Browse by Label: WORLD ARBITER

Artist:	VA
Title:	The Roots of Gamelan: The First Recordings
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WA 2001CD

Subtitled: Bali, 1928, New York, 1941. 1999 release, the first on this exceptional classical world music label. Recordings from Bali, 1928, reissued for the first time. These historic recordings were made as part of a collection of the first and only commercially-released recordings of Balinese music prior to World War II. This incredibly diverse sampling of Balinese new and older styles was released on 78 rpm discs that same year, with subsequent releases for international distribution in the following years. The discs were sold worldwide (or not sold, as it happened) and quickly went out-of-print. It was a crucial time in the island's musical history, as Bali was in the midst of an artistic revolution, with a new style of music, kebyar, sweeping the island. Gamelan groups were having their older ceremonial orchestras melted down and reforged in the new style. Intense competition between villages and regions was driving young composers to develop compositional ideas, innovations and impressive techniques. Gamelan is the general term for Bali's dozen or so instrumental music ensembles. The word is derived from gamel, to handle, and Balinese make a clear distinction between gamelan krawang, bronze instruments, and other kinds of ensembles utilizing bamboo. The distinctive features of Bali's major styles highlight shimmering resonances of gongs, knobbed gong-chimes, and metallophones (with bronze keys suspended over bamboo resonators), ranging four or five octaves, and differing from neighboring Java in their explosive sonorities and phrasings. Gamelan styles are associated with specific contexts of ceremonial, entertainment, or recreational activity. The unique collection of tuned gongs, gong-chimes and flat metallophones which we associate with the gamelan styles of Bali and Java, appears to have developed between the construction of the 9th century Buddhist temple Borobudur and the arrival of the first Dutch expedition in 1595. The end of the album features music by composer Colin McPhee, whose reinterpretive work is inspired by these early recordings, using piano and flute.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Dances and Trances: Sufi Rites and Berber Music
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WA 2002CD

...from Taroudannt, Morocco. 2000 release. Recordings from Taroudannt, Morocco, 1994-1995; a series of Moroccan Sufis practicing trance rites which outsiders are rarely able to witness. The city of Taroudannt, Morocco, is surrounded by perfectly-preserved red-ochre mud walls dating back, in part, to the 16th century Saadien dynasty, which chose Taroudannt as its capital before moving to the larger and more accessible Marrakesh. While the walls and their ramparts are impressive, the real attraction of Taroudannt lies in its purely Moroccan character, which has remained essentially unchanged for centuries. Situated in the Souss River valley and cut off by the snow-capped peaks of the Haut-Atlas mountains to the North, and the semi-desert Anti-Atlas range to the South, the French occupiers never created a modern ville-nouvelle here, with the typical unimaginative grid of streets one finds in many cities, large and small, throughout Morocco. The feeling of Taroudannt is timeless and traditional. A note about the recordings: the Guerreras and the Hadra were recorded with a hand-held stereo microphone, allowing free movement through the musicians and capturing the performances from a variety of vantage points. Sometimes particular instruments or voices were targeted, allowing the listener to hear the role they played. As a result, the sound is not static, the balance of elements shifting with the motion of the microphone. The performances were not the result of pre-arranged sessions. All were "encounters," recorded at public events held during the course of daily life in Morocco. Particularly in the large Guerrera, you will hear a throng of participants, surrounded by their expressions of enthusiasm and excitement, along with their casual socializing. Vocal drones, hypnotic percussion, chants, stringed instrumental accompaniment and winds, all captured live and in the moment for a sonic travelogue experience.

Artist:	PATHAK, PANDIT ASHOK
Title:	Ancient Court Raga Traditions
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WA 2003CD

