CD1_BHAJANS OF NEPALI FOLK CULTURE\n\nA bhajan is a spiritual chant in traditional Nepalese culture that is performed mainly in temples. The lyrics typically recount the good deeds of various gods and goddesses. It is believed that the performance of a bhajan brings about peace and prosperity and an improved quality of life for all living beings. Bhajans of Nepali Folk Culture This CD includes examples from four distinct categories of bhajan, namely Devi Bhajan, Dafa Bhajan, Khainjadi Bhajan, and Usha Charitra Bhajan.

CD3_SUFI TRADITIONS OF NORTH INDIA\n\nQawwali is a musical genre that shares general traits with the light classical music of North India and Pakistan but distinguishes itself by its religious function. The term Qawwali applies both to the musical genre and to the occasion of its performance, the devotional assembly of Islamic mysticism - or Sufism - in India and Pakistan. The practice of Qawwali extends throughout Muslim centers of the Indian subcontinent, but its roots are North Indian. Qawwali music is performed by qawwals, professional musicians who perform in groups led by one or two solo singers. Qawwals present mystical poetry in Persian, Hindi, and Urdu, alternating solo and group passages characterized by repetition and improvisation. Handclapping and drumming on the barrel-shaped dholak accompany the singers, and a small portable harmonium played by the lead singer highlights the song’s melody. Amir Khusro Dehlavi of the Chishti order of Sufis is credited with fusing the Persian, Arabic, Turkish, and Indian musical traditions in the late-thirteenth century in India to create Qawwali as it is known today. The word Sama is often still used in Central Asia and Turkey to refer to forms very similar to Qawwali, while in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the formal name used for a session of Qawwali is Mehfil-e-Sama.\n\nQawwali is performed at the dargah, the shrines of Sufi saints, as well as in Sufi mehfils, which are commissioned performances. The structure and order of the songs vary in both these contexts. As will be seen, in many forms of Qawwali, an object of love, such as a god or a husband or wife, is portrayed and worshipped. Qawwali was popularized by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a Pakistani performer. And it has started to enter mainstream popular music thanks to the recent public interest in Sufi music. It is thus no longer purely devotional. There are many silsilas (orders) of Sufism and hence many forms of Qawwali. The recordings in this album are mainly of the Chishtiya silsila – the followers of the Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Nizamuddin Auliya, also a Sufi saint, was his follower. The texts were written by Amir Khusrau and contain many references to these saints. This Qawwali party consists of seven or eight members. The group joins as a chorus and claps to add percussion. These recordings were made at Sufi shrines in the late 1970s by Regula Qureshi, one of the most famous scholars of this genre. Since they were recorded in a crowded area on the field, the tracks have disturbances and ambient noise. However, as recordings from an actual authentic context, they carry a lot of value.

