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Browse by Label: WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Artist:
MONK, MEREDITH
Title:
Songs From The Hill/Tablet
Label:
WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Format:
CD
Price:
$22.00
Catalog #:
SM 1022-50CD
Recordings from '76/77. "Songs..." is a suite of solo voice pieces, showcasing her various extended techniques. Some excellent experimental vocals, some a bit too whimsical perhaps. "Tablet" is a 23 minute ensemble work for 4 female voices, piano & soprano recorder.
Artist:
MONK, MEREDITH
Title:
Our Lady Of Late
Label:
WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Format:
CD
Price:
$22.00
Catalog #:
SM 1058-50CD
Fantastic and largely forgotten work of hypnotic music for voice and glass, recorded in 1973. "'Our Lady Of Late' begins with Collin Walcott playing a rhythmic, tapping introduction to the commonplace object -- a goblet of water -- that will provide the backbone of the work. The suite then opens with one of the most transfixing sections. Monk coaxes a ringing vibration from the water glass by rubbing a finger along its rim, as she will do throughout the piece. Then she matches the tone with her voice, joining its timbre and texture to that of the droning crystal. The contrast and kinship of the two sounds -- one living and organic, the other fixed and implacable -- are equally striking. They become more vivid as Monk tests here own harmonic flexibility against the goblets unchanging ring, playing a subtle game of semitones and overtones... She swoops and soars, skyrockets and nosedives, passes from guttural stops and strangled screeches to lyrical glissandos and the keening ululations of a lullaby... it's hard to encounter the purity and single-mindedness of this piece without thinking of the vibrant 'minimalist' style of composition...[it] recalls the drone of Indian music and the overtonal experiments of composers as different as La Monte Young and Alvin Lucier." --David Sterrit.
Artist:
VA
Title:
Global Accordion: Early Recordings 1927-1948
Label:
WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Format:
CD
Price:
$22.00
Catalog #:
SM 1623
"Companion piece to the book
Das Akkordeon
(Christoph Wagner, ISBN 3-7957-2361-2), an eye-opening selection of recordings made between 1927 and 1948 (transcribed off of (mono) 78rpm discs) spotlighting the trans-portability and natural blending characteristics of 'that damn squeeze box' as applied in folk music contexts the world over (France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Poland, South & West Africa, Turkey, Ireland, Russia, Dominica, Madagascar, Italy, Brazil, Canada, USA, and Puerto Rico). Mostly unknown practitioners (aside from the monstrous Huddie Ledbetter, well worthy of deeper investigation), many surprising discoveries (esp: Martin Cayla & Adrian Bras, Luiz Gonzaga, Jonas Mate & Kleinbool Motaung), many polkas & waltzes, much virtuosity and tomfoolery aside. Overall consistent fidelity (ripe with crisps, phone-band narrow throughout) makes such cultural tourism an easy & painless jaunt. Liners in matching German and English trace the instrument from it's upper-middle class beginnings through it's acceptance as a 'voice of the people'. Thorough, albeit whiny." -- Hrvatski.
Artist:
VA
Title:
Echoes Of Africa Early Recordings
Label:
WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Format:
CD
Price:
$22.00
Catalog #:
SM 1624
"A stunning voyage back to the early days of the African record industry. Concertina bands and doo-wop singers from South Africa, accordion groups from Kenya, West African brass bands, unaccompanied vocal and drum ensembles from Nigeria and Tanzania, plus bands from East Africa with their Arabic influences. The huge variety of early African pop and traditional styles is revealed. A musical treasure-trove. Authoritative sleeve-notes and some brilliant authentic photographs complete the package."
Artist:
VA
Title:
Patchwork Europe: Early Recordings
Label:
WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Format:
CD
Price:
$22.00
Catalog #:
SM 1626
Part of Wergo's "Echos of World Culture" series (previous volumes were
Global Accordion
&
Echos of Africa
). "Europe is not one sound but many.
Patchwork Europe
presents the traditional music of the old continent in all its diversity: from Ireland to Mallorca, from Sicily to Norway and from Portugal to Russia. From these 26 rare, historic pieces, recorded between 1911 and 1954, a tremendous polyphony unfolds -- a wonderful musical patchwork of styles and traditions."
