FTX-784 - THE WORLD ENCOMPASSED
- 8 CDs - vol 4
VOCAL PITCH (32) - Register or pitch level seems to be another function
of energy. Frequency of high register is associated with complex, exploitative
productive systems and especially with a high calorie food intake (a four-way
correlation). Much low register is characteristic of non-intensive agriculturists.
01a. Very High. C. Asia. A Mongolian singer matching the top notes of a
bowed lute. (Vargyas, D8) & 1b. Very Low. C. Asia. Tibetan lamas, using their
voices to match the rumbling of big drums or gongs. (Crossley-Holland, A10)
- 1'08"
02. Repeat of #1 & #2 - 0'34"
03. Very High. C.Africa. A Pygmy woman singing at her tasks. Such high,
clear yodeling calls represent one of the most ancient functions of song - to
maintain contact between people at a distance. (Marshall, A2) - 0'14"
04. High. Europe, Spain. A Castilian farmer sings to spur on his mules,
as they move round and round on the threshing floor, treading out the grain
- an old and widespread Mediterranean custom. (Lomax #25, B2) - 0'19"
05. Mid. W. Europe, W. France, Poitou. Verses from an ironic ballad about
how a lover, hiding in a chest, is forgotten and eaten by the rats. The performance
is in the impersonal, story-telling, ballad style. Male solo. (Marcel-Dubois
& Andral, B28) - 0'27"
06. Low. N. America, Southampton Island. Eskimo medicine men and shamans
often employ a low-pitched, raspy delivery in their healing songs, exaggerating
the vocal qualities usually distinctive of males. The message is: Father or
Grandfather is looking after you. (Boulton #3y A7) - 0'23"
07. Very low. S. Asia, Tibet. The same vocal strategy, carried a step farther,
endows this monk's choir with the divine voice of the muttering thunder. (CrossleyHolland,
A9) - 0'42"
08. Test #1. Japanese fishermen's song with flute accompaniment. (See Line
17, #2) (Masu, A 2) - 0'39"
09. Test #2. N. America, Canadian Plains, Blood. The Grass Dance. a war
song in the high-pitched, forceful style common among Amerindian hunters. Male
chorus with drum. (Peacock, B2) - 0'23"
10. Test #3. N. America, Southwest, Zuni. A carefully rehearsed rain-making
song, performed by a male choir. (See Kraho and Cayapo examples for similar
pitch levels.) (Rhodes #3, A4) - 0'32"
11. Test #4. W. Europe S. Ireland. Cork is famous for the light, dewy voices
and the precise, ornamented delivery (blas) of its female singers. (Ennis &
Lomax, B7) - 0'24"
12. Test #5. C. Europe, Italy. Genoa's contrapuntal longshoremen's choruses
employ three bass parts, one of which is demonstrated here. (Lomax #39p A1.3)
- 0'26"
13. Test #6. N. America, Southwest, Navaho. Is this male chorus with its
cooing night chant, making a feminine identification (in a matri-centric culture)
or recalling its Plains, its hunter origins? (Rhodes #3, B1) - 0'24"
14 Test #7. C. Africa. Ekonda. An extended , poly-parted composition about
how the Ekonda tribe resembles the big-rooted, stately bokunga tree. Male groups.
(Merriam #1, B3) - 0'25"
15. Test #8. N. America, Southwest, Pima. A male group sings about how a
warrior, exhausted from fighting to protect his people, is fanned by admiring
maidens. Male group. (Boulton #1 B7) - 0'20"
16. Test #9. Central Africa, Lake Albert, Mayogo (Gogo). Polyphonic, polyrhythmic
overlap between leader, male and female groups, three mbiras and a basket rattlefrom
a group that subsists on taro, bananas and other jungle crops. (Tracey #2/ TR118,
B4) - 0'27"
17. Test #10. E. Africa, Hehe. A man of this grain and cattle-raising folk
sings to amuse himself as he strums his zither. (Tracey #2/ TR-156, B7) - 0'28"
TESTS - 1. Mid/ 2. Very high/ 3. Low/ 4. High/ 5. Very low/ 6. Very high/
7. Mid/ 8. Very low/ 9. High/ 10. Low
TEMPO (24) - Very slow tempi are characteristic of cultures with large populations,
in hot and humid climates, or with a poor level of health. Fast tempi are more
characteristic of small settlements or among horticultura,lists where sheep
or goats are the herd animals.
