September 8-12
This Week's Music Around the World-Traditional and Contemporary Music-Slovenia
Divje Babe Flute (2:20) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZCWFcyxUhQ) The Divje Babe Flute, found in Slovenia, is believed to be the oldest discovered musical instrument being dated back 55000 years! (there are a few who dispute that it was created by people). Gere Ljuben Dimkaroski plays a reconstruction of the instrument in the Ptuj Museum.
Folk Song-Zrejlo je žito (4:16) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qowaJoB9VH0) Harmonized singing is an old tradition in Slovenia. Here three students in the Faculty of Medicine-University of Ljubljana sing an old folk song-Zrejlo je žito.
Nejc Kralj-Folk Music (3:09) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbfAS-86BcA) The Styrian Harmonica or Steirische Harmonica the oldest form of accordion and is popular in Slovenia. Here 14 year old Nejc Kralj charms the audience at a 2015 show in Slovenia-Slovenski Pozdrav.
Maraaya-Here For You (3:11) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1c7gDOaFY0) Maraaya are a Slovenia duo who represented Slovenia at the 2015 Euros. This song was a big hit in many European countries.
September 15-19
This Week's Music Around the World-Traditional and Contemporary Music-Djibouti
Folk Dancing (10:00) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kadnNV-rC0) A series of traditional folk dances performed during the 2011 Presidential election in the Kempinski Palace.
Afar Song (7:04) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyd33J6nNYw) Songs in Djibouti are often sung by a couple with the lyrics going back and forth. There are two main cultures in Djibouti-Afar and Somali. I found this Afar song that seems to follow the recipe noted in the Wiki article.
Fatouma Mansour-Dilleyta Inch Qika (4:52) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJkx--yiF3M) I found multiple references to Mansour being an important singer in Djibouti since the 80's. There are some references to her being very ill by 2017. I haven't been able to confirm whether she is still singing.
Wixii Dhiman Noo Dhamee Aabo (3:51) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxaj3C4dDH8) Most of the modern music I found from Djibouti features this electronic/processed sound for the backup to voices. I think there's not a well developed 'music industry' in Djibouti and given the proximity to Somalia and Ethiopia it was difficult to find purely Djiboutian music.
September 22-26
This Week's Music Around the World-Traditional and Contemporary Music-Oman
Liwa Music and Dance (5:50) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l0kvHkHRJA) From the video description: Liwa has a history that dates back to the days when the East African traders came into the Arabian region and brought with them this dance form as well. Hence, one can find traces of African influence in this dance form. One can observe the various instrument used by the people for this dance form - a Mizmar(a flute-like instrument, with a wide-open mouth) and 3 kinds of drums - the Jabwah, Shindo, and Jasser.
Galfat Shobani-Fanun Al Bahr Music (Sea Music) (6:08) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXPgcu0kdMI) From the video description: Instruments used here are the small drum kaser, the large drum rahmani and msindo, the s’hal (small cymbals), the tassa (small tin drum played with sticks), and the mismar (Scottish bagpipe). The singers / dancers / actors, a group of seventeen men, are all sons of sailors, who once worked on these ships. The bandleader is Nabhan Subait Khamis Al-Aloui, a son of the master craftsman and musician Subait Khamis Faraj Al-Aloui.
Al-Bar'ah Music (6:30) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87h_TNLHRGY) From the video description: UNESCO: Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity - 2010Description: Al-Bar'ah is a Bedouin musical tradition from the Dhofar mountains in southern Oman. It takes the form of a warlike dance performed to drums and the chanting of poetry in a local tribal dialect. Al-Bar'ah is performed in a half circle formed by ten to thirty men and women. As they chant and clap, two male dancers holding ''khanjars'' (daggers) perform codified dance movements, brandishing their daggers above shoulder level. The dancers' steps are uncomplicated, but coordination with other performers and the music requires considerable skill. Each tribe has its own characteristic form of al-Bar'ah, possessing different drum rhythms and dance movements. The musical accompaniment is provided by the ''al-kasir, al-rahmâni'' and ''ad-daff ''drums and ''al-qassaba'' flute. The dance is performed outdoors, on occasions such as weddings, circumcisions and religious feasts. As for other Omani Bedouin dances, class and other distinctions are erased, as tribal leaders perform alongside the most humble of the population. The tradition represents the chivalric spirit, strength, courage, generosity and hospitality associated with Bedouins. The dance also emphasizes poetic themes of love and flirtation. Al-Bar'ah has many practitioners from Dhofar, who contribute to maintaining and transmitting its poetic variety and practice.
The Omaniyat Band (1:13)(edited from film found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD1fzVaZHvs&t=1377s) Often when I go to Arabic countries the music is just made, played and danced by males. In the Wiki article there was mention of Oman being more participatory for women, children, etc. but I didn't find women in the online music videos. I did find this piece on a ground-breaking women's musical group in Oman done by Al-Jazeera. I think there's still work to do as I could not find other videos online by the group. "The Omaniyat Band, however, gets to play for a large audience at the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman. They’re all graduates of Sultan Qaboos University’s music department, although they too have faced challenges along the way. In some small towns in Oman, it’s still socially unacceptable to be a female musician. These women are all challenging gender stereotypes and bringing about change in societies where attitudes have often been slow to modernise."