Subtitled: The Pathak Gharana, Dhrupad Ragas On Surbahar. Performed by Pandit Ashok Pathak (surbahar). Ancient Court Raga Traditions is comprised of two long tracks: "Raga Malkauns" and "Raga Bagesri," recorded in 2000. Only part of India's noblest classical instrumental traditions have been adequately documented on recordings, beginning with sitarist Imdad Khan in 1905. With the compact disc, raga performances could expand from pioneering 4-minute excerpts on 78 rpm discs to span well beyond an hour on CD, allowing full development and style to unfold. One vital court style remains in a fragmentary way: the ancient art of dhrupad, characterized by slowly singing and playing, which favored the arrhythmic alap section, based on the ancient Vedic chant. Too few of these family-based traditions survived the ending of royal patronage. Amongst them are the Pathaks, representing a musical lineage through 5 generations of dhrupad singers, veena players and sitarists, with the current generation including a composer and tabla player. Balaram Pathak introduced the use of harmonics on sitar with meend, heard on his one CD. This unique practice has been further explored by (his son) Ashok, who uses it extensively, along with thematic playing on the sympathetic strings. Before beginning a raga, he dwells on these strings, at times playing two simultaneously, creating harmonies which he adopted after having heard it in pre-Renaissance Western music (in polyphonic works by Perotin, Josquin des Prez, etc.). The recording took place over two afternoons. Each raga was played through once and without any changes or edits, and the decision was made to play "Raga Malkauns" on the second afternoon. As Balaram Pathak recorded one short work on surbahar, these performances further reveal the rare court tradition Pandit Ashok represents, its continuation despite the odds of a diminishing public which prefers khyal, and the musical contributions made by the performer himself to further their lineage.

Artist:	KA PING, LO
Title:	Lost Sounds of the Tao: Chinese Masters of the Guqin
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WA 2004CD

2010 repress, 2002 release. Lo Ka Ping, guqin. recorded 1970, 1971. The guqin was Confucius' instrument, used by scholars and nobles for self-purification. Lo was a Taoist priest (1896-1980) who lived in the remote lands of the New Territories behind Hong Kong, recorded by a pupil in 1970. These rare archival tapes were assembled after an extensive hunt in Hong Kong, New York, California and Taiwan." From the liner notes: "A tape ready of four traditional pieces (Side I) and four original pieces (Side II) for ch'in, played by an old master who lives in a country home in the New Territories. There emerged a vibrant expressive art, its first impression the forthright spirituality of a Blind Willie Johnson (yes, some scales have the blue note intonation!) who made his Ming Dynasty qin state and moan out visions, as panoramas of ancient brush paintings danced before my eyes, attaining life in sound, all their varied densities in depicting nature now breathing amidst sonic rainbows unleashed through the qin's harmonics. The scratching of the silk strings as one changes the finger positions is referred to as the instrument's respiration. Lo's non-thematic use of the fundamental tones in the beginning of the first piece were akin to a veena beginning a raga, causing one to wonder if this manner had become embedded in his music from the early visits by Indian Buddhists, who had brought their own instruments to China. What so casually endows Lo's playing with profundity and depth is the philosophy behind the music, entering the sound through the Tao rather than displaying the fruits of a learned craft, for he was completely self-taught and thus freed from any burden of tradition. His performances, compared to most other players, brim with vitality and spirit, like found objects emerging forth into independent existences, unlike the imposed rhythmic regularity and extremely slow tempi the works are often given by scholars. Lo was alive until 1980 (age 84).

Artist:	DAVIS, REVEREND GARY
Title:	The Sun of Our Life (Solos, Songs, a Sermon 1955-1957)
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WA 2005CD

2002 release. This collection by legendary blues/ragtime guitarist Reverend Gary Davis (1896-1972) contains many otherwise unrecorded solos and a walloping sermon to boot, adding more flesh to his catalog of medicine show tunes, ballads, military marches, country instrumentals, ragtime piano, old church hymns, revival holler-ups, gospel songs, and more. Reverend Gary Davis profoundly influenced Blind Boy Fuller, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead (Bob Weir was his pupil), Jorma Kaukonene, Taj Mahal, and the entire folk scene of the 1960s. World Arbiter discovered professional tapes Davis made of works otherwise unrecorded, including a Sunday service during which he offered a fiery sermon. These unique documents, in excellent sound, capture a full cross-section of a remarkable musician who brought to culmination so many traditions. This is the most comprehensive cross-section of his artistry ever presented: blues, ragtime, gospel and more. Recorded 1955-1957; 78 minutes; extensive liner notes by World Arbiter's Allan Evans. "Davis' musical world parallels the richness of the nature, social milieus, characters and flow inhabiting Mark Twain, a sonic Huckleberry Finn, evoking deception, seduction, gamblers, dance halls, bordellos, cocaine, sexual repartee masked in double entendres, bucolic country pastimes, evangelism, self-realization, agonizing over one's fate, biblical themes, yearning for the divine presence, life's evanescence, timely events recast as morality plays, and so much more. His repertoire of over 300 compositions remains a marvel and historic repository, supported by a high musical level imparted to every work he performed, bearing an imprimatur of uniqueness and identity recreated on each occasion, a living expression outside any limits of time and style. Through uncanny rhythmic precision, sensitivity to nuance, an articulated tone both commanding and sensual, his voice roaring as an instrument, one sensed that each work was a fragment drawn from a larger constellation which he alone had access to and kindly offered." --Allan Evans

