I
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Artist(s): Various
Compilation Title: Slavs Part 1
Record Label: Scythian Horn (Russia)
Released: 2009
Received from:
Cultural fund Scythian Horn
Torbjørn Sandvik, of Norwegian folk metal band Glittertind, wrote in the
liner notes of their album Landkjenning: "folk music, and its
contemporary expressions through musicians like ourselves, is first and
foremost life-affirming, inspirited and uniting..." That is a quote to which
I keep returning when I listen to Slavs Part 1, a terrific compilation CD of
various Slavic folk bands and ensembles. 20 great songs are packed into a
76-minute runtime, and within those 20 songs are many different styles and
from many different countries. Admittedly, I am not as well-versed in Slavic
folk music as I wish I were, so this CD has served as a wonderful
introduction to the rich variety of music that exists in the area covered by
this compilation, though obviously it only scratches the surface of what one
might find there.
There are 13 different bands and ensembles represented here, and attempting
to review this CD thoroughly would require looking at each of these artists
individually. I'll do my best. The CD begins with a rather modern-sounding
piece by Afion, a five-piece Croatian band who seems to be influenced by
folk rock (as they are one of the few bands on the CD that uses a modern
drum kit). Then things take a turn with the more traditional-sounding Runo
(of Serbia), which uses what strikes me as a more "folk-style" singing and
traditional string, wind, and percussion instruments.
Next, Slovak children's folklore group Kornička performs a lovely medley of
Christmas carols. The next two songs are by another Slovak group, Muzička,
and the interesting thing about these two songs is that they don't sound
like they came from the same group, as the first piece is entirely a capella,
with female vocals, while the second song has a male vocalist and a full
string section (in fact, it appears that the only instruments used by
Muzička are violins, violas, and bass). I really enjoyed the voice of the
male vocalist on this second song, "Pomali ovecki." Not knowing the Slovak
language, I don't know what the vocalist is singing, but the beginning of
the piece sounds rather thoughtful or somber, but after about
three-and-a-half minutes the pace quickens, additional male voices are
added, and the mood seems to change to something more celebratory. This is
probably my favorite piece of music on the CD, though it's closely matched
by the first piece of the next group, a Macedonian band called Monistra. The
female vocalist on "Filizo mome," Gabriela Janusevska, has a voice that is
absolutely enchanting. She has terrific range and control, and what struck
me as a strong Middle Eastern sound in her voice. That strong Middle Eastern
sound (for lack of a better description on my part) can be heard in all the
contributions by the Macedonian bands on this compilation. The second song
by Monistra is entirely instrumental, and there's some nice hand percussion
and a very well-played stringed instrument that I can't identify. This
second piece is nothing short of exhilarating.
Tracks 8 and 9 are two short pieces by Trio Tzane, which is made up of three
female vocalists, one from Bulgaria, one from Greece, and one from Turkey.
Their only instrumental accompaniment appears to be a sort of tambourine,
but they have very unique and interesting voices. The next group, the only
one with which I was familiar before I received this compilation, is the
wonderful Vedan Kolod of Russia. Their contribution, "U nas nyne," was also
featured on the first Scythian Horn compilation, Ritual, but it's
such a good piece of music that I didn't mind hearing it again on this CD.
Vedan Kolod is one of the groups on this compilation that don't seem to be
at all influenced by modern forms of music. They use all ancient
instruments, and one can certainly imagine their style of music existing in
the same form hundreds of years ago or even older, somehow captured on
modern recording equipment. The blending of the female vocals on this track
is beautiful.
Russia is also represented by Skomoroshia sloboda, which is a young folklore
ensemble from the city of Sergiev Posad. This is another a capella piece,
which seems to be comprised entirely of female vocals, singing in a style
that I have encountered often in my very limited exposure to traditional
Russian music. Tracks 12 and 13 are by Collegium Fiddle Dolce, from the
Czech Republic, and I must say that I love these two songs. I don't know if
Collegium Fiddle Dolce has any full-length CD's of their own, but if so, I
would like to find one. There's a very "happy" vibe to these two tracks that
always brings a smile to my face. Some may describe their style as "quaint,"
and it may not appeal to all listeners, but I come back to their tracks
often.
Tracks 14 and 15 are instrumental pieces (for the most part) by Makedonka,
another Macedonian ensemble. Like Monistra, Makedonka gives my mind a strong
Middle Eastern imagery when I listen to them. According to Scythian Horn's
website, Makedonka consists of more than 250 members across their various
groups (which include folk dance groups, folk singers, and orchestra). It's
a shame that these types of groups don't make it over to the North America
more often, because I would love to hear this type of music in a live
setting.
