World Library of Folk & Primitive Music: India

various artists compilation - World Library of Folk & Primitive Music: India

Recorded in India and originally edited with translations and photographs by Alain Danielou, former Professor of Music, University of Benares. Originally released as Volume XIII in the Columbia World Library of Folk and Primitive Music, compiled and edited by Alan Lomax.

released on CD in 2002

Originally recorded in the 1950s by author, painter, and Hindu philosopher Alain Danielou, this collection is the first of its kind to be published and offers a glimpse into the colorful and varied tradition of Indian music, including sacred temple songs, classical improvisations, and popular art music.

From the introduction by Nazir Jairazbhoy and Amy Catlin:

Alain Danielou had an extremely high regard for Indian music and in this record wanted to display "the exceptional culture of the common man in India." He felt that the most "naive forms of village music" (i.e. folk songs performed by non-specialists) would be detrimental to his purpose and thus included a then-unprecedented variety of performances mostly by specialists musicians, both professional and nonprofessional. Although other ethnomusicologists before him had conducted musical surveys and collected field recordings for scholarly and archival purposes (notable Edgar Thurston, A. H. Fox-Strangways, and Arnold Bake), this collection by Danielou appears to be the first anthology of its kind to be published. It is being reissued here because of both its historical importance and its unique variety of recordings of Indian music.

Most of the recordings were made either in the region of Benares (now Varanasi) or Madras (now Chenai). Nevertheless, the performers represent several other regions as well. As Danielou wrote, "Benares is a centre of pilgrimage where one meets popular musicians coming from all over India. It is also a stronghold of traditional Hindu society where traditional musical forms resist modern influence." Moreover, there is a significant Muslim population in Benares, which accounts for the Muslim qawwali that he also recorded there. One exception is, however, the example of Gond music that was recorded in Nagpur (Madhya Pradesh) by All India Radio.

The different types of music in this anthology can be grouped into four main categories:

I. Archaic survivals (tracks 3, 4, 8)
II. Religious and devotional (tracks 2, 5, 6, 7, 13)
III. Instrumental classical, light classical, and folk (tracks 1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18)
IV. Drama (tracks 14, 15, 16, 17)


Tracklisting:

1.  Raghunatha Prasanna and group - Dhun  {3:31}
    three sahani with khurdak drum; recorded in Benares

2.  Kedarnath - Kajari  {3:04}
    vocal with dholak and jhori; sung in Mirzapur style; recorded in Benares

3.  Nanku and Bachau - Viraha  {3:10}
    vocal duet with nagara; sung in a Hindi dialect; recorded in Benares

4.  Mundan, Harilal, and Kasavar - Ahir Dance  {2:21}
    nagara, dukkar, and gong; recorded in Benares

5.  Muhammad Usman, Raza, and Saukat Ali - Qawwali  {3:06}
    a Muslim song of Northern India; vocal group with dholak and Indian harmonium; sung in Urdu; recorded in Benares

6.  Haripada Devanatha - Baul Song  {3:30}
    solo vocal with dotara; sung in Bengali; recorded in Benares

7.  Mahadeva Giri and Munna Giri - Bhajana  {3:19}
    vocal group with ekatara and percussion; sung in Hindi; recorded in Benares

8.  members of the tribe of Gonds, Nagpur region - Gond Song  {1:47}
    vocal group; sung in Gondi; recorded in Nagpur, 1952

9.  Raghunatha Prasanna - Thumri  {3:18}
    flute with khurdaka and vina; recorded in Benares

10. Satyavolu Madhava Rao - Raga Kamavardhani  {2:39}
    South Indian vina

11. Narayana Das Mishra - Gat  {2:56}
    Raga Brindavani-Sarang; sarangi and tabla; recorded in Benares

12. Swami D. R. Parvatikar - Svaramandala  {3:05}
    svaramandala solo; recorded in Deccan

13. T. M. Krishnaswamy Iyer - Alwar Song  {3:10}
    vocal, tambura, sruti peti; sung in Tamil' recorded in Madras

14. Kathakali ensemble of Gopinath - Kathakali  {1:24}
    drum and cymbal ensemble; Malabar dance drama; recorded in Madras

15. N. Paramasiva - Kathakali (Part 2)  {3:36}
    drum and cymbal ensemble; sung in Malayalam

16. Kapali, Pushparaja, Ghandi, and Thangaraja - Tamil Drama [1]  {1:59}
    Invocation to the Fish-Eyes Goddess; vocal group, sruti peti and percussion; sung in Tamil; recorded south of Madras

17. Kapali, Pushparaja, Ghandi, and Thangaraja - Tamil Drama [2]  {1:12}
    Challenge by the Demon Naraka to the King of Heaven, Devendra; vocal group, sruti peti and percussion

18. Narayana Pande - Dholak  {0:59}
    dholak solo; recorded in Benares


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