Thread: Asian classical music

I have been trying to read some history of Asian classical music. "Trying" because all I have found so far is a summary. I'll find more. Meanwhile, can anyone recommend a few good CDs with Asian classical music - Byzantium, India, China, Middle East, Persia, Greece (taken from this outline and not, I know, complete). In fact, I saw a comment on one web page that said there is no such thing as classical music in Japan. Now, knowing the definition of "classical".......?

Thank you for some ideas.

Nonesuch Explorer series has an album of Javanese Gamelan called Bali: Music from the Morning of the World; and another called Iran that is of Persian classical music. They're both interesting. The other albums in that series might interest you as well, but I haven't heard them.

For Byzantium, Marie Keyrouz has an album called Chant Byzantin that is really beautiful. She also has albums on Maronite Chant and so on.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has made a number of CDs of Pakistani Sufi music; I've heard one, and it's nice. I've also heard The Rough Guide to Sufi Music, which includes stuff from North Africa as well as Asia, but that was a good CD and the best of the Rough Guides that I've heard.

I have about 5 cds of traditional Korean music, but I don't recommend any of them without qualifications: I find them very boring. Buddhist chant in Korean-Chinese (basically a different dialect of Chinese) is pretty monotonous; the Kut music is too, but it does have some similarities to the Gamelan music (lots of percussion).

Thank you, Science. I'll take the list with me when I go shopping.

Yo Yo Ma has a group of Asia eccletic musicians, some Persian music + chinese, the CD is called "Silk Road Project" if I am not wrong.

Originally Posted by jurianbai

Yo Yo Ma has a group of Asia eccletic musicians, some Persian music + chinese, the CD is called "Silk Road Project" if I am not wrong.

Maybe I should listen. I have only heard one Yo Yo Ma performance and, I must admit, was not impressed. I know. That puts me somewhere at the bottom of the class because almost everyone seems enthused by his music.

I shared this in another thread:

http://www.medieval.org/music/world.html

Originally Posted by Hazel

In fact, I saw a comment on one web page that said there is no such thing as classical music in Japan.

Gagaku is normally accepted as the classical music of Japan as that is what was performed at the Imperial courts. You could also put in the the music that is part of the Noh, Kabuki and Bunraku traditions in the classical category.

I second Science's recommendations of the Nonesuch Explorer Series. They are pretty well recorded for the time and the booklets are full of information. CMP also has a few good gamelan CD's.

Indian classical music is a very deep subject to cover in one post and a lot of it depends on what instruments you prefer. You can't really go wrong with the big names like Ravi Shankar, Ali Akhbar Khan, Shivkumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia or Asad Ali Khan. If you like violin, try Ganesh & Kumaresh:



For some good oud playing check out Hosam Hayek's new CD.

Originally Posted by Argus

Gagaku is normally accepted as the classical music of Japan as that is what was performed at the Imperial courts. You could also put in the the music that is part of the Noh, Kabuki and Bunraku traditions in the classical category.

I second Science's recommendations of the Nonesuch Explorer Series. They are pretty well recorded for the time and the booklets are full of information. CMP also has a few good gamelan CD's.

Indian classical music is a very deep subject to cover in one post and a lot of it depends on what instruments you prefer. You can't really go wrong with the big names like Ravi Shankar, Ali Akhbar Khan, Shivkumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia or Asad Ali Khan. If you like violin, try Ganesh & Kumaresh:



For some good oud playing check out Hosam Hayek's new CD.

Thank you. Be back in a bit. Phone man coming to do war with me. :-)

I tried to post a link before but I kept getting a "moderated" message.

You'll find it by using Google to search for "traditional world music recordings" It's a page from the Medieval Org site.

Originally Posted by Ralfy

I tried to post a link before but I kept getting a "moderated" message.

You'll find it by using Google to search for "traditional world music recordings" It's a page from the Medieval Org site.

Thank you. I was just at B&N and ordered two. It surely is hard to get exactly what you want at B&N. But, I think we came close.

For indian classical, there is TERAYBYTES of audio/video/notations on the web for free. shivkumar.org requires no registration, sangeethamshare.org does (but it's hundreds of gigs worth of audio and video of full concerts. you can sort by song form, instrument, tradition, etc). Nothing like filling up your hard drive with 30+ carnatic saxophone2-3 hour long concerts! tons of clarinet, violin, vocal, sarod, sitar, and other instruments too. I'mma have to save up a good hundred bucks and get me one of them there 1 TB hard drives from newegg or something, I have less than a gig left lol.

Originally Posted by chee_zee

For indian classical, there is TERAYBYTES of audio/video/notations on the web for free. shivkumar.org requires no registration, sangeethamshare.org does (but it's hundreds of gigs worth of audio and video of full concerts. you can sort by song form, instrument, tradition, etc). Nothing like filling up your hard drive with 30+ carnatic saxophone2-3 hour long concerts! tons of clarinet, violin, vocal, sarod, sitar, and other instruments too. I'mma have to save up a good hundred bucks and get me one of them there 1 TB hard drives from newegg or something, I have less than a gig left lol.

Thank you much.