Search - Various Artists :: World of Traditional Music

Radio France has been at the forefront in recording the music of the world for decades, and via its Ocora label it has made a massive library of the true roots of many world cultures. To try and put together a representative collection of the world's traditions is of course a ridiculous undertaking, and even the six full length CDs in this set barely put a dent in what is out there, let alone what this organization has collected. But if you want a concise reference guide to many of the most important and amazing musical entities on the planet, you can't do much better than this. The set is divided into regional collections: South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, North and West Africa, Africa (western and central), and Europe; it makes no attempt to catalog southern Africa, the central Pacific or the Americas. There are no popular fusions presented here. These are the old styles: solo pipa in China, singers and dancers in Gambia, village gamelan in Bali, and tavern singers in Greece. Each is excellently recorded on location--rarely in the studio--and never produced, staged, or overdubbed. The booklets that come with each CD are comprehensive, providing both regional history and reasonable details on the individual artists and pieces presented. Ocora has released hundreds of records over the years, and each has an important place in any library, but this compendium is certainly a vital starting point. --Louis Gibson