Kristine Yang's MUH6515 World Music Blog

As part of my fieldwork presentation, I have been listening to recordings of the Oscuro Quintet, a tango ensemble that resides in Philadelphia. Along the way, I found some other recordings of tango music that I really enjoyed. One that I particularly enjoy is this arrangement of "La Cumparsita" performed by the Dali Quartet. This piece was originally composed by Uruguayan composer Gerardo Matos Rodriguez and was arranged for quartet by Javier Montiel. This string quartet performance features Luigi Mazzochi and Carlos Rubio on violin, Adriana Linares on viola, and Jesus Morales on cello.  Several arrangements of "La Cumparsita" already exist for various ensembles and playing levels which make this piece particularly accessible for students. According to Campbell (2004), re-creating music through performance is an excellent outcome of learning through listening, but creating music allows for an even deeper internalization of the sonic structures of a piece of ...

This week I will be comparing two videos as part of this week's theme of authenticity. Both recordings are a performance of the Chinese classical song Han Tien Lei (Thunder During Drought) composed by Yan Lao-Lie.  The first recording is an arrangement of the song for string quartet (2 violins, viola, and cello). This recording is performed by the Shanghai Women String Quartet.  The second recording is a performance by the Hanshin Chinese Folk and Dance Ensemble. This recording features traditional Chinese instruments such as the erhu, pipa, guzheng, dizu, and yangqin.  If we are to consider the second recording as the more "authentic" performance, several comments on authenticity can be made in comparing the two performances. Considering Palmer's definition of authenticity as a continuum (Koops, 2010), the string quartet performance cannot be absolutely authentic because the music was not originally written for that arrangement. However, it is not far off ...

This week, I am sharing a live performance of "Tahmila Suznak" by the Michigan Arab Orchestra Takht Ensemble. The ensemble performs classical and contemporary Arab music. Its members are Michael Ibrahum playing the nay (Arab reed flute), Nady Benyamine playing the violin, Nashwan Fadhel playing the oud (Arab lute), Victor Ghannam playing the qanun (Arab zither), Jonathan Hammonds playing the bass, Gurushuran Yash Singh Sandhu and Daniel Khouri playing percussion, and Usama Baalbaki and Asaad Sultan on voice. As I was listening to this piece, several musical elements caught my attention. I immediately noticed the ensemble sound created by the unique combination of instruments and the lively rhythm patterns. As I continued listening, I noticed that a major feature of the piece was the use of solo improvisations throughout the piece interspersed with call and response between the soloist and the ensemble and sections of full ensemble playing. Understanding the context of th...

This week, I am sharing "Vedic Chanting", performed by world renowned sitarist Ravi Shankar. The origin of the song is India. It features sitar, chanting voices, and flute. This piece is especially interesting to listen to when considering the theme of this week. In considering how classification systems are useful, both instrumental classification and time classification stand out as noteworthy in this piece. Instrumentally, using classifications that describe how the sounds are produced gives the listener a clear idea of how the piece might sound. According to Wade (2013), Indian instruments are classified based on whether the vibrating body is the instrument itself, a membrane, a string, or a column of air. These classifications inspired Victor Mahillon's system for classification in labeling instruments as idiophones, membranophones, chordophones, and aerophones. These classifications focus on the sound rather than other cultural significances of the instruments. ...

Hi everybody, For my first post, I am sharing a song titled "La Lluvia" which translates to "the rain". It is an example of music from the Andes and is performed by a group named Alpamayo, who performs and records music from Peru and Ecuador. In the recording, you hear a combination of instruments that create the unique sound of the piece. The percussion section establishes a lively rhythm pattern. This main instrument used is probably the cajon. It produces a strong beat, like a bass drum, but can also adjust its percussive timbre. String instruments such as the charango, the national instrument of Peru, and the violin are used. Wind instruments such as Peruvian panpipes and flutes play the main melody. Finally, vocals are heard on the recording through exclamation and trills. I really enjoyed this piece because of its joyous melodies and rhythms. For me, this piece was aesthetically pleasing because it sounded so happy. These are my perceptions as someone ...