the flowers, the girls have plucked them. Where are the girls, they’ve all taken husbands. Where are the men, they’re all in the army.”

Here is a rather touching version of that song….. Though you would probably do best to only watch the first part of this video, as it goes on at some length in Russian and Japanese…. Unless of course you happen to speak one of those languages.

Anyhow, this song became a more or less instant success, and has gone on since its inception in 1955 to become probably the most famous protest song ever…

However, as I said above, this song has now been sung in just about all the more or less mainstream languages, ranging from English, through German,Danish, Dutch, Japanese, Basque, Catalan, Estonian, Hebrew and loads more…. So I thought it might be fun to have a listen to this famous and significant song in some of those versions, so to kick things off, here it is in Hebrew.

I have no idea what these good folk are actually doing, but nonetheless, our song is what they are doing it to.

And now, we have it in Basque….

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Fado, The Soul Of Portugal

A friend sent me a link to a video of Amalia Rodrigues who was probably the most famous Fado singer that ever lived, singing a song called Solidao which was recorded in 1969, so whilst the video quality is pretty awful, the sound is sublime.

I have no words for the quality of fado…. And I have never worked out why a whole nation should identify itself with these extremely depressing songs from the working class sections of Lisbon. However that may be, the heartfelt songs that Amalia sings never fail to move me deeply, even though I only understand about 6 words in Portuguese.

On another level, this Portuguese song (Grândola Vila Morena – sorry, no idea what it means) was broadcast as the signal for start of the 1975 revolution. The army staged a coup and introduced democracy. It still has tremendous potency in Portugal even now. Joan Baez opened her concert in Portugal with it and brought the house down.

However, Fado is and always will be a sort of urban folk music, rooted in the working class sections of Lisbon, where you can still find cafes where people simply get up if moved to, and improvise songs…. as in the following videos.

Or as here….

Of course as with every sort of music, there are loads of variants to Fado, such as the version sung by Cesária Évora from Cape Verde (see my earlier post about her – click here).

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Didgeridoo – Impressive And Versatile Instrument

In recent years I have become more and more aware of the music of the Didgeridoo – probably a result of having moved to live here in Australia – but whatever the reason is, I have listened to more and more music being played on this most extraordinary of instruments, and been deeply moved by all of it.

What on earth is a Didgeridoo?

In essence it consists of nothing more complex than a long tube of wood. No valves, holes, slides or any other way of changing the length or character of the thing. And what the musician does is essentially simply grunt into it and it produces the most extraordinary sounds. To give you a much more details account of the instrument and its uses and history, here is a link to good old Wikipedia which tells you everything you ever wanted to know about a Didgeridoo, but never dared ask!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didgeridoo

Xavier Rudd – A contemporary Didgeridoo player

To start giving you an idea of what a Didgeridoo sounds like and is capable of, I thought I would start with a young Australian musician, who uses the Didgeridoo in his music, though he distorts the sounds digitally and uses several Didgeridoos at the same time, so his music is not really typical of the music that the aborigines play on their Didgeridoos. but nonetheless is interesting as a different approach to this instrument, which possibly is the oldest wind instrument in the world.

And this is what he did with it… See what you think.

To put it all in perspective, here is a piece of original Aboriginal Didgeridoo music. This is the extraordinary sound that they make with this simple wooden tube. Astounding isn’t it?

https://youtu.be/5YM5nohSh6c

If you imagine this sound in the proper context of an aboriginal gathering, it all makes sense, and it shows a remarkable sensitivity on a musical level. Love it!

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Polyphony – The Basis Of Real Music

I thought I would have a look at polyphony this morning, as I have stumbled across no end of videos of people singing polyphonically, and to be honest, I didn’t really know what it meant.

Well, specifically, this is what polyphony actually means:-

polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice which is called monophony, and in difference from musical texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords which is called homophony.

So, now we know, and for those of us who refer to learn from experiencing things, here is a rather neat little video that illustrates the principles rather well I thought.

or if you prefer it in words, well here you go……

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J2R20X16Jc

And as a last bit of theory, here is a rather neat little webpage from the BBC:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/music/elements_of_music/texture2.shtml

OK, so now we have seen and heard a load of theoretical stuff about polyphony, so now the interesting bit is where is it used?

This is why I started in on this discussion, since I kept coming across polyphony all over the place as I was wandering around the web looking for music of various sorts and origins. From the middle ages through pygmy tribes in Africa to Estonia and the Balkans, the whole world uses it, in all manner of different ways. Paradoxically, by and large Anglo-Saxons whenever they get together and sing (such as in pubs or football matches, seem to avoid polyphony like the plague and stick firmly to singing in unison (monophony).. boring.

So to start with a rather beautiful example of polyphony, here we have some Caucasian cossacks…… Such peaceful sounds. Bliss to listen to with your eyes closed.