The next band featured, Svjata Vatra, is quite unique to my ears. They are
an Estonian-Ukrainian folk band that sounds like nothing else I've ever
heard. Their first track on the CD, "Kalyna," has some great accordion and
Estonian bagpipes, while the second song, "Verhovyna," has what sounds to me
like a... trumpet or trombone? Playing a Ukrainian folk melody? Svjata Vatra
is what I can only describe as "quirky," but I would imagine that they would
be very fun to see in concert.
Svjata Vatra is followed by Slovak mixed-voice choir Tirnavia, performing
what, to my ears, sounds like a Christmas carol, and things get interesting
towards the middle of the track when the singing turns to chanting,
handclaps, and the stomping of feet, before returning to singing and then,
finally, back to clapping and the stomping of feet. Next is Tundri, a World
Music Orchestra from Serbia. This mostly-instrumental piece (though a choir
of voices singing what appears to be wordless vocals appears throughout) has
a strong jazz and rock influence and mostly modern instruments.
The CD reaches its end with a second piece from Afion, the Croatian band
that also contributed the first song of the compilation. This last song, "Dizala
skuto," is quite lovely, with hand percussion, handclaps, well-played
stringed instruments, and beautifully harmonized male and female vocals, and
it brings more smiles to my face to close out a great musical journey. This
final song is so good that my first impulse once I reach the end of the CD
is to start again with track 1.
Slavs Part 1 is a wonderful CD that exposed me to a lot of great music from
countries with which I'm not very familiar, and it caused me to want to
learn and hear more of what these nations have to offer musically, which is
probably the intention behind the compiling of this CD. I'm looking forward
to the release of Slavs Part 2, hopefully this year, but, in the meantime,
Part 1 is a CD I will listen to again and again. It is one I would
definitely recommend for those who, like me, are new to Slavic folk music in
its various forms and would like to hear from many talented artists and
ensembles whose recordings are very difficult to find. Because this review
blog is mainly about pagan and folk metal, I would like to add that many
fans of Slavic folk metal who are interested in exploring beyond metal will
find much to enjoy in this compilation, as I have.
II
World Music Album Reviews
Scythian Horn - The Slavs Part 1
Scythian Horn - The Slavs Part 1The Slavs Part 1 is another great
compilation album put together by the cultural fund, Scythian Horn, a
Siberian CD label showcasing bands from Eastern Europe and Slavonic areas.
This compilation features bands from a range of countries such as Tundri (Serbia),
Trio Tzane (Bulgaria), Skomoroshia sloboda (Russia), Muzička (Slovakia) and
Monistra (Macedonia) amongst others.
The music is quite varied in style and texture as you would expect from such
an album - but the shared lineage is definitely aparent in the music.
After an ethereal start to the album with Dej mi, Bože by Croatian band
Afion the tempo goes up a notch with the mediaeval sounding Ajd polazi momo
by the Serbian group Runo.
I really enjoyed the intense acapella harmonies of Co som ti urobila sung by
Slovakian ensemble Muzička and also those of the Bulgarian Trio Tzane who
contributed 2 tracks each. Russian group Skomoroshia sloboda also contribute
an acapella piece called Blagoslovi, mat.
It wasn't until I heard The Mysterious Voices of Bulgaria a few years ago
that I actually began to appreciate acapella singing - and I've been hooked
on it ever since - particularly Bulgarian music.
The tracks from Czech Republic sound a little out of place amongst the other
tracks - whereas all the other tracks have a dark overtone, the Czech pieces
are spritely pieces in a major key.
Another favorite of mine from the album is a famous dance set from Osogovka
in 11/8. It features Gaida (bagpipes) and Tapan (drum) and has an infectious
rhythm - short, short, long, short, short.
Ukranian band Svjata Vatra's piece Kalyna is very catchy and reminds me of a
cross between Romani songs and French music while Slovakian band Tirnavia
start with a gorgeous acapella piece which turns into rhythmic stomping and
clapping - it would go down really well at a live performance.
It's hard to classify an album like this - they're not trying to create a "best
of" series - Scythian Horn is showcasing some great artists who may not be
known outside their own country - I certainly hadn't heard of any of these
groups.
The Slavs Part 1 is a great introduction to the music from these areas
without being too heavy going for newcomers and with enough variation to
keep aficionados happy with music from bands they may not have encountered
before.
I look forward to seeing more of the Scythian Horn compilations as they're
doing a great service to the music world.