18. Shifting to Fast. Central Europe, North Italy, Piedmont. Such small
brass bands are an old tradition in this region of industry and industrialized
farming. Mixed group. (Lomax #31, A12) - 0'49"
19. Extremely (very) Slow. Melanesia, New Guinea, Siassi Islands. A funeral
lament performed at the grave or death feast of an elder. Male solo. (Sheridan,
B2c) - 0'33"
20. Very Fast. Middle East, Turkey. This Dervish liturgy, a supplication
for mercy, utilizes increasing tempos to induce trance. Male solo. (Levy #2,
A8) - 0'28"
21. Extremely (very) Slow. Repeat of #19. - 0'17"
22. Quite Slow. New Guinea, Butala area. After an old woman had died, her
son sang this song. (Sheridan, A Sa) - 0'30"
23. Slow. Polynesia, New Zealand Maori. See Line 5, #14. Mixed group. (New
Zealand, A4) - 0'28"
24. Moderate. W. Europeg England, Suffolka A bawdy ballad, recorded at a
rural pub. (Kenneay & Lomax #4, A1) - 0'27"
25. Fast. Malaysia, N. Borneo, Bajau. These Moslem Sea Dyaks live in family-sized
canoes, gathering fish and seaweed. A sacred text from the Koran. Female solo.
(Polunin #2, A9) - 0'18"
26. Very Fast. Repeat of #20. - 0'20"
27. Test #1. Central Africa. The Luo, who are Nilotic, patrilineal, extended-family
cattle raisers, compose praise songs to particular cows or bulls. Male solo
with eight-string lyre and legbeds. (Traccy #2 TR-168/ A5) - 0'25"
28. Test #2. East Asia, Japan. Female solo. (See Line 10, #22) (Masuo A8)
- 0'30"
29. Test #3. Malaysiav C. Borneo. Land Dyaks, - these tropical rice and
sheep farmers sing a song for a head-hunting ritual. Male chorus with lute and
horn. (Ivanoff, A1) - 0'27"
30 Test #4. C. Africa. The Congo Ekonda are a culture of yam gardeners and
fishers with patrilineal clans and extended families. This is one part of a
remarkable choral suite performed with parallel chords and overlap. Female chorus.
(Merriam #1, B9) - 0'32"
31. Test #5. E. Asia, Japan. An urban rendition of a charcoal burner's song.
Male solo with flute (shakuhachi). (Masu, A5) - 0'30"
32. Test #6. N. America, Plateau Flathead. Dance song. (See Line 15, Tests
#2 and #4) (Merriam #2, A8) - 0'46"
33. Test #7. E. Asia, China. A work song for hauling barges through the
rapids on the Yangtze. (Menegoz,-B16) - 0'22"
34. Test #8. E. Asia, Japan. The Amami Island's farmers and fishermen have
retained much of the traditional lifeways of Old Japan. A song of mourning.
(Haring #2, A1) - 0'50"
21. Extremely (very) Slow. Repeat of #19. - 0'17"
22. Quite Slow. New Guinea, Butala area. After an old woman had died, her
son sang this song. (Sheridan, A Sa) - 0'30"
23. Slow. Polynesia, New Zealand Maori. See Line 5, #14. Mixed group. (New
Zealand, A4) - 0'28"
24. Moderate. W. Europeg England, Suffolka A bawdy ballad, recorded at a
rural pub. (Kenneay & Lomax #4, A1) - 0'27"
25. Fast. Malaysia, N. Borneo, Bajau. These Moslem Sea Dyaks live in family-sized
canoes, gathering fish and seaweed. A sacred text from the Koran. Female solo.
