A Celtic Journey is an album of music and song from Scotland and further afield, with pipes, fiddle, choir, courting songs, lullabies, humorous stories of whiskey smuggling and sad laments for love lost. The music comes from the Isle of Skye, Nova Scotia, Glasgow, Stornoway, Inverness, and the Scottish Highlands. With award-winning musicians and singers including Cliar, Author Cormack, Blair Douglas, Ceolraidh Gaidhlig Ghlaschu, and many others, whose tracks were selected for this album by Mary Ann Kennedy, this is an album that simply cannot be missed by lovers of Celtic music.

Celtic music is the collective name given to the native folk music of the Celtic nations. The Seven Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, Galicia and the Isle of Man share a common tradition of folk music and songs. Each musical tradition includes lively dance-tunes, melancholic airs, and songs both serious and comical. The worldwide popularity of Celtic music has blossomed over the last decade or two and it has found a place as a worldwide musical language. Behind its popularity lies a tradition o fmusic and songs passed down through centuries and generations. This collection is a snapshot of the living reality of Celtic musical traditions in today’s world, presenting music from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Asturias, Wales, and Galicia in a variety of sung and instrumental pieces.

The two masters of the Japanese shakuhachi, Hidekazu Katoh (shakuhachi, nishaku-issun, nishaku-yonsun) and Richard Stagg (shakuhachi), present atmospheric shakuhachi duets ranging from ancient to modern pieces. Hidekazu Katoh began learning shakuhachi as a member of the Chikuto Group at Chuo University. He became a student of Katsuya Yokoyama, and graduated at Gedai, later completing a postgraduate course there. Hidekazu is a member of Pro Musica Nipponia and of the Bamboo Orchestra. He regularly accompanies the acclaimed enka artist Ayako Fuji in her concerts. Richard Stagg has been a professional orchestral flute player for the last thirty five years, working in the Scottish National Orchestra and then in the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London, from which he recently retired. In the early nineteen-eighties he was a pupil of the late Iwamoto Yoshikazu, and has been studying the shakuhachi and performing on it for over thirty years. With Aiko Hasegawa and Kikuko Satoh he cofounded the Yamato Ensemble in 1988. He now teaches shakuhachi and also makes, repairs, and tunes instruments. He regularly performs on the shakuhachi in Japan

Enjoy rembekitos and syrtakis by the Athenians, songs from Crete by Romiosini, pieces by Mikis Theodorakis, and melodies from the Aegean islands and original compositions by Michalis Terzis, one of the most prominent Greek composers today. Michalis Terzis is one of the most important contemporary Greek composers. He started his musical career in 1973, playing songs by Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hatzidakis and New Wave as well as his own compositions at music theatres in the historical part of Athens beneath the Acropolis. In following years Michalis wrote and recorded many pieces including instrumental music, lyrical songs and traditional elegies, as well as music for theatre, TV and film productions, for which he won numerous awards at many Greek and international film festivals. His songs have been performed and recorded by the most famous Greek singers including: George Dalaris, Dimitra Galani, Lavrendis Machairitsas, Glykeria, Maria Dimitriadi, and more. The group The Athenians renders masterly interpretations o fGreek composers such as Mikis Theodorakis, Stavros Xarcharkos, Manos Hadzidakis, Manos Loisos, etc, as well as their own compositions. Their repertoire, which encompasses contemporary songs and Greek popular music that originated as folk music, has been enriched by modern elements and thus developed into a new genre.

This album features three types of the most popular Chines lutes: The tenor ruan, the bass ruan, and the pipa with Xu Pingxin providing accompaniment on the yangqin and drum. The Ruan are a family of long-necked, round-bodied, plucked lutes with four strings. The ruan is an indigenous instrument of China with a history of more than 2000 years. It is recorded in many ancient Chinese literary works. In recent decades it has developed into a family of three types: an alto, tenor, and a bass. Ms. Miao Xiaoyun is a musician of outstanding virtuosity and versatility. She plays several types of Chinese lutes, including tenor ruan, bass ruan, and pipa. Born in Beijing, Ms. Miao started to learn various plucked instruments at an early age with renowned teachers in China, among them Wang Fandi, Wang Zhongbing, and Pan Yuzhang. In 1978 she won a competition for the entrance examination to the Central Conservatoire of Music in Beijing. Upon graduation in 1982, she became the first teacher in the China Conservatoire of Music to establish the ruan as a major instrument. She has toured widely, both in China and abroad, giving many concerts.

