Chronos Ensemble – Life of the Savior

As we celebrate Pascha (Easter) today, I had the good fortune to find this CD.  From the Chronos Ensemble Bandcamp site: “The polyphony emerged in Russia long before its musical culture experienced European influence. Even the earliest survived examples of western polyphony of 10-11 centuries are mostly composed according to Continue Reading

Various Artists – Canary Records: Tarab Vocal Art in Khedival Cairo, vol. 2, ca. 1905 – 1914

Another gem from Canary Records, as they return to Egypt, as quoted on their Bandcamp site: “When disc recording technology arrived in Egypt in 1903, much of the Arab world around the Mediterranean had been experiencing a cultural, political, and social “awakening” (the “nadha”) that had been intrinsic to literary Continue Reading

Elsio Mancuso, Berto Pisano – Decameron nº2 – Le altre novelle del Boccaccio

Italian soundtracks from the late 1960s and early 1970s are in a league of their own.  The music generally qualifies as easy/cheesy/sleazy listening, and this album, scored by Elsio Mancuso and the legendary Berto Pisano, makes me want to enjoy a good whiskey and a puff of the pipe.  Easy Continue Reading