music of the world n o p q r

on the downhill run with this little exercise
transcribing 50 rhythms of the world from songlines magazine july/august 2006 edition
tending to the tedious typing the text
but at the same time learning more about the diversity of the music in our world
songlines ran a competition in conjunction with the article to answer a simple question
and go in the draw for a prize of every cd mentioned in the article
now that would have been a shortcut to getting hold of all the music they have mentioned
as it seems some/most of the cd's they mention are just no longer available
at the end of this exercise i shall provide a link to all those albums

nongak (korea)

nongak is the energetic drum-led farmers music of korea
which is linked to shamanic ceremonies and traditionally played at celebrations and harvest
it's been transformed into an exhilarating performance art by kim duk soo
the four percussion instruments involved are -
the changgo (hourglass drum) puk (barrel drum) and a small and large gong
while playing the musicians do acrobatic dancing and spin ribbons on their hats

songlines recommends drums and voices of korea by samul nori
esne notes the deliberate reference to simply korea and not the politically divided country

polska (sweden)

not to be confused with polka - a fast duple-beat dance from bohemia
the polska is a slow lop-sided waltz from sweden
which can be tricky for newcomers to get their feet around
rather than accenting the first beat as in a waltz
the polska accents beats one and three
once you've fallen under it's spell it's quirky magic
is powerful both in concert and on the dance floor

songlines recommends sluring by frifot
esne notes this seems more a dance than music lesson but we'll go with it

raqs sharki (middle east)

literally eastern dance but better known as belly dance
raqs sharki uses a whole range of rhythms from around the middle east
as a backdrop to the sensuous flowing movements of the performers
the mood of the dance is wholly dictated by these beats
from the most basic maqsoum rhythm with it's immediately recognisable pattern
dum-tak tak-dum tak
to the rolling and subtle turkish chiftitelli or the quixotic 7/8 laz
make no mistake - despite worthy attempts to rehabilitate it as a cosy alternative to pilates
belly dancing is meant to stir the loins

songlines recommends the rough guide to bellydance by various artists
esne notes now this is a very well known music style / dance

interesting mix of styles in these 3 - asian, scandinavian, middle east
it's been a while since the last visit to a lebanese restaurant for some fine food
and the pleasure of seeing a classy belly-dancer at work - always good value
better rectify that...