CD9_KARTATAK CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC – NAGASWARAM PERFORMANCE BY KOTTUR RAJRATHNAM PILLAI\n\nKottur N. Rajarathnam is a master of the south Indian conical-shaped reedpipe with a double reed known as the n ā gasvaram (Sanskrit; Tamil spelling: n ā kacuram ) or n ā dasvaram . He leads an ensemble of musicians known as periya m ēḷ am (Tamil, “the big ensemble”), which for centuries has been producing auspicious music ideal for offering to the gods and for enabling a joyous ambiance at weddings and other important life-cycle events. Indeed, at weddings and the events surrounding the actual wedding ceremony, the periya mēḷam is expected to accompany women who sing traditional songs for the each stage of the wedding. The ensemble is at its best when performing at night on the streets surrounding the major temples, as the instruments are ideal for an outdoor setting. Temple musicians and a visiting ensemble often perform as part of temple activities and all-night street processions, and indoors for concerts and at weddings and other life-cycle events. \n\nPlayers carefully modulate their tone to suit the acoustics of indoor spaces. Accompanying Kottur Rajarathnam is a second nāgasvaram player, shadowing his playing and helping to maintain the continuity of the performance. He is a skilled master drummer, who plays the tavil (sometimes known as tavul ). He plays this double-skin barrel drum with a beater in the left hand and the four fingertips of the right hand covered by thimbles, producing a characteristically bright, sharply percussive range of sounds. The tavil matches the nāgasvaram in brightness of sound, volume, and penetrating tone. The t āḻ am (small hand cymbals made of bell metal) marks the rhythmic cycle being performed and a free-reed bellowspumped drone box, the curutipe ṭṭ i (Tamil, “drone box”), produces the necessary tonal reference for the nāgasvaram. Since the mid-twentieth century, the instrumentation of the periya mēḷam has undergone changes. Perhaps most significantly, the pitch of the nāgasvaram and of the tavil has been lowered. The nāgasvaram and tavil became larger to produce a deeper sound. In this recording, Kottur Rajarathnam and his ensemble play four rāgas, including four kirtanas (a devotional song genre) and three kinds of improvisation characteristic of Karṇāṭak music. Improvisation in Karṇāṭak music can be understood as unmetered melodic improvisation and as metered improvisation following the performance of the compositions. The unmetered improvisation heard here is known as ā l ā pana (Sanskrit, “conversation”) and is unmetered melodic exploration of a rāga. The two kinds of metered improvisation heard here are svara kalpana (“note imagination”) and tavil solo improvisation. Svara kalpana is played after the composition has been concluded. It consists of sequential passages of svara (“note”) playing that develop from short, relatively slow passages to longer passages at faster speeds. Though they might not all start from the same position relative to the tāḷa cycle, each of the each svara kalpana passages concludes with a return to a selected phrase of the composition. For his performance, Kottur Rajarathnam selected three songs by Tyagarāja. This comes as no surprise, as this outstanding composer left a plethora of compositions ranging from short pieces for religious congregational singing to the most sophisticated and erudite compositions. He is also well known for having produced standalone compositions in rare rāgas, such as the composition in rāga vāgadīśvarī in this album. Tyagarāja (b. Tiruvaiyyār, 1767-1847) was a saintly brāhmaṇ composer. His family was from Andhra Pradesh but settled in Tañjāvūr. His grandfather Girirāja was a poet and musician at the court of the maharāja of Tañjāvūr. Tyagarāja composed kirtanas in his mother tongue, Telugu, as well as in Sanskrit. He is revered by musicians and music-lovers as one of three great contemporary composers, whose brilliance and popularity have almost obscured the music and achievements of their predecessors. In the popular mind, Tyagarāja is the most prominent of all Karṇāṭak musicians and his annual memorial celebrations ( ā r ā dhana) attract hundreds of musicians, thousands of audience members, and even more listeners through the broadcast media. His life story was made into a film and numerous bhāgavatars continue to re-tell versions of his life replete with his compositions. His charisma and his exceptional musical repertoire was passed down with succeeding generations of singers and instrumentalists who have polished his works. His pieces have even penetrated the repertoire of dancers attracted by the music, even though his compositions were not originally intended for dance, though he did write several music dramas. Tyagarāja unequivocally rejected the offers of position as a court musician as he was completely averse to singing the praises of mere mortals—something court musicians were obliged to do. Instead he lived an austere life, composing as an expression of religious devotion ( bhakti ), especially to his beloved Rāma. The kirtana form that Tyagarāja favored had two or three sections. \n\nAll the kirtanas in this album have three sections: pallavi, anupallavi, and caraṇam. In the pallavi the semantic theme of the composition is stated, though this is not apparent when an instrumentalist performs. The anupallavi develops the raga and moves the melodic range higher up the scale to the higher octave. After the anupallavi, the pallavi is repeated as a refrain. The caraṇam usually moves into the middle range and often explores the lower octave. The pallavi refrain is repeated to conclude the performance. A common feature in many of Tyagaraja’s kirtanas is the repetition of the anupallavi melody as the second half of the usually longer caraṇam. These audio recordings are extracted from the collection of video recordings made by Yoshitaka Terada, a wellknown scholar of the Nagaswaram who has written extensively on the topic.