(Polunin #2, A9) - 0'18"
26. Very Fast. Repeat of #20. - 0'20"
27. Test #1. Central Africa. The Luo, who are Nilotic, patrilineal, extended-family
cattle raisers, compose praise songs to particular cows or bulls. Male solo
with eight-string lyre and legbeds. (Traccy #2 TR-168/ A5) - 0'25"
28. Test #2. East Asia, Japan. Female solo. (See Line 10, #22) (Masuo A8)
- 0'30"
29. Test #3. Malaysiav C. Borneo. Land Dyaks, - these tropical rice and
sheep farmers sing a song for a head-hunting ritual. Male chorus with lute and
horn. (Ivanoff, A1) - 0'27"
30 Test #4. C. Africa. The Congo Ekonda are a culture of yam gardeners and
fishers with patrilineal clans and extended families. This is one part of a
remarkable choral suite performed with parallel chords and overlap. Female chorus.
(Merriam #1, B9) - 0'32"
31. Test #5. E. Asia, Japan. An urban rendition of a charcoal burner's song.
Male solo with flute (shakuhachi). (Masu, A5) - 0'30"
32. Test #6. N. America, Plateau Flathead. Dance song. (See Line 15, Tests
#2 and #4) (Merriam #2, A8) - 0'46"
33. Test #7. E. Asia, China. A work song for hauling barges through the
rapids on the Yangtze. (Menegoz,-B16) - 0'22"
34. Test #8. E. Asia, Japan. The Amami Island's farmers and fishermen have
retained much of the traditional lifeways of Old Japan. A song of mourning.
(Haring #2, A1) - 0'50"
35. Test #9. C. Africa. A Topoke man, from a clan-organized, extended-family
society, sings of his dangerous work - harvesting palm fruit high up in the
trees. Male solo. (Camps, A7) - 0'18"
36. Test #10. E. Africa, Watutsi. From the tall, imperial Nilotic cattle
herders comes this embellished epic about warlike exploits of by-gone days.
Male solo. (Verwilghen #2 A4) - 0'23"
37. Test #11. C. Africa, Topoke. Female chorus overlapping. (See Line 1,
Test #16; also, this line, #9) (Camps, A1) - 0'22"
38. Test #12. N. America, S. Arizona, Pima Indians. Dry-wash maize cultivators
and gatherers sing a social dance song. Male chorus. (Boulton #1, B7) - 0'33"
TESTS: 1. Very Fast/ 2. Quite Slow/ 3. Extremely Slow/ 4. Fast/ 5. Quite
Slow/ 6. Moderate/ 7. Fast/ 8. Extremely Slow/ 9. Very fast/ 10 Slow/ 11. Moderate/
12. Slow
RASP (35) - The quality we term 'rasp' or 'vocal harshness' is far more
characteristic of male than female singers. Indeedt we have found that rasp
in singing is correlated to childhood training for assertiveness$ which is differentially
higher for boys than girls, crossculturally. Where women notably employ rasp
in singingy they tend to be more than equal to men in social and economic spheres.
39. Rasp. S. America. Orinoco Delta, A Guarauno medicine man singing a curing
song in the raspy voice that so many Amer-indian shamans employ in therapeutic
chants. (Preloran, 3b) - 1'09"
40. Rasp. Afro-America. Chicago, Louis Armstrong with a strain of the "Yellow
Dog Blues" by W.C. Handy, used by special permission of his daughter, Katherine
Lewis and Columbia Records. (Armstrong #2, A2) - 0'29"
41. Rasp. S. Africa. Madagascar. Mahafaly male bard (Arab influence) with
lyre and sticks. (Courlander #1, C25) - 0'57"
42. Rasp Afro-America. A black ' Mississippi prisoner growls a field holler
about a woman who "ain't nothin but a downtown money waster..." (Lomax #35)
- 0'41"
43. Rasp. N. America, Plains Sioux, Rabbit Dance. Male group with drum (Rhodes
#1, A2) - 0'27"
44. Rasp. S.E.Asia, N.Laos. Male solo with khene (harmonica), festival dance
(Beamish, II 6) - 0'23"
