Traditional-classical music from Afghanistan, with Daud Khan | Deben Bhattacharya | The Afghan Ensemble.
1- The lack of recordings of Afghan music on the Western market does not detract from the fact that this tribute from maestro (ustad) DAUD KHAN to his homeland is an absolute masterpiece in itself. Afghan culture, and especially the country’s musical heritage, has been ravaged by civil and geopolitical wars for more than two decades and is at risk of complete destruction. This music, which branches into numerous genres from sung poetry (ghazals) to instrumental pieces to raga, is practiced mainly in urban areas and has historically had close ties with that of Pakistan and India. Many families of Afghan musicians are in fact related (either by marriage or through master-apprentice relationships) to Indian families, and the country’s music theory and terminology includes many Hindustani words such as raga and tala (the rhythmic cycle).
CD. Tribute to Afghanistan – Daud Khan.
LABEL: Felmay (2004), code: FY 8077. Video
2- Afghan nomad tribe dances, love songs, battle melodies… played on authentic instruments, such as ghichak (fiddle), zeir baghali (cup drum), surnai (scarf), dholak (double-headed drum), rabab (lute) and more. Afghan music and traditions – almost lost – are preserved in valuable field recordings made in Kabul in 1955 and 1970 by ethnomusicologist Deben Bhattacharya.
Deben Bhattacharya (1921–2001) was a Bengali radio producer, record producer, ethnomusicologist, anthropologist, documentary maker, photographer, translator, poet, writer, presenter, teacher and folk music consultant. He produced more than 100 records, 23 films and published more than a dozen books during his lifetime, and much of his work was carried out under the auspices of UNESCO.
CD. Inside Afghanistan : Recordings by Deben Bhattacharya.
LABEL: Arc music, code: EUCD 2486. Arc music (2002), code: EUCD 1722. Video
3- Traditional works refer to music that is likely composed collectively by a group of people, normally without formal music training, and passed down orally from one generation to the next. The exact origins of works considered ‘traditional’ are often unknown and are usually undocumented/unpublished in manuscripts/sheet music from the time of composition, which in turn is often not precisely known. This mainly concerns folk, ethnic, indigenous or indigenous music, such as folk songs and folk dances, which are also called ‘world music’.
CD. Songs from Afghanistan – The Afghan Ensemble.
LABEL: Arc music (2004), code: EUCD 1841. Video
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