Don Robertson's Musical Kaleidoscope
Show Examples - World Three
Since 2017, the Rising World foundation has completed over 1,000 videos. Over 260 of them are shows, each averaging 1 hour in length. The following are three example videos from our “World 3” section. So far, we have created 10 shows for World Three.
Farther Afield to Africa and Asia
Includes:
The Traditional Music Africa
The Traditional Music of the Middle East
The Traditional Music of the Far East
The Traditional Music of Africa
Example 1 – A Taste of Africa (1 hour)
In this Musical Kaleidoscope show, we present great music performances from major African countries. Tanzania: “Jua Toka” by The Musical Culture Club featuring the late great singer Bi Kidude. From the Congo, we present “Billi” by the singer known as Kanda Bongo Man. From the islands of Cape Verde, we feature a beautiful song performed by Cape Verde singer Sara Tavares. Uganda is presented next with “Maaso Moogi” sung by students from the Buddo Secondary School, “Batuuse” by the Africo Band, and “Mulirwana” by the Buganda Music Ensemble. Finally, from Mali, a performance by Ali Farka Touré at the Africa Festival in Portugal, and “Cantelowes” performed by Toumani Diabaté in Spain.
The Traditional Music of the Middle East
Example 2 - A Taste of the Middle East (1 hour)
We present great performances of traditional and classical music of the Middle East. We begin with a taqsim (solo prelude) by Uğur Onuk playing a Turkish ney. Following this, we watch the famous Tunisian singer, oud player and composer Lotfi Bouchnak performing Malouf, a style of music that was brought to Tunisia by Arab musicians from Andalusia (Muslim Spain) before the Christian conquest of Andalusia from the north. This ancient style has only survived because of the efforts of the Tunisian government and some private individuals.
Next, a popular song from Tétouan, Morocco, performed by the Orquesta de Tetuán. Following this, more Andalusian traditional music with a song from Mizan Quddam of Nawbat Rasd al-Dhayl performed by the Orchestre de Fez, Morocco, with Mohammed Otmani conducting. The song “Guli ya Hilu” is sung by Nazem al-Ghazali (1921-1963), a very famous singer from Iraq. Even more famous was the Egyptian singer Oum Kulthum (1904-1975) who is presented in the following clip. From Lebanon, the famous singer Fairuz sings “Habaytak Bisayf”. She is considered the musical icon of Lebanon and is considered to be “the soul of Lebanon”.
Following this, popular singer Sonia M’barek from Tunisia performs the beautiful song “Zahr Laymoun” with an orchestra accompaniment. The finale of this show features a clip from Ramadhan night 2010 featuring the Algerian Ensemble El Mawsili.
The Traditional Music of the Far East
Example 3 - A Taste of the Far East (1 hour)
A feast of glittering metallophone music filmed in the exotic Far East.
From Bali: “Tabuh Keklentangan Genggongan” performed by a Balinese Gamelan Angklung (metallic chamber orchestra) in a park in Penglipuran, Bali; A performance by the Gamelan Angklung Desa Kayuputih in Banjar, Northern Bali; A performance by the Gamelan Tabuh Lasem.
From Cambodia: A performance by the student pin peat orchestra Wat Som Chet; A performance by a student pin peat with a skor thom drum.
From Malaysia: A performance by Malaysian students playing traditional instruments.
From Thailand: A performance by traditional Thai musicians at the Siam Society in Bangkok. From Vietnam: “North Wedding Night” performed by a member of the Duyệt Thị Trang family on the Đàn tranh instrument.
Example 4 - A Taste of China (1 hour)
“A Taste of China” takes the viewer through the regional music of China.
First, we take a look at the style of Teochew string music that is found in northeastern Guangdong and parts of Fujian. We begin with “Guo Jiang Long” (River-Crossing Dragon) that was probably filmed at the Chaozhou Music Concert in Shantou, eastern Guangdong province, in southern China. This is followed by another performance of Teochew music by an unknown group. Next, we watch selections of Jiangnan sizhu music, a style of traditional Chinese instrumental music from the Jiangnan region of China. First, a traditional Jiangnan sizhu “Song of Elation” performed by the Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra with Gordon Lee (Xie Tan), conductor. Next, another important Jiangnan sizhu folk song called “Happy Song” from Rhymoi Music.
We now move on to the music of the Uyghur people in Northern China. First, “Dudarai”, a Kazakh traditional folk song, followed by an Uyghur instrumental performance.
Finally, we present examples of important and famous Chinese folk songs beginning with “Autumn Moon over the Han Palace” performed with an orchestral arrangement by the Hua Xia Chinese Orchestra. Next, we watch a performance of Cantonese folk music performed by an unnamed group. Following this, we listen to “Blossoms on a Moonlit River in Spring” by the China Central Chinese Orchestra, followed by an erhu solo by Zhou Wei playing “Moon Reflected on Erquan Pond” and finally, a performance by the China Central Chinese Orchestra, with Yang Jing playing lead pipa.