Gustavo Bulgach writes of this new release: “The Magic of Klezmer is manifested not only in its music, but in the Klezmorim, or its musicians as well. I have been lucky to meet lots of them, but the one whom I most wanted to meet was Max Epstein... Had I only known then what I know now.... A Yiddish Lidele. A musical movement like klezmer consists not only of recreating the old tunes from the past, but challenges us to come up with new and original material. I wrote “Librescu Tango” in memory of the late Liviu Librescu, a professor at Virginia Technical School and a victim of student violence. Professor Librescu blocked the door to his classroom to allow his students to jump out the window and save their lives while he died risking his own life to save his students’. Professor Librescu was a survivor of the SHOAH (Holocaust), a Romanian Jew who could not leave to do ALIYAH (Jewish Immigration to the Land of Israel). In 1977 Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin personally asked the government of Romania for Professor Librescu and his family to be allowed to move to Israel. Later Liviu Librescu moved to the United States where he was one of the most prominent teachers and mentors in the academic field. The great courage he showed in the final moments of his life inspired me to transform the anger I felt at the time into a beautiful melody, a dance song. The survivors of the Holocaust are always showing us the way to live correctly and courageously. VAREMKAYT is the Yiddish word for that familiar and “comfy” feeling you experience when you are at ease, with a group of friends and in a familiar setting... like “feeling at home”

Celebrate the Patron Saint of Ireland with a fantastic playlist all included on this ‘Ultimate Irish Pub Songs’ album. A great selection of Irish music to celebrate with. Including classics such as ‘The Wild Rover’, ‘Spancil Hill’, ‘Irish Rover’ and more! These tracks have been curated from the finest Irish records that Arc Music has to offer, and showcase a programme of brilliant Celtic artists including the Dicey Reillys, Turlough, Paddy O’Gorman.

This compilation takes the listener on a musical journey throughout the Middle East, with tracks from Cyprus, Egypt, Persia, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey, all tried and tested music put together in a stunningly presented album. Artists include Hossam Ramzy, Zohreh Jooya, Dastan Trio, Ahmed Mukhtar, The Burning Bush and more. Notable features on this release include ‘Planet Egypt,’ performed by Hossam Ramzy and Phil Thornton, which is a powerful piece that is a call and response, creating a dynamic exchange of phrases, as well as ‘Midnight Sun’ performed by the Dastan Trio. The Dastan Trio is the result of a long term collaboration and innovative approach taken by its creators, Pejman Hadadi, Hossein Behroozi-Nia, and Hamid Motebassem, all from Iran. The music is mostly improvised and played on traditional instruments.

This release is a beautiful album, based on the rich cultural tradition of Lebanese music. It highlights the traditional oriental orchestra (takht), consisting of oud, buzuk, qanun, ney, oriental violin and double bass with Arabian percussions such as tabla, riqq, katem, mezher and others. Artistic director and primary conductor of the Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music, Andre Hajj is a Lebanese musician who grew up in an atmosphere of music and arts encouraged by his mother. Influenced by this musical and artistic atmosphere, Hajj began to study music at the age of sixteen and graduated from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik with a Diploma in Oud and a Bachelor of Arts in Educational Music. He formed the group Amaken in 2003 to perform traditional Lebanese and Arabic music and he gave regular concerts in Lebanon and other countries.

0

The Kinross & District Pipe Band was formed in the summer of 1946 to play at local galas, festival events and pipe band competitions. During its long history the band has been awarded at World Championships and ceremony galas. A truly Scottish, beautiful album of pipes and drums.

This release is a captivating album by a popular folk group from Coimbra, Portugal's cultural capital. Portugal is a popular year-round locale, not only as a vacation destination in the Summer, but also for it's timeless folk and fado music. The present album is the perfect gift for Portuguese fans. Grupo Folclorico de Coimbra, a non-profit cultural association, was founded in 1986. It's main aim is to collect, study, recreate and revive the popular traditions of Coimbra, in the areas of singing, dance, costumes, poetry and life of Coimbra in the late eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century. Today the group, of whom all members are past or present students and also employees of the University of Coimbra, has a repertoire of over 90 songs in two main areas: songs of very diverse types, from satire, work songs, religious songs to serenades, and dance, which include urban dances and those of the surrounding rural areas. They perform regularly in Portugal as well as abroad. They have presented their traditions in Hungary, France, Spain, Lithuania, the Canary Islands, Egypt, Brazil, and Canada. "This is a rarity... For fans of Portuguese music with a curious ear." (Allmusic USA)

The music of Asia and the Far East is easily distinguishable. This release is a musical exploration of Asia, taking in cultural treasures from nineteen countries of the world’s largest continent, including energizing Chinese New Year’s music, relaxing Japanese flute, thunderous Korean drums, beautiful choral music from Georgia and more. (ARC Music)

There is a very particular charm about klezmer music that cannot be found in other styles of music. It’s a kind of melancholic exuberance; at once happy and sad, klezmer sounds simultaneously like laughing and weeping. Klezmer is a musical genre in a constant state of evolution. Perhaps its history lends itself to this- the original klezmorim were itinerant musicians who would travel around the shtetls of Eastern Europe performing at weddings and other occasions, until displacement of the Jewish population in the late 19th and early 20th centuries saw klezmer make its way to America where it met with jazz and other western music. These qualities make it difficult to pinpoint exactly what klezmer is today. To quote Gustavo Bulgach, whose band Klezmer Juice is featured on this collection, “klezmer is like a soapy pig. Everybody’s trying to catch it, but every time someone gets ahold of it, it slips away from them.”

The songs on this album could be described as fiery, sensual, gripping, as well as graceful and elegant. The album features tangos, waltzes and milongas, both instrumental and sung, from the pens of the old masters as well as new contemporary composers. The tango is an almost universal music and dance style. It is an authentic and lively expression of everyday experiences and feelings. The famous tango composer Enrique Santos Discepolo described the authentic, graceful and expressive tango as “a sad thought, which can be danced;” another author described it as “two serious faces and four funny legs.” The tango was born on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, in poor neighborhoods where the families of European immigrants settled down in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Since the 1980s, a renewed interest in the national Argentine musical tradition has triggered a revival of the genre.

These masterful oud performances highlight the unrivalled brilliance of Alan Shavarsh Bardezbanian. Including folk music from Armenia, Greece, Turkey and the Middle East, beautifully accompanied on piano, accordion, violin, guitar, bass and percussion. “If you are looking for an overview of the oud, you can't do much better than this album.” – 4* AllMusic.com

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 release is filled with pure, haunting American Indian flute music (solo or with occasional percussion) that touches the soul. Played on a variety of Dakota, Hopi, Navajo, and other Native American flutes, these songs expressing joy, sorrow, love and belief, and show the legacy of ancient traditions of sacred and secular music that have been passed down through generations of families and communities. (ARC Music)

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

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.