Swamp Pop is indigenous to the Acadiana region of South Louisiana as well as from the Beaumont/ Port Arthur area of neighboring East Texas. It is marked by highly emotional, ultra-romantic, plaintive style vocals. The simple, unaffected and often bilingual lyrics are backed by a honky-tonk piano, bellowing sax sections and a strong R&B backbeat. Upbeat pieces often possess the bouncy rhythms of Cajun and black Creole two-steps, and their lyrics frequently convey the local color and joie de vivre spirit pervading South Louisiana. Slow melancholic ballads with their undulating bass line and dramatic breaks exhibit the heart-broken ‘what’s-the-use-of-living’ laments common to many Cajun and black Creole compositions. The genre appeared during the mid-to late 1950s, its heyday lasting until the early 1980s.

Magical Flutes From The Andes explores the enchanting and haunting sounds of flutes and pan pipes from Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. The flutes are accompanied by many other traditional South American instruments, such as kenas, zamponas, rondador, charrango, guitars, and various percussion instruments. The tracks on this album include traditional Andean music, and original compositions by Pablo Carcamo.

Esma Redzepova was a Macedonian Romani vocalist, songwriter, and humanitarian. Because of her prolific repertoire- which included hundreds of songs- and her contribution to Roma culture and it's promotion she was heralded as the "Queen of the Gypsies." These are the last songs she ever recorded- an album that will be truly cherished by her doting followers. Recorded in the studio with The Nune Brothers, the album is a blend of jazz, reggae, swing, salsa, and samba, all influenced by a range of Balkan sounds. "Beauty, charm, striking voice and performance skills." (The Guardian)

Each of these tracks features fast, exciting and sophisticated Iranian and Middle Eastern Percussion. The intricate rhythms and intriguing interplays between the traditional tombak, daf, dhol, darbuka, and cajon are expertly performed by Ramin Rahimi. Ramin Rahimi (b. 1969) has been a professional drummer and percussionist for over twenty years. He has been teaching drums and percussion at the Golpa Music Institute in Tehran since 1996. He also played cello with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra for several years. His group Tapesh, featured on this album, was established in 1998. In the studio Ramin plays most of the instruments himself, but for live concerts Tapesh becomes a 25-member ensemble plus guest musicians.

Arsen Petrosyan presents Hokin Janapar (my soul's journey), an album with a diverse collection of songs from many eras and genres of Armenia's historic timeline. Arsen has collaborated with Steve Hackett (Genesis), Emirati composer Ihab Darwish, and oudist Omar Bashir among others. He has performed throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. As a solo artist, Petrosyan has also toured extensively in North America and performed on BBC Persia. "Nothing short of exquisite." (Gapplegate Music) "Arsen's duduk playing sounds wonderful. It has a special magic." (Steve Hackett) "... one of the potential heirs to the duduk throne." (Deep Roots)

Csurgo Zenekar: Music of Hungary

Bashir Abdel ‘Aal, flautist extraordinaire, presents an album of outstanding beauty with atmospheric, meditative, calming music, played with awe-inspiring mastery that is delicately accompanied and supported on keyboard.

Custadio Castelo is the world's leading player of Portuguese fado guitar the instrument that helped make the fado genre the masthead of Portugal's musical heritage. Inventus showcases Castelo's excellence as both composer and performer marking him one of the most innovative Portuguese musicians in the genre and a master of his art.

This ARC release consists of Chinese music in a great variety of different moods. Gentle and meditative, these pieces are played on single instruments to exhilarating New Year’s music performed by ensembles.

Esma’s Band – Next Generation continues the legacy left by the great Esma Redžepova, the “Queen of Gypsy Music”. Made up entirely of members of Esma’s famed Ensemble Teodosievski, and fronted by her daughter, Eleonora Mustafovska, the band purveys irresistible Gipsy Dance from Macedonia in Esma’s style and honor. As members of Esma’s Ensemble Teodosievski, the band has performed many thousands of concerts all over the world, performing their own blend of pop music based on gypsy and Balkan songs and melodies. Following Esma’s death on 11th December 2016, the band continued touring, delighting crowds around Europe with dance music from the heart of Macedonia, exploring the intricacies of rhythm and sound.

After MANdolinMAN's successful first album "Old Tunes, Dusted Down" - a concept album devoted to the impressive field work of folklorist Hubert Boone - and a second album on which they explored the bossa nova style, MANdolinMAN return to their roots. The band digs even deeper into Flemish folk music and once again breathe new life into old tunes and melodies from the province of Flemish Brabant. Played on four mandolins, the music takes on new forms and teh historic melodies are injected with a modern and contemporary vigour, merged with various styles: African, polka, waltz, bluegrass and more. "...Passionate and polished playing...It's also refreshing to hear mandolins outside of bluegrass and Celtic folk settings..." - Rhythms, Australia

This release features authentic contemporary Hungarian gypsy music collected from all over the country, as well as original compositions. A wide array of instruments (guitar, pitcher, cajon, darbuka, tapan, spoons, mouth bass, mandolin, violin, bouzouki, cimbalom, double bass and 4 voices) make for an infectious, interesting and entertaining album. Khamoro Budapest Band is a folklore band that plays authentic contemporary Hungarian gypsy music collected from all over the country. Besides collected music and covers, they write, compose and publish their own original songs. Their virtuosic songs are accompanied with ‘voice bass’ and other colorful ornamentations in the accompanying voices and instruments. The music touches the hearts of the audiences and they can become deeply emotional. The lyrics sung in polyphonic modes are of real life stories about family, love, sorrow, and happiness.

