Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Louis Gibson writes of this monumental release: “Radio France has been at the forefront in recording the music of the world for decades, and via its Ocora label it has made a massive library of the true roots of many world cultures. To try and put together a representative collection of the world's traditions is of course a ridiculous undertaking, and even the six full length CDs in this set barely put a dent in what is out there, let alone what this organization has collected. But if you want a concise reference guide to many of the most important and amazing musical entities on the planet, you can't do much better than this. The set is divided into regional collections: South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, North and West Africa, Africa (western and central), and Europe…There are the old styles: solo pipa in China, singers and dancers in Gambia, village gamelan in Bali, and tavern singers in Greece. Each is excellently recorded on location--rarely in the studio--and never produced, staged, or overdubbed. The booklets that come with each CD are comprehensive, providing both regional history and reasonable details on the individual artists and pieces presented. Ocora has released hundreds of records over the years, and each has an important place in any library, but this compendium is certainly a vital starting point.”

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Karimi, master of singing, drew on the most authentic source of the radif (classical repertoire) to create an intimate expression far removed from any artifice, in perfect harmony with Mohammad Musavi's ney flute -a simple reed with immense power. This is how Karimi illustrates the mode in which he has chosen to sing: "Navâ has a special beauty of it's own. A mode with a sweetness, finesse and subtlety that plunges the listener into a state of meditation. It's melodies are among the most traditional, having been passed on for at least three hundred years from teacher to pupil right down to my own teachers, Davâmi and Hâjji Aqâ". Mohammad Musavi's reed flute (ney) also signifies the calligrapher's pen. There is indeed a way of emphasising a single note in a song as if it were a stroke, of echoing a fragment of it, of seizing on a motif and unfolding it in an arabesque, of organising it's punctuation, which evokes calligraphy and illumination. At this point, two ineffable breaths remain: that of a man and that of a flute. But, as Mowlânâ Rumi suggests, are they not one and the same being?