Search - Various :: Voices of Forgotten Worlds

In the introduction to Larry Blumenfeld's book Voices of Forgotten Worlds: Traditional Music of Indigenous People, David Lewiston makes a distinction between "world beat music" and "world music." He defines the former as "a musical synthesis" of "elements and instruments from very different cultures," and he defines the latter as "unique musical expressions," each from a "distinct culture." The book and the two CDs of illustrative field recordings that come with it are devoted to the latter approach. Twenty-eight different cultures are represented, ranging from the Tuvans of Siberia to the Kayopo of Brazil, from the Wodaabe of Niger to the Navajo of Arizona. Each society is represented by one or two musical selections on the CDs and a chapter in the book which puts the music in a geographic, historical and social context. --Geoffrey Himes