As you will have noticed, they also seem to go in for a sort of yodelling sound, this type of polyphonic singing is beautifully demonstrated by this bunch of pygmy women (who also in passing, demonstrate a serious need for dentists).

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Djelem Djelem – A Couple Of Haunting Gypsy Songs

Occasionally I spend a happy and enjoyable hour or so simply following links on Youtube, with no idea of where I might end up, nor what jewels I shall stumble upon as I wander along.

So this time I was looking for a particular video of a sort of musical duel between a Jewish Kletzmer band and a Russian peasant one, and on the way to that video I came across a number of other simply beautiful pieces of music that I want to share with you guys. So brace yourself and get ready to click away on the links below and enjoy what I have found for you.

The first is a song called Djelem Djelem, which appears to be a sort of general title in the Balkans and gypsy world for a piece of music that is especially beautiful, but I am not really sure about that – If you know, do tell me.

Other than that, I know nothing about this piece, except that it is very beautiful to listen to…. Soulful to the Nth degree I think you will agree.

Nice eh?

And here is another version of Djelem Djelem, this time sung with wonderful passion by the almost completely spherical Macedonian singer Esma Redzepova. A superb, passionate rendition it is too!!!

In passing, I would like to draw your attention to the Wikipedia entry for her, it seems that she has had a very interesting life, done no end of good things for the Roma People (she is actually a genuine gypsy in fact) and among other extraordinary things she has done, is she and her husband fostered some 47 kids! Anyhow, if you follow this link, you will discover what a remarkable woman she is.

And next, we have Parno Graszt ~ Káde shukár…. That is all I know about this one, I think that Kade Shukar is the title and Parno is the name of the group.. but it could well be the other way round… Who know? Or cares? In any event, it is a superb piece of spirited music…. impossible to keep still while listening to it. Love it!!!

The Rhythm Project – All Rhythm Stems From Movement

I have just stumbled upon a fascinating video, as one does on Youtube, all about how the rhythms of daily work in tribal Africa is based on rhythm, and how that is then translated into music and dance.

We see village women working at the normal daily tasks in such communities, and their men also, all demonstrating the obvious benefits of working rhythmically. We also see several of their musical instruments being created, in the case of a sort of drum, we see the tree it is made from being felled (rhythmically) and then the entire process of hollowing it out, stretching the skin and so on…. All done in a sensible rhythmical manner.

Beautiful people by the way.

We then see how all of his translates into music and dance – amazingly.

All in all a fascinating short video with a very important message – we need to recognise the importance of rhythm and movement in our lives, and should ensure that we do not stray too far from these important basic human needs.

So, here is the video for you to watch, a good way to pass about 10 minutes of your day I feel. Enjoy it, and take the message onboard please.

Please ignore the “Copyright Protected” message at the start of the video, not sure why it is there as they want as many people as possible to see their video, so watch it with a calm mind.

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Let me know what you feel about this video and its message, I am intrigued to know if you guys found it as important and enjoyable as I did.

Woodford Folk Festival – I Clean Lavatories

A couple of weeks ago Lotty and I spent a strange week working as volunteers at the Woodford Folk Festival, the largest such festival in Australia. We were two vollies (as they are called here in Australia), among about 3000 others all of whom work their little butts off to make this festival happen.

To be honest, neither Lotty nor I have any great interest in folk music, but many of our friends have worked in this festival for years and had told us it was great fun, and anyhow, it seemed to us to be an essential part of our education in living in Oz, so we signed up as soon as it was possible – about 6 months before the actual festival occurs.

One signs on via the web, and all manner of information is required from prospective vollies, among which is the burning question of what sort of work does one wish to do in the festival. This is accompanied by an imposing list of possible areas of work – publicity, stage hand, selling stuff and so on – we had no idea what we might best do, so we simply selected the “do anything” button, and sat back to wait and see what would happen next.

What happened next was an extremely enthusiastic email from a bloke called Alan who would be our chief for the festival, as we had been placed in one of his teams and would be glorying in the title of S-Bend Warriors. This meant that we would be one of many teams of Inter-galactic S-Bend Warriors who would be charged with cleaning and provisioning a load of showers/lavatories in one of the many camping areas in the festival.

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Cesária Évora – A Great Cape Verdean Singer

I am sitting here, listening to an amazing concert on good old Youtube. It is A full concert of the superb Cape Verdean singer Cesária Évora – apparently also known as the Barefoot Diva owing to her habit of performing with bare feet. Be that as it may, this unremarkable looking, dumpy small woman, at the time the concert I am watching was recorded, was in her 60’s and yet had the voice of a woman in the full flowering of her youth. A wonderful warm and gentle voice she had.

Sadly she died in 2011, but before that she had an amazing career as a singer.