Alan Shavarsh Bardezbanian was the unparalleled master of the oud, the Middle Eastern lute. Here he showcases many styles of oud playing, with fourteen folk songs and original compositions from his homeland of Armenia, as well as Turkey, Lebanon and Greece. “Oud at lightning speed with incredible sensitivity to the melody” - Allmusic.com “An earthy, elevating sound…” - Elsewhere New Zealand “The improvisational work is world class…” - OmRadio USA ALAN SHAVARSH BARDEZBANIAN was born into an Armenian family in the thriving ethnic community of Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1950. Musically gifted from an early age, Al began playing the oud as a child, modeling his playing on the versatile dance band musicians like George Mgrditchian and Richard Hagopian who performed in the local clubs every weekend. By his teens, Al had already mastered the Armenian dance hall repertoire, which he continued to perform for the rest of his life, and began exploring a wide range of other musical idioms, particularly the contemporary jazz scene of the 1960s.

London Jewish Male Choir presents regaling performances of classic cantorial and liturgical songs, Sephardic (Judeo-Spanish) songs, Chassidic pieces and modern Israeli compositions. Extensive information is included in English and German.

Sufism broadly refers to the esoteric Islamic tradition represented by many strains, most of whom explain the creation of the universe with the principle of Unity of Being. The Sufi understanding is that God is the Sole Being and that all creatures manifest reflections of His Being. Music has always been part of religious rituals, producing forms and styles that remain as basic patterns of the society's musical tradition. Some of the Sufi branches utilized music as a significant spiritual training method whereas some other Sufis relied on other techniques. The Mevlevi order, which follows the path of Rumi, is a leading example of a Sufi branch that accompanies the inner teachings by intensely using the medium of music. Turkish Sufi music has been perfected throughout the ages across many countries. There are two types of Turkish Sufi music: the music employed at the mosque and at the tekke, or convent. This album features relaxing Sufi music recorded in Turkey. These works are played at the tekke at ceremonies of the whirling dervishes, as well as some never before recorded music commonly played in Turkish mosques.

These mask dances, folk songs, and ceremonies come from the state of Jharkhand in India. This is energetic and up-tempo music played on purely traditional instruments, flutes, folk oboes, various drums, and percussion. Three of these tracks were made during the Karam Festival. On the eleventh day of the moon in the month of Bhad the head of the family brings home two branches of the karam tree and in the evening plants them side by side in the courtyard of the house. He then makes an offering of milk, ghee, and bread made of rice flour to the gods. Meanwhile the inhabitants of the house dress up and sing and dance in the courtyard or by the house. Performing these works is the Chhau and Nagpuri group.

Traditional & Popular Songs from Goa

Margie Butler: Carolan's Draught - Celtic Harp

The new Musical Explorers series from ARC Music makes available, often for the first time, a valuable range of historical films and audio recordings gathered from all over the world. The next release on this series is Music of Tibet, curated by Simon Broughton. Accompanying the album is Deben Bhattacharya’s film, Echoes from Tibet, which was shot in 1979 in Ladakh, Darjeeling and Dharamsala. This is where many Tibetan exiles and the Dalai Lama (who appears in the film) are based. The music on the accompanying album was recorded in 1975 and 1979 in the refugee communities of Ladakh, Himalchal Pradesh, Sikkim and Darjeeling, and also in Sarnath, close to Varansi where The Buddha gave his first sermon. The music on the album was recorded by Deben Bhattacharya on his Nagra in 1975 and 1979. “For the new Musical Explorers series by the British label, the world music expert Simon Broughton has raised a real treasure.”

The music of the British Isles has been charming audiences for centuries. This beautiful collection of Celtic music from Ireland, Scotland and Brittany features famous Celtic artists such as Cunla, Colm O Foghlu, Noel McLoughlin, Clannad, and many more. The songs presented are a shimmering array of the most wistful and beautiful songs and instrumental pieces, which are in a similar vein as the “Titanic” soundtrack, or the ever-popular “Riverdance.” Folk songs are presented here in their most authentic forms, as well as several more recent compositions inspired by these roots. This is true cornucopia of Celtic jewels!