CD7_CA HUẾ (THE HUẾ SINGING) IN CENTRAL VIETNAM\n\nCa Huế (the Huế singing) was a special traditional chamber music in Huế, a central city of Vietnam. Ca Huế originated from royal music. “There was the chamber music, serving the Nguyễn Kings and their mothers”. At first, Ca Huế was the chamber music performed in the palaces of royal families, mandarins, and wealthy people. After that, it spread to common communities. Ca Huế has been gradually influenced by many Huế folk musical types. During its development, Ca Huế affected royal music; for example, ten bản Tàu musical pieces (or it can be called ten bản Ngự or Thập thủ liên hoàn) were played in sacrifice ceremonies or some occasions in the court by royal instrumentalists. Ca Huế is the essence mixture of folk music and royal music, which creates the special nuance satisfying the artistic demand of the elite intellectual class and the common class. As a result, in the past, during happy occasions such as New Year ceremonies, parties for celebrating promotions, or parties for opening new businesses, Ca Huế was organised at the private houses of mandarins, the elite class, and Huế common people.\n\nIn the past, participants of Ca Huế included only the elite class, mandarins, and the people with erudite literary knowledge and with the ability to compose beautiful and profound lyrics. They played instruments together and shared their thoughts through instrumental music and singing. The singing and the instrumental music of one person was the inspiration for the singing and the musical composition of another. Group members were also the audiences. They enjoyed their mutual talents respectfully. In recent years, Ca Huế has been performed on stage to also serve the common people. In this musical type, there is a clear classification between composers, performers, and audiences like professional music. The interactive relation among group members of Ca Huế chamber music can be presently only found in Ca Huế in private houses.

CD9_MUSIC OF TRADITIONAL THEATRE IN VIETNAM\n\nThe traditional theatre is an indispensable element in describing the appearance of traditional Vietnamese music. The forms of traditional Vietnamese theatre are mainly practiced by the Kinh ethnic group and some ethnic minorities such as Khơ me and Nùng. Two special forms of traditional theatre with long histories are Tuồng (classical drama) and Chèo (traditional operetta) of the Kinh group. These art forms gather many elements, including literature, painting, music, dance, and drama.Tuồng was born in northern Vietnam and performed in the court, and then followed mandarins to central and southern Vietnam with a new name Hát bội or Hát bộ. Tuồng was perfected and reached its peak in the Central Vietnam from the seventeenth century to the eighteenth century in the Nguyễn dynasty. Tuồng was performed not only in the court but also in common communities and was loved by common people. At the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century, Tuồng still played an important role in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people, especially to the people in central and southern Vietnam. Tuồng was one of a few traditional Vietnamese artistic types, loved by the court and common people.\n\nIn its flourishing period, the artists of Tuồng were categorized into two ranks, including Tuồng thầy artists (professinal artists who are knowlegeable and have exemplary performance style) and Tuồng rong artists (semiprofessional artists who lack of knowledge and have seasonal performances, mainly giving impromptu performances in tuồng cường. The system of Tuồng is clearly categorized according to the content such as Tuồng pho (Tuồng with many acts and performed on many nights), Tuồng đồ (Tuồng with content closer to daily life and based on folk stories), and Tuồng tân thời (Tuồng with the stories from new novels). Special Tuồng plays called Tuồng ngự were selected by the Minstry of Rites to be performed for for the king’s enjoyment.

Katta Ashula (a song performed with a plate) is specific to the Ferghana Valley of Uzbekistan. Usually, it is performed a cappella by two to five singers of the same vocal range who use a plate or tray to project their voices in different ways. In most cases, Katta Ashula is performed by singers with a high-pitched, wide-ranging voice, and these are some of the distinguishing features of the complex performance style. Katta Ashula developed from basic traditional events in history, from labour songs, and from different styles of ghazal verses. Usually, Katta Ashula is performed in big gatherings, festivities, and party celebrations.\n\nKatta Ashula songs were performed professionally and further developed by famous Khofizes such as Erkaqori Karimov, Turdiali Ergashev, Matbuva Sattorov, Jo'rakhon Sultonov, Mamurjon Uzoqov, Boltaboy Rajabov, Orif Alimakhsumov, Fattohkhon Mamadaliev, Jo' rakhon Yusupov, and Khamroqulqory To'raqulov. Today, Katta Ashula is masterfully performed by experienced singers with the highest skill, such as Khalima Nosirova, Munojot Yo'lchieva, Ismoil and Isroil Vakhobovs, and Mahmud Tojiboev.

