#4878, Musical Prayers
Hear prayers from many traditions around the world - Hinduism, Islam, Native American and Yemeni Jewish traditions, Christianity, Buddhism, and sound healing- in work by Julius Eastman played by Wild Up, Barcelona-based duo Tarta Relena, and a Scandinavian-rooted duo project called Gabbarein.
Hear music from the most recent in L.A. collective Wild Up’s anthology exploring the works of Julius Eastman - Volume 4, The Holy Presence. An innovative composer working at the nexus of minimalism and jazz in the downtown music scene in the '70s and '80s Eastman also “injected a defiantly Black, queer perspective into the overwhelmingly white, straight world of classical music” (Bandcamp liner notes.) Listen to “Our Father”, an accompanied duet with both vocal parts performed by American bass-baritone Davóne Tines.
There’s also music from the Catalan folk duo Tarta Relena, which reimagines Mediterranean folk, Georgian laments, and the 12th century mystic Hildegard von Bingen. Listen to their “Infans qui nascitur,” written as a Latin prayer, but with the melody that comes from the traditional Georgian lullaby “Chela”, (Pitchfork.) Then, hear work by Gabbarein, a duo project of Norwegian vocalist and sound healer Cecilie Hafstad and American composer-producer Christopher Bono, which was recorded on a fjord within the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway.
Listen to music by English composer/violist/arranger/producer Jocelyn Pook which uses the voice of J. Robert Oppenheimer, quoting from the Bhagavad Gita, with Yemeni Jewish chanting. Plus, music from Native American flute player and composer R. Carlos Nakai. Rounding out the show is “African Sanctus” by the late composer and ethnomusicologist David Fanshawe. It’s his representation of a trip down the Nile, where the Islamic call to prayer meets part of the Latin mass sung in Greek. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4878, Musical Prayers (First aired 5/02/2024)
ARTIST: Tarta Relena
WORK: Infans qui nascitur [1:00]
RECORDING: Pack Pro Nobis
SOURCE: The Indian Runners / Urpa i musell
INFO: https://tartarelena.bandcamp.com/album/pack-pro-nobis
ARTIST: Wild Up
WORK: Our Father [4:47]
RECORDING: Julius Eastman Vol. 4: The Holy Presence
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records, due out June 21, 2024
INFO: https://wildup.bandcamp.com/album/julius-eastman-vol-4-the-holy-presence
ARTIST: Reign of Blessing
WORK: Lama Gyurme & Jean-Philippe Rykiel [3:42]
RECORDING: Julius Eastman Vol. 4: The Holy Presence
SOURCE: Real World Records
INFO: https://realworldrecords.com/
ARTIST: Gabbarein
WORK: Elsker [7:42]
RECORDING: Gabbarein
SOURCE/INFO: oursilentcanvasstore.org
ARTIST: Tarta Relena
WORK: Infans qui nascitur [4:12]
RECORDING: Pack Pro Nobis
SOURCE: The Indian Runners / Urpa i musell
INFO: https://tartarelena.bandcamp.com/album/pack-pro-nobis
ARTIST: DJ Cheb i Sabbah
WORK: Durga Puja: Nada Grahman mix: Yoga of Sound [6:56]
RECORDING: Shri Durga
SOURCE: Six Degrees Records 657036-1009-2
INFO: sixdegreesrecords.com
ARTIST: R. Carlos Nakai
WORK: Ritual I [5:45]
RECORDING: Sundance Season
SOURCE: Celestial Harmonies #13024
INFO: harmonies.com
ARTIST: David Fanshawe
WORK: Kyrie / Call To Prayer [2:44]
RECORDING: African Sanctus
SOURCE: Phillips #6558-001 / Reissued on Silva Classics #6003
INFO: Try Discogs.com | https://fanshawemusic.com/african-sanctus
ARTIST: Jocelyn Pook
WORK: Oppenheimer [6:41]
RECORDING: Flood
SOURCE: EMI / Venture Records - #8481502
INFO: Available at Amazon.com
ARTIST: Herbie Mann/Minoru Muraoka
WORK: Shomyo [3:37]
RECORDING: Gagaku & Beyond
SOURCE: Finnadar. 1976 LP, reissued in 2001.
INFO: Available at Amazon.com