Artist:
VA
Title:
Music! 100 Recordings/100 Years Of the Berlin Phonogramm-Arc
Label:
WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Format:
4CD
Price:
$88.00
Catalog #:
SM 1701
5 hours of music (over 4 CDs) from the Berlin Phonogramm Archiv, recorded over the 100 year period of 1900 to 2000! Packaged with an intense 284 page booklet of detailed notes and historical information/photos (English language). First CD features Wax Cylinder Recordings (actually dating back to 1893, thru 1954); 2nd CD features Monophonic Tape Recordings (1951 thru 1974); 3rd CD features Stereophonic Field Tape Recordings (1967 thru 2000); 4th CD features Stereophonic Concert Tape Recordings (1973 thru 2000). Recordings from all 5 continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, Americas and Oceania) are featured throughout. Javanese Gamelan from 1923, Uzbekian fiddle dance from 1905, Japanese Folk from 1911, Vessel flute music from the Congo in 1906, a Sorbian spinning room song from Germany in 1907, a Jew's Harp piece from New Guinea in 1958, a boat song from Uganda in 1970 -- just a few small examples of the 100 tracks found on this impressive compilation. Over a hundred years ago, the Berlin Phonogramm Archiv was established in order to attempt to 'draw a musical map of the world'. With over a 150,000 recordings in the archive's collection, this sampling is a most interesting overview of mankind's possibilities for musical expression.
Artist:
MINGYUE, LIANG
Title:
Yangguan San Die
Label:
WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Format:
CD
Price:
$22.00
Catalog #:
SM 1706
"The chordophone instrument qin occupies a principal position in classical Chinese music. Not only does it express the essential views and the cultivation of Chinese music, but it is also firmly rooted in the traditional philosophical worldview of ancient China. The booklet is extensive and richly illustrated."
Artist:
VA
Title:
Nyabole - Music of the Hamar
Label:
WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Format:
CD
Price:
$22.00
Catalog #:
SM 1707
Reissue of an 1978 LP of Ethiopian music, recorded 1970-76. Beautifully packaged in slipcase, with 92 page booklet (in German/English). "The men of the Hamar, a south Ethiopian people, still tell of the great deeds of their ancestors from whom they have inherited their heroic will and strong personality. The music of the Hamar is varied: the word painting of the mouth bow, the sound of the flute, the interplay of voice and lyre stand alongside running songs, leaping dances and war songs. Mythical traditions indicate that they originated as immigrants from northern, eastern and western tribes, but we do not know when they developed their distinctive cultural features. At the time when the recordings for this album were made (1970-76), only two rough dirt tracks crossed the area, one from north to south and one from east to west."
Artist:
VA
Title:
Waza: Music of the Berta from the Blue Nile
Label:
WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Format:
CD
Price:
$22.00
Catalog #:
SM 1708
"The music of the waza trumpet groups is considered the most important instrumental music of the Berta, who have been living in the border region, of Sudan and Ethiopia since the 19th century. A full ensemble consists of ten to twelve monotone instruments between 50 and 180 centimeters long and the wood blocks called bali. The performances usually take place after sunset and are a major event for the inhabitants of a village. Before the pieces begin, a woman sings a song which is then performed instrumentally." Slip-case packaging, with 76-page booklet.
Artist:
MAHADEVA, SAMBHO
Title:
O Great God Sambhu
Label:
WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Format:
2CD
Price:
$38.00
Catalog #:
SM 1709
Latest volume in this incredible series of archival world music releases. "
0, Great God Sambhu
is the latest release in Wergo's Museum Collection Berlin series. The album features the South Indian vina (lute), one of the most important instruments in Carnatic music, as played by Rajeswari Padmanabhan and Karaikudi Sambasivayer Subramaniam, with percussion accompaniment by Tanjore Upendram on the mrdangam. These studio and concert recordings were made in Berlin in 1975. As is the norm in this series, the booklet (128 pages German/English) is incredibly detailed and informative."
Artist:
VA
Title:
Mvet ai Mendzang
Label:
WERGO/SPECTRUM (GERMANY)
Format:
CD
Price:
$22.00
Catalog #:
SM 1711
"
Mvet ai Mendzang
continues the series Museum Collection Berlin which Wergo produces in cooperation with the Berlin Phonogram Archives. It is a fascinating documentation of the music of the Beti in southern Cameroon, a collector's item for lovers and experts of the traditional music. The
mvet
(a zither with notched bridge) and the
mendzang
(xylophone) are the most important musical instruments of the Beti of southern Cameroon. Traditional epic ballads and love songs are accompanied by the zither. The xylophone is played in groups in general on public and festive occasions. These recordings were made in 1984 in Cameroon (near the capital Yaounde and also in the southern part of the country) and in 1989 in Berlin with the group Mendzang M'ekum Adjap."
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