Lapar performing arts, as an ancient folklore genre of people’s creation, has a rich history. Lapar songs are performed by famous artists during holidays, public festivities, and wedding parties as well as in a bride’s house in the evening during ‘Girls’ Evening’, ‘Girls’ Party’, and ‘Lapar Night’. Girls and boys perform Lapar songs composed of four-lined ghazals in two groups. Through Lapar songs, girls and boys express their love for each other, make decisions, and take oaths. They sing their heart’s grief with a certain melody but without any music. If both the girl and the boy who are singing Lapar fall in love with each other, they present gifts to one another. If the boys present flowers to girls, the girls present a kerchief, belt-kerchief, handkerchief, perfume, or some other gift.\n\nLapar songs are mainly composed of four-lined verses and are performed in the form of a dialogue between two parties. If they resemble o'lan songs from these features, they are distinguished by the ideas, literary references, descriptive objects, and the lifestyle that are sung in the lyrics- the level of thought is more highly developed by images. \n\nLapar songs were performed and became increasingly better known through the work of famous Lapar singers, such as Lutfikhonim Sarimsoqova, Tamarakhonim, Lizakhonim Petrosova, Gavkhar Rakhimova, Oykhon Yoqubova, Guishan Otaboyeva, To'khtakhon Nazarova, Qunduzkhon Egamberdiyeva, and others. To pay more attention to Lapar and o'lan songs, to collect them, to support the performers, and to publicise their creative work to the broader community, the Traditional Republican Festival of Lapar and O'lan performers is regularly conducted by the Republican Scientific and Methodological Center of Folk Art under the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan.\n\n\n\n

O`lan is a genre of people's oral creation. Mainly, it is performed by women with or without doira accompaniment. At Uzbek parties and celebrations, the O`lan is sung by a girls' team on one side and a boys' team on the other side, or it is sung by two people who take opposing sides so they can perform as though they are having a dialogue.\n\nYor-yor is a folk song performed at a wedding celebration when the bride is seen off. In ancient times, it was widespread among Uzbek, Tajik, Uygur, and Turkmen people. Yor-yor consists of two or four lines; at the end or in the middle of each line are the words 'yor-yor, aylanaman' (my beloved one, I am enchanted). Usually, yor-yor is accompanied by doira music performed by women. The high effect of yor-yor is that it simultaneously harmonises sadness with a merry melody, tone, and the mood of holiday joys. In yor-yor songs, the bride's features, wishes, cherished dreams, and congratulations to her are praised. \n\nThe Republican Scientific and Methodological Center of Folk Art under the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in cooperation with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO, organised an expedition to Ferghana Valley to research and classify intangible cultural heritage samples as well as to inventory and define the bearers of this heritage. The expedition team recorded samples of O'lan songs from ICH bearers and transmitters of intangible cultural heritage, including Xayrullo Mirzayev, Hanifa Mirzayeva, Inoyat Rafiqova, Makhbuba Yo'ldosheva, Baxtiyor Turg'unov, Zebikhon Abdunazarova, Ko'paysin Oqboyeva, and Qo'zikhon Siddiqova.

Alla (lullaby) is an oral form of ICH sung by one person, usually a mother who is putting her baby to sleep. Alla is important in raising a child. That alla is a unique part of Turkic culture has been stated in many sources. Alla is highly emotive in that it allows a child to perceive not only motherly affection but also her spiritual sufferings. \n\nAlla creators and performers are mothers. The content and melody of all songs are derived from the spiritual state of a mother. The Spirit of the period is reflected in the song. Today, mothers perform all, enriching the songs with new content by signing and praising love for life, a happy life, and a bright future. The Republican Scientific and Methodological Center of Folk Art under the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in cooperation with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO, organized an expedition to Ferghana Valley to research and classify intangible cultural heritage samples as well as to inventory and define the bearers of this heritage. The expedition team recorded samples of alla songs. Through these recordings, listeners can feel a high sense of motherly love as well as the utterance of a suffering human spirit. \n\nAlla\nI say alla my dear baby, \nListen to it. alla. \nListening to my sweet alla, \nEnjoy rest, alla. \nListen to my sweet alla, \nGo to sleep, alla, \nMay your future be prosperous. \nMy little soul, alla-yo.