Artist:	DANCERS OF BALI
Title:	Gamelan of Peliatan, 1952
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WA 2007CD

2010 repress; originally released in 2006. Under the direction of Anak Agung Gede Mandera; Recorded in New York & London, 1952. The gamelan and dancers of Peliatan were the first to give an extensive foreign tour, demonstrating their revolutionary kebyar style. These performances are the first modern recordings made of a gamelan. Extensive liner notes by Edward Herbst, along with rare photos, document one of Bali's most significant ensembles. Remastered from the master tapes.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Lifting The Veil: The First Bluesmen
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WA 2008CD

Subtitled: Rev. Gary Davis & Peers. Another exceptional archival release from Allan Evans' World Arbiter label. After years of preparation, World Arbiter offers new vivid restorations of discs from Harry Smith's Archive. Pioneering legendary artists are heard in a variety of genres which were essential in creating the blues. The accompanying text contains selections from an astonishing discovery: an unknown 1951 oral history of Rev. Gary Davis, providing a candid, unparalleled insight into his life. Includes two previously-unpublished recordings (Rev. Gary Davis from 1956/1957 and Leadbelly from 1941), plus various obscure 78 tracks from Harry Smith's collection (all recorded circa 1926-1929). The liner notes also include an excerpt from an unknown, unpublished oral history of Davis compiled in 1951 by Elizabeth Lyttleton Harold, the wife of Alan Lomax. Other artists include Big Bill Broonzy, Leola B. Wilson, Buddy Boy Hawkins, William Moore, Gus Cannon and Blind Blake, Ramblin' Thomas, Charley Patton, Rube Lacy, and Edward Thompson.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Japanese Traditional Music: Gagaku, Buddhist Chant...
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WA 2009CD

...Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai, 1941. 2008 release. First in a series of 78 restorations, this one focuses on gagaku & Buddhist chant. Beautiful, lost-in-time recordings -- produced to perfection from one of the world's greats. An extensive anthology of traditional Japanese music was recorded around 1941-1942 by Kokusai Bunka Shink�-kai: International Organization for the Promotion of Culture. KBS was established under the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs in 1934 for cultural exchange between Japan and foreign countries. In 1972 it became the Japan Foundation, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. KBS activities ranged from lectures, concerts, artistic and academic exchange, publishing books, photos, to producing films and records, establishing libraries and related cultural facilities abroad, among them this record set of traditional Japanese music. Gagaku ("elegant music") is the oldest surviving musical tradition, with a history of more than 1,300 years. It has been developed and passed down, strongly associated with imperial court cultures. Gagaku in current practice may be divided into three categories, by origin and style; 1) indigenous vocal and dance repertoires, primarily performed in the Shinto ceremonies accompanied by several Japanese indigenous and foreign instruments; 2) foreign instrumental music and dances, t�gaku (music of Chinese origin) and komagaku (music of Korean origin) used in various court, Buddhist, and Shinto ceremonies, which consist of various instruments brought from the Asian continent; and 3) vocalized Japanese or Chinese poetry, saibara and r�ei established in 9th century Japan, mainly enjoyed by high-ranking noblemen in rather informal court ceremonies. In the words of World Arbiter's Allan Evans: "Current gagaku sounds brittle, easily cracked, very delicate. And in 1941 they used fewer performers but have a solidity, a weight. They were carrying on a tradition that was part of an immortal empire, a vision of permanence. Four years later it was over." In 1942, a set of sixty 78 rpm discs documenting the most authentic traditions in Japanese music was privately issued. Due to the war and neglect, few copies survive. This disc marks the beginning of its restoration.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Japanese Traditional Music: Noh, Biwa, Shakuhachi
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WA 2010CD

