Search - Various Artists :: Music of Bakhshy

A little rough for the first time

kat karsecs | Oakland, Ca | 07/17/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I really like Turkmeni music; I'm stirred by it's rugged, sometimes jagged quality, the high tension and burning passion, the wildness of the voices and the rhythms, and fascinated by the same as a musician into Asian traditional music. That said, this disk is really for the die-hard. While the performances are great, I think it would be more accessible for someone who understands the language (which I unfortunatly don't, yet). One feature of Turkmen epic singing is how it frequently breaks from a strong rhythm into a wild high-pitched declamatory style at peaks of emotional tension. While I dig it, it can be rough to listen to for those unfamiliar with it, and it is definitely not 'background' music! Another criticism I have of this particular disc is the recording quality. These are all field recordings, and tend to focus more on the singing than the dutar playing. This makes sense from an ethnomusicological standpoint, (and the liner notes are great, a mini dissertation on the whole baxshi tradition), but for a listener it's even more of a challenge. All that said, there is about a half-dozen songs here that, taken by themselves, will rock your socks off. Still, I would recommend the cd's Instrumental Music of- and Songs of Turkmenistan. If you can find the Unesco label's Turkmeni recordings, that one is, I feel, a preferable alternative to this particular one."