45. Rasp. Malaysia, Philippines Magindanao. An epic chant by a Moro male.
(Maceda #1, C1) -
46. Rasp. N. Europe, Ireland, County Tyrone. A weaver's song. (Kennedy &
Lomax #5, A8) - 0'38"
47. Rasp. N. Europe, Scotland, Aberdeen. A ballad of courtly love. (Lomax
#33, A12) 0'53"
48. Rasp. N. Europe. England. In Newcastle, where industry was established
early, a girl laments the death of her lad at his job on a coal barge. Female
solo. (Lomax & Kennedy #34, A4) & 48b. Extreme rasp. N. America, Eskimo, Hudson
Bay. A magic rune to help the hunt - with characteristic nonsense syllables,
irregular rhythm and the with the characteristic pattern of harsh voice of the
tireless hunter. Male solo. (Barbeau #1, B38 - Collected by J.Gabus) - 0'54"
49. Extreme. Repeat of #48b - 0'24"
50. Great. N. America. Arkansas and the burr-voiced, ironic style, typical
of the Oklahoma-Ozark region, which was frontier until recently. Male solo with
guitar. (Driftwood, B2) - 0'26"
51. Intermittent or Mid. S.E. Asia, Burma. Urban music with the distinctively
humorous Burmese touch, performed by a vocally athletic male singer with oboe,
flute, drum and gong frame (12 tuned gongs). (Myint, A4) - 0'29"
52. Slight. S. Africa, S. Mozambicue. A Chopi man laments the theft of his
palm trees, accompanying himself polyrhythmically by shaking a little sprig
of dry seed pods. (Tracey #2/ TR-205 A6) - 0'21"
53. Little or no. Repeat of #48a - 1'09"
54. Test #1. Australia. An Arnhemland aborigine singing a totemic clan song
about the damala (white sea hawk), swooping down from the clouds and catching
fish. Male solo. (See #20.) (Elkin #5, 3) - 0'40"
55. Test #2. Afro-America. Virginia. An original lyric song in pre-blues
style, performed by a rural professional quartet accompanied by guitar. (Lomax
#6, A5) - 0'32"
56. Test #3. S. Asia. Nepal. Young Botean Sherpa girls of this Himalayan
farmer-porter culture sing to greet European mountain climbers, "Welcome, where
do you come from?' (Cronk, A6) - 0'22"
57. Test #4. N.E. Australia, near Cape York, Yarrabah. The old men maintained
their dominance in Australian aboriginal society, in part by elaborate song
rituals for totemic, place-attached ancestors, by drastic genital mutilation
in initiation and by early marriage to pre-adolescent girls. They sang with
a very tense, noisy vocal delivery and in a unique cadential style. Male solo.
(Molye & Griffiny A14) - 0'27"
58. Test #5. S.E. Asia, Thai. A singer, trained in refined embellishment,
performs a song of the "type to soothe tired kings", accompanied by an orchestra
of 2-string violins, sitar (chakay), flageolet, oboe and tiny cymbal (ching).
(Kaufman, B4) - 0'50"
59. Test #6. N. Europe. Hebrides male duet in "port-a-beul", the Gaelic
term for the vocal dance music (in Scots, "diddling"; in Irish; "lilting") so
common in N.W. Europe. (Lomax #33, B23) - 0'35"
60. Test #7. C. Africa. A Babinga Pygmy woman leads a group in a contrapuntal
song that have no words, but which all present know as a magic song for elephant
hunting. (Schaeffner & Rouget, B35) - 0'30"
61. Test #8 W. Africa, Cameroons. Bafut young men and women make their own
tight, swinging rhythm for a moonlight dance. Female leader with male group.
(Ritzenthaler, A 4a) - 0'25"
62. Test #9. W. Europe. Paris guildsmen sing that "love of the Virgin should
link the compagnons together in a strong web." Male leader with male group.
(Marcel-Dubois & Andral, A2) - 0'35"
63. Test #10. C. Europe. N. Sardinia, where the village shepherds and outlaws
preserve an ancient polyphonic tradition, resembling those of Genoa and Georgia,
and a brassy vocal delivery I have heard only in songs from Bahrein in the Persian
Gulf and from Mongolia. Male solo with male group. (Lomax & Carpitella #29,
B37) - 0'57"
TESTS - Extreme/ 2. Intermittent or mid/ 3. Little or no/ 4. Great/ 5.