CD8_ĐỜN CA TÀI TỬ, A CHAMBER MUSIC OF SOUTHERN VIETNAM\n\nĐờn ca tài tử is a special traditional genre of chamber music of the Việt people in southern Vietnam. In comparison with other forms of traditional musical performances in Vietnam like Ca trù (Ca trù singing), Ca Huế (Hue singing), etc, the art of Đờn ca tài tử was a late traditional form. According to many musical researchers, Đờn ca tài tử came into being in the mid-nineteenth century from the musical context of the ceremonial music nhạc Lễ of southern Vietnam and the chamber music nhạc Huế. Historically, nhạc Lễ played a very important role in the cultural life of southern Vietnam. The repertoire was divided into two styles played by a martial ensemble phe võ and a classical ensemble phe văn. The phe võ is composed of drums, cymbals, and the Vietnamese oboe kèn bầu. The phe văn consisted of stringed instruments, particularly four types of the cò (two-stringed fiddles, such as the cò, the cò chỉ, the cò tre, and the gáo fiddle), and percussion instruments such as the trống nhạc (drum), and a trống cơm (a small cylindrical drum).\n\nThe two ensembles are invited to play at major village festivals. But for less important occasions such as weddings, birthdays, and housewarmings, a smaller phe văn group is called in, which includes the stringed instruments without percussion instruments. This ensemble is called đờn cây. For the need of artistic entertainment, other stringed instruments progressively joined this ensemble such as the đàn tranh (sixteen-string zither), the kìm (moon-shaped lute) and the very small wooden song lang. Music gradually escapes the solemn nature of rituals to serve daily life. It can be considered the initial foundation of Đờn ca tài tử, but it was not yet the Đờn ca tài tử. In 1885, when the Huế capital fell, the immigration of instrumentalists of the Nguyễn court from central Vietnam to the southern region made significant influence on the development of Đờn ca tài tử. At this time, Đờn ca tài tử was actually shaped after acquiring Huế chamber music in both repertoires and performance styles. The emergence of Đờn ca tài tử has received great support and favor of the majority of people in the southern Vietnam.

In 2015, ICHCAP with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO and the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan released the CD collection Melodies from Uzbekistan as part of its cooperation project to restore and digitize analogue resources on ICH.\n\nThis selection of audio resources are aged audio recordings stored at the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences that have been restored and converted into a format suitable for storage and playback in media used today. The audio tracks in the collection consist of folk music recorded from field research conducted in Uzbekistan and border regions from the 1950s to the 1980s as well as studio recordings made from the 1930s to the 1970s. The eight CDs contain Uzbek songs related to work, animal rearing, rituals, and other important parts of day-to-day life in the region; instrumental music featuring various traditional Uzbek musical instruments, such as the dutor and g'ajir nay; and important Islamic oral traditions, such as maqoms and dostons.\n\nAlthough the traditional music of Central Asia may be unfamiliar to listeners from other parts of the world, the CDs come with information booklets in Uzbek, English, and Korean to provide an engaging experience for people from outside the region.\nThe selection represents the diverse and rich musical traditions of Uzbekistan and will be invaluable resources in the field of ICH education and promotion.

In 2015, ICHCAP with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO and the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan released the CD collection Melodies from Uzbekistan as part of its cooperation project to restore and digitize analogue resources on ICH.\n\nThis selection of audio resources are aged audio recordings stored at the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences that have been restored and converted into a format suitable for storage and playback in media used today. The audio tracks in the collection consist of folk music recorded from field research conducted in Uzbekistan and border regions from the 1950s to the 1980s as well as studio recordings made from the 1930s to the 1970s. The eight CDs contain Uzbek songs related to work, animal rearing, rituals, and other important parts of day-to-day life in the region; instrumental music featuring various traditional Uzbek musical instruments, such as the dutor and g'ajir nay; and important Islamic oral traditions, such as maqoms and dostons.\n\nAlthough the traditional music of Central Asia may be unfamiliar to listeners from other parts of the world, the CDs come with information booklets in Uzbek, English, and Korean to provide an engaging experience for people from outside the region.\nThe selection represents the diverse and rich musical traditions of Uzbekistan and will be invaluable resources in the field of ICH education and promotion.