III
Time: (76:04)
La letteratura narrativa del '900 più volte ha viaggiato verso est, a bordo
d'itineranti treni densi di fascino. Dall'Orient-Express al Trans-Siberian:
in questi viaggi, insieme al narratore, anche noi sulle nostre comode
poltrone potevamo incontrare popoli a pochi passi dai nostri confini, ma
così lontani nell'immaginario. Popoli agli antipodi dell'Europa anche tra
loro, dal sud-ovest bulgaro al diagonale siberiano, tra steppe, deserti,
catene montuose, ma soprattutto popoli. Etnie multiculturali anche sotto
l'egida 'falce-martello', ma con un sentimento genetico comune: l'essere
slavi. Ora insieme alla rumena Scythian Horn possiamo viaggiare tra i suoni
di questi Paesi: tale etichetta (o meglio, centro multiculturale per la
divulgazione della cultura musicale slava) ha legato tra loro le molte
sapienze musicali di un universo per noi fascinoso e conosciuto almeno in
parte tra certe release della Prikosnovénie, le depressioni sinfoniche di
Romowe Rikoito, le industriali rivendicazioni dei Laibach e persino Les
Mystère Dex Voix Bulgares, proposte così tanti anni fa da Ivo Watts nella
sua 4AD, o ancora, sempre parlando di bulgari, le misteriose contaminazioni
etno-gotiche di Irfan e Svarrogh. Non molto di più, eppure l'est dell'Europa
è un patrimonio soprattutto nella consapevolezza che, al di là di confini e
governi, l'identità slava lega tra loro milioni di persone e, caduta la
cortina di silenzio e plagio, questo antico sapere canoro e strumentale,
pagano e tradizionale, emerge dalla Storia in tanti fermenti che nella loro
tradizione creano un futuro nuovo ma legato alle radici d'appartenenza. Una
lezione che dovremmo apprendere pure noi che viviamo nel caotico ovest
comunitario, fallito proprio nel non voler cercare il catalizzatore negli
antichi geni culturali che ci accomunano. Un viaggio stupendo nelle venti
tracce che i molti progetti del sampler ci offrono, aprendo i loro confini
tra canti, danze, cori e dolori, tra rituali legati alla Terra e matrimoni
cantati per e dal popolo. Subito l'apertura si concede familiare nel ricordo
di due act che noi amiamo: Afion con "Dei Mi, Bože", ballad croata che ha lo
stile doloroso di Flëur e Caprice nel suo folk neoclassico. Le voci
malinconiche struggono tra flauto e chitarra, e quando la sei corde è
arpeggiata veloce a mò di balalaika... beh, ascoltate attentamente questo
brano. Slovacchia per il canto corale di bimbi: "Mass Carols" del gruppo
Korniča è come un nordico coro natalizio, lontano dal presepe ma festoso
nell'onorare l'albero pagano ricco di gioia e doni. Sempre Slovacchia per
l'ensemble Muzička con il brano "Čo Som Ti Urobila", in cui la polifonia 'a
cappella' è dapprima diatonica nel gioco dualistico di voci di donna acuto e
mezzosopranile, per poi svelarsi nella sua veste totalmente polifonica. Un
viaggio che lentamente arriva a quei suoni che noi conosciamo grazie agli
Irfan: così la macedone "Flizo Mome" di Monistra, tra flauto e bodhran, ci
avvicina alle magie quasi mistiche dei cancelli verso il Medio Oriente. Non
si nega nemmeno il momento dedicato alle voci bulgare, con i classici,
arcaici moduli vocali femminili: "Iana Ofchar Lagala" è arte suprema per il
Trio Tzane, e nella sua doppia voce rende protagonista la donna in un mondo
che in lei assapora l'eredità della Dea Madre e la custodia della tradizione
popolare. Aggiungete flauto e piccoli cembali ed ecco la Russia dei Vedan
Kolod: "U Nas Nyne" raffigura una Russia spostata nei suoni sui confini
balcanici. Il viaggio continua, e nelle ultime tappe si vivacizza con quelle
atmosfere tra bazar, gruppi zingari, fanfare carpatiche e popolari; in più
tracce cornamusa di tipo slav bagpipe, fisarmonica, violini e voci maschie e
mediorientali creano cori o danze vorticose, a volte sommesse. Viaggi che
abbiamo già percorso insieme alla filmografia del maestro Bregovic o alle
fanfare dell'Est (a tal proposito, scoprite l'ensemble rumeno Fanfare
Ciocarlia). Quando la cultura Rom è onesta e artistica non fa paura, ed è
bello scoprirla ed apprezzarla: per noi la musica è legame umano, non
barriera ideologica. Il viaggio è compiuto: Scythian Horn per oltre un'ora e
un quarto ci ha condotto nelle Terre in cui uomini hanno sofferto, lottato e
creduto, ed anche quando, disillusi dai giochi umani, rialzano la testa, lo
fanno con quell'orgoglio di essere Slavi che per loro è fondamentale. A noi
che resta? Il fascino che da sempre ci avvicina a questo universo lontano
dietro l'angolo della nostra Europa in declino.
Nicola Tenani, Dark Folk Magazine (Italy)"