Not really much to be said about her, except click on the link below, sit back and enjoy listening to, and watching a real artist at work… And be glad that in reality it is not necessary for a woman singer to behave like a cross between a pole dancer and a stripper to be a success.

https://youtu.be/oWYKTiqPvYA

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If you did sit back and give this amazing woman – and her equally superb band – the attention that was her due, and enjoyed it too please share any thoughts you might have about her with us here.

Duduk – The Soulful Armenian Oboe

Recently I have become aware of Armenian folk music, and the double reed oboe-like instrument, the Duduk which is central to their music.

The Duduk has an incredible, almost indescribably haunting sound, very breathy and gentle and has to be the most emotional and haunting instrument in the world – or at least that is my feeling about it.

Before I go any further, here is a powerful example of what I mean about it… Listen and be moved.

As ever, there is a quite reasonable description of the Duduk in good old Wikipedia, so here it is:-

The duduk is a double reed instrument with ancient origins, having existed since at least the fifth century, while there are Armenian scholars who believe it existed more than 1,500 years before that. The earliest instruments similar to the duduk’s present form are made of bone or entirely of cane. Today, the duduk is exclusively made of wood with a large double reed, with the body made from aged apricot wood.

The particular tuning depends heavily on the region in which it is played. In the twentieth century, the Armenian duduk began to be standardized diatonic in scale and single-octave in range. Accidentals, or chromatics are achieved using fingering techniques. The instrument’s body also has different lengths depending upon the range of the instrument and region. The reed (Armenian: եղեգն, eġegn), is made from one or two pieces of cane in a duck-bill type assembly. Unlike other double-reed instruments, the reed is quite wide, helping to give the duduk both its unique, mournful sound, as well as its remarkable breath requirements. The duduk player is called dudukahar (դուդուկահար) in Armenian.

The performer uses air stored in his cheeks to keep playing the instrument while he inhales air into his lungs. This “circular” breathing technique is commonly used with all the double-reed instruments in the Middle East.

Duduk “is invariably played with the accompaniment of a second dum duduk, which gives the music an energy and tonic atmosphere, changing the scale harmoniously with the principal duduk.”

So that is the dry description.

All stuff one perhaps needs to know about such an instrument, but as always, what really matters is the emotional reaction we have when we hear it played, and in the case of the Duduk, this reaction can only be extremely strong – not happy or cheerful, as that is not the nature of the beast, but a profoundly deep and moving aural experience.

Duduk playing is a bit like the bagpipes in that bagpipes have a whole array of drones – pipes set at a particular note – and one pipe on which the melody is played, here as you will have read above, that function is carried out by one or more fellow players who simply play one note all the way through, thus creating a full and warm sound – and in passing an even more mournful sound.

Mournful is what it is.

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Gloomy Sunday – The Suicide Song

The other day I wrote a post about Strange Fruit, one of the 20th Century’s more powerful songs, well here is another one for you!

This one in English is called Gloomy Sunday, or conversely, The Hungarian Suicide Song, owing to both its extremely gloomy nature, and the urban myths about how it causes people who are unlucky enough to hear it to rush out and commit suicide instantly – so you have been warned!

In Hungarian it was called Szomorú vasárnap (Sad Sunday),

Obviously it is in fact a Hungarian song, written by a poet by the name of Rezső Seress in 1933 and had words that were a gentle hymn about people’s sins, but very soon after it was published, another Hungarian poet László Jávor (I bet you didn’t know there were so many poets in Hungary in the 30’s) sat down and wrote his own lyrics to this song, and these are the lyrics that we all know and love today. All about lost love, suicide, death and despondency (see a bit further down this post for an English translation of these words).

So the version I have bunged just below here is the music of Rezső Seress and the words of László Jávor, and the singer is Pál Kalmár, and was the first recording of this song, recorded in 1935.

So, have a listen to the original version of this depressing, but beautiful song, and then we shall discuss it further……

The Words:

Before going any further, it is probably a good idea for me to give you the English translation of the words of this song, so here goes:-

Sunday is gloomy,
My hours are slumberless.
Dearest, the shadows
I live with are numberless.

Little white flowers
Will never awaken you.
Not where the black coach
Of sorrow has taken you.

Angels have no thought
Of ever returning you.
Would they be angry
If I thought of joining you?

Gloomy Sunday

Gloomy is Sunday,
With shadows I spend it all.
My heart and I, have
Decided to end it all.

Soon there’ll be candles
And prayers that are said, I know.
Let them not weep,
Let them know that I’m glad to go.

Death is no dream,
For in death I’m caressing you.
With the last breath of my soul,
I’ll be blessing you.

Gloomy Sunday

Dreaming, I was only dreaming.
I wake and I find you asleep
In the deep of my heart, dear.

Darling, I hope that
My dream never haunted you.
My heart is telling you,
How much I wanted you.

See? Not the most cheerful of songs is it? But nonetheless those words have a real power and emotional kick to them, and are all too easy for almost all of us to identify with.

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