The clarinet is the emblematic instrument of Epirus. Its dramatic expression and virtuosic playing are captivating. Koumpania Xalkias is a family group spanning three generations.
Tâher o Zohre is a jewel of oriental literature, narrating the thwarted romance of a hero and his beloved and the trials they go through before their love can triumph.
The Kazakhs’ folk music is a sublimated representation of their history, of the nomadic way of life and the wide open spaces, a land of horsemanship and fantastic conquests. It expresses the spirit of a people in love with freedom, with an emphasis on improvisation and virtuosity. The viol kobyz is considered by the Kazakhs to be their primary instrument, the one that preceded all the others.
Batuco (batuque) is the best preserved African heritage in Santiago Island, Cape-Verde. The songs and the dances express the hard condition of women. Each week, in the Santiago Island of Cape Verde, fishermen's wives meet up to sing and dance, accompanied rhythmically on small cushions made of rags.
Uighur culture is one of the most ancient in Central Asia. Its core is in Xinjiang (Chinese Turkestan), but it is also present in the Uighur diaspora, particularly in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Kong Nay is one of the last bards in Cambodia. As a holder of this tradition, this folk artist who miraculously escaped the genocide of the Khmers Rouges, tells his story and through his compositions, he offers us a critical and humorous vision of contemporary Cambodia, singing and playing his longnecked lute chapey.
Shash-maqâm is the classical music of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It took shape during the 18th century, the Golden age of the court of Bukhara. It is composed of six large vocal and instrumental suites and the Maqâm Dugâh is one of these six suites.
This is the first recording of the ritual maqam of the Yarsan, a pure Kurdish religious trend rooted in the cults of ancient Persia. Yarsanism is born during the 11th century and is known also as Ahl-e Haqq: "People of the Truth".
Sufism is the mystical side of Islam, the path which leads to the core of the faith and the annihilation of the faithful in God. The way to achieve it is the dhikr, a ceremony in which the faithfuls reach an ecstatic state by the invocation of God, the Prophet and the sufi saints.
In the little city of Nedelino, located in the Rhodope range in southern Bulgaria, young women still practice an ancient twopart vocal genre, the dvouglas.
The Tavush Province, North-Eastern Armenia, has kept remarkably its musical traditions, still alive during weddings, festivals and funerals. Benik Abovian (†) and Zaven Azibekian follow the ancient tradition of the Armenian bards and are known as the best folk musicians in Tavush.
The lute player Qadri Dalal is one of the last real Arab masters of improvisation in the most authentic vein of this tradition, eventhough he expands the possibilities of this music.