Subtitled: Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai, 1941. This second volume of the 1941 Kokusai Bunka Shink�-kai (KBS) recordings features Noh theater masters, many of whom had been trained by artists active before the Meiji (1868) period. An essay and texts in both English and Japanese with translation are included in the CD. Noh, a masked play, was established by the actor Kan'ami Kiyotsugu (1333-1384) and his son Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443) in medieval times. Based on various earlier forms such as sangaku (acrobat and juggling), dengaku (dance and play derived from rice festivals), and kusemai (dance), the noh created a far more highly artistic form of theater than ever before. Japanese biwa music is characterized by a narrative with biwa accompaniment. The instrument, born in ancient Persia and introduced into Japan around the 8th century as a component of the royal court's gagaku ensemble, is a four stringed lute plucked with a large plectrum. In the late 12th century, blind Buddhist priests developed a unique narrative style, using this instrument as an accompaniment. The shakuhachi is a vertical bamboo flute sharply edged in its flue. Its standard length is about 54 cm., but there are shorter or longer types than this standard. Shakuhachi was traditionally played by komus�, Fuke-sh� priests (a Zen Buddhist sect). The blowing of a shakuhachi (sui-Zen, literally "blowing Zen") was a komus�'s religious act equivalent to chanting a sutra.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Bali 1928: Gamelan Gong Kebyar
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WA 2011CD

Subtitled: Belaluan, Pangkung, Busungbiu. World Arbiter presents historic gamelan recordings made in 1928 as part of a collection of the first and only commercially-released recordings of music made in Bali prior to World War II, the first ever to document pre-War genres. The compositions heard on volume 1 are untraditional, avant-garde experiments that later evolved into familiar forms, new music captured close to the time of its inception. After five years of research and field work, Edward Herbst offers analytical notes and a glossary (PDF files) along with 1930s silent films shot in Bali by Rolf de Mar� (MPEG-4). World Arbiter's multi-media format disc requires a computer to read PDF files and to view the films. The music is playable on standard audio equipment. Includes a 16-page booklet with notes and historic photos.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Japanese Traditional Music: Koto - Shamisen
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.50
Catalog #:	WA 2012CD

...Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai 1941. The World Arbiter label presents 1941 recordings of the Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai -- masters of the koto and shamisen, heard with excerpts from theater and songs performed by many artists born in the Meiji period. They represent the earliest examples of ancient classical traditions. In the late 1930s, Japanese musicologists and experts completed years of work on a project to record their country's musical cultures, starting with ritualized shamanic traditions of the palace's gagaku, Buddhist chant, Noh theater, blind lute (biwa) players chanting medieval epics, a body of koto music, shamisens of kabuki dances, folk songs of workers, artisans, farmers, and children's songs. Five volumes, each with 12 78 rpm discs, comprised the leading performers of the time, many born into a Japan that newly opened to the West in 1868, taught by masters of an earlier isolated Japan. These recordings were meant to be given only to educational institutions and not sold. Right before starting their distribution, war broke out in 1941. Beate Sirota Gordon, age 22, accompanied the U.S. Army to Japan in 1946. She had grown up in Tokyo with her parents, Russian pianists whose pupils included Yoko Ono and her father. Beate secretly wrote a pioneering section on women's rights in Japan's post-war Constitution. During her mission, Donald Ritchie, a noted film historian, discovered a set of these recordings and gave them to her. Gordon presented them to Arbiter in the late 1990s. Aside from her copy, only one other complete set is known to have survived the war in Japan, as they were possibly destroyed in a warehouse bombing. The people of post-war Japan and the rest of the world now have the chance to hear these lost recordings of Japan's broad cultural legacy. On these recordings, one is struck by a sense of eternity belonging to a culture living in a mind-set of immortality and permanence, an ease buoying virtuosity and intricate musical forms, revealing a gripping authenticity that later performers hint at. This third of five discs contains significant examples of the koto and shamisen literature, dances from Kabuki and puppet theater traditions, many originating in the 1700s. Full descriptions are included in a lengthy booklet, while complete translations are on Arbiter's web site. Arbiter loves Japan and its arts, and is honored to revive lost master performers.

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Artist:	JEFFERSON, BLIND LEMON
Title:	Long Lonesome Blues: Lemon's Texts Revealed
Label:	WORLD ARBITER
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WA 2006CD