Slight/ 7. Little or no/ 8. Intermittent or mid/ 9. Slight/ 10. Extreme
VOCAL WIDTH (33) - The measure concerns the contrast between the voices
which sound mellow, relaxed, and richly resonant (we call this wide) and the
voices which sound tense, pinched, and restricted in resonance (which we call
narrow). Many singing styles can be characterized as having one or the other;
in some rare cases both may occur; and many ways of vocalizing (like everyday
American speech) are neutral in width- these we call Mid, singers with a 'speech"
tone. Some people easily adjust to this view of vocal resonance; others have
problems with it, perhaps because voice narrowing is not only a subtle, but
an emotionally loaded quality. We recommend repeated listening to the examples
and, if possible, imitating the 'vocal width' by singing along, until the listener
has the 'feel' of this useful distinction - useful because we find the degree
of vocal widening or narrowing to be a good indicator of the relative severity
of the sexual code of the society, and perhaps of the emotional tensions of
the group. (The presence of permissive codes relating to premarital sex for
women are indicated below by a P, and restrictive codes by an R.)
64. Narrow. Middle East, Hebrew, Bokaran Jewish singer. The severe sexual
sanctions of the Mosaic code are typical of many cultures in the mideast, N.
Africa, and the Mediterranean (in fact, in most of the ancient civilizations)
and persist in contemporary society. Male solo. R (Israel, A3) - 0'18"
65. Wide. Europe, Spain, Galicia. The sexual mores of Pyrennean Spain, especially
Galicia, are notably more relaxed and permissive than further to the South.
Here a muleteer sends his voice through the hills as he travels, calling out
for custom and (as he told me) love. P (Lomax #Z3, B9) - 0'38"
66a. Narrow. Indonesia, Java. Severe rules hedge the sexual life of women
prior to marriage in Java, where this female virtuoso produces a tone like a
silver wire to a gamelon accompaniment. R (Kunst & Lomax, B20) & 66b. Wide.
E. Europe, Slovakia, The High Tatras. Well-blended choralizing based in liquid,
wide-voiced vocal style is relatively common in Eastern Europe, where sexual
mores are comparatively permissive. P (Czechoslovakia) - 0'36"
67. Mid. N. America, Canada. A Nova Scotian remembers one of the comic British
ballads her ancestors brought with them into the New World. R (Creighton, B
23) - 0'42"
68. Test #1. S.E. Asia, Northeast Thailand. A country girl from this highly
stratified, irrigation culture sings in a tense voice indicative of the sanctions
and responsibilities that weigh upon S.E. Asian women. Her song thanks Buddha
for the beauties of his creations - especially women. Mouth organ accompaniment.
(Kaufman #1, A4) - 0'41"
69. Test #2. Polynesia. The New Zealand Maori, in the general fashion of
the Polynesians, preserved their genealogies (so important to them in determining
their social positions) in lengthy chanted poems, like this lament for the great
chiefs of the past. P (Maori #19 A1) - 0'42"
70. Test #3. Anglo-American, Arkansas. The burry-voiced, of off-hand delivery,
typical of the Ozarks (Woody Guthrie had it), suits this Rackansack (slang for
Arkansas) variant of the English cumulative swapping song. Male solo with mouthbow.
R (Lomax #17) - 0'30"
71. Test #4. Mediterranean Europe, S. Italy. A muleteer, engaged in transport
in the rugged hills of Campania, sings a travelling song as he rides along,
in the high, tense voice so common to the region. (Lomax F.R.) - 0'56"
72. Test #5. E. Europe. A Cossack ballad from the Ukraine, performed by
a trained baritone with bandura (stringed instrument) accompaniment. P (Russia.
#1) - 0'51"
73. Test #6. N. Europe. An Irish folk singer with plenty of 'blas' (ornament)
performs the most popular ballad in English, the story of how Willy dies for
love of a hard-hearted girl - ("Barbara Allen", here called "Mary Ellen") R
(Kennedy & Lomax #2, B7e) - 1'11"
TESTS: 1. Narrow/ 2. Wide/ 3. Mid/ 4. Narrow/ 5. Wide/ 6. Mid
YODEL , Extremely Wide - Specialists in voice production say the vocal apparatus
is at its widest in yodeling. This 'bugle' voice is used call out to other human
beings at a distance. The Pygmies of Africa, who may be the living representatives
of early man, constantly sing in yodeling tone. These facts suggest that songs
may have originated as a way of maintaining group contact.
74. Yodel. C. Africa. A Babenzele Pygmy woman singing a magical chant.
(See also Line 10, #6) P (Marshall & Rouget, A1) - 0'25"
75. Yodel. C. Europe. A German woodcutter's song from the Carpathian mountains.
Male solo. P (See Line 10, #3) (Wiora) - 0'32"
76. Yodel N. Europe, Norway. A mountain woman remembers one of the calls
(Kulokk) she employed to manage cattle in her young days as milk-maid. P (Norway
#2 A2) - 0'34"
77. Yodel. E. Europe, Georgia. The high, mountain-locked valleys of the
Caucasus guard many traces of an-cient cultures, among them a true virtuosity
in yodeling, often combined with magnificent contrapuntal choralizing, whose
structure is like that of the African pygmies. P Male group. (Russia # 1 C2)
- 0'58"
NASALITY (34) - Nasal singing is common in complex cultures that place severe
restrictions on premarital sex. The highly nasal examples that follow all come
from societies where sex mores are severe.
78. Extreme. S. Asia. India. A fragment of a raga. Male solo with vina (violin)
(India #3 A1)
79. Extreme. Middle East, Palestine Hebrew. A fragment of cantelation of
the "Kedusha." Note the free rhythm, melisma and the long phrases, as well as
the narrow and very nasal vocal quality. (Israel, B1) - 0'43"
80. Extreme. S.E. Asia, N. Laos. A male singing a festival dance song accompanied
on the khene (harmonica) (Beamish) - 0'39"
81. Extreme. Repeat of #78. A raga which improvises on the musical theme
felt to be most appropriate to the morning. Note lace-like embellishment. (India
#3, A1) - 0'40"
82. Little or no. N. Europe, Norway. A Valkyrie voice from the world of
Nordic princesses and of valiant dairymaids who guarded the cattle while the
Vikings plundered Europe. (Norway #1, B7) - 0'59"
83. Intermittent - Moderate. Afro-America. A Mississippi levee camp holler
in which the singer improvises and weaves together a song about his troubles
to help him through a hotday'swork. Male solo. (Lomax #11, B2) - 1'57"
84. Test #1. South Europe. A Cretan Syrtos which, like much of Cretan tradition,
has its roots in the classic past. Male solo accompanied by lyre and lute. (Llewellyn-Smith,
A8) - 0'32"
85 Test #2. Polynesia, Tahiti, where a permissive, cohesive, complementary,
but aristocratic society favoured clear-voiced, well-blended, polyphonic choirs
singing with precise enunciation, often remarkably similar to some performances
from Eastern Europe. (Cowell #3, C12.1) - 0'38"
86. Test #3. South America, N.E. Brazil, Kraho. This dawn song begins slowly
and heavily, but quickens until at sunrise a powerful sound fills the plaza
of the clan-organized, complementary village. (Schultz & Chiara, A3) - 0'33"
87 Test #4. Europe, Spanish Basque. For my benefit the bersolari (verse-maker)
began "In America they know nothing about our town". He then improvised a poem
celebrating the beauties of the place. (Lomax #21, B10) - 0'26"
88. Test #5. East Asia, Japan. A raspy, rice-husking song saying: "Not a
single grain should be wasted, for it takes 88 steps to make rice good to eat".
Male solo and chorus. (Hattori, A4) - 0'46"
89. Test #6. Central Asia, Kalmyk. This combination of wide voices, big
leaps, big range, with florid ornamentation is peculiar to the zone of steppes
and herding from Mongolia to the Balkans. (Russia. #7, 1) - 0'48"
90. Test #7. South Europe, Italy, Campania, where women's voices are as
thin and hard as the long silver pins they wear in their hair. (Lomax #3, B8)
- 0'31"
91. Test #8. North America, Greenland, Eskimo. This stylistically typical
song consists of strings of nonsense syllables set to the very complex irregular
accompaniment of a frame drum beaten by a stick. (Danish, B4) - 0'34"
92. Test #9. East Europe, Romania, Transylvania. A lament for a dead child
is sung tenderly as if it were a lullaby. Female solo. (Alexandru, A6) - 0'47"
93. Test #10. East Africa, Kenya. An African band sings a little strophe
with string accompaniment. (Tracey #3, A4) - 0'24"
TESTS - 1. Extreme/ 2. Little or no/ 3. Intermittent or moderate/ 4. Little
or no/ 5. Extreme/ 8. Much/ 9. Slight/ 10. Much.
