Jagar, from the word jag, means “awake” or “awoken.” Those who sing jagars are Jagariyas. Jagars are akin to ballads and come in many different forms that exist in many parts of India. Their purpose is to wake up deities. The spirits of gods and deities are invoked by singing about them, their deeds and exploits, and by asking for blessings and favors. The Nanda Devi jagar is a religious narrative associated with the Nanda Devi pilgrimage. The pilgrimage of Nanda Devi happens every few decades when the idol of Nanda Devi is carried in a palanquin to her husband Shiva’s abode. This pilgrimage entails a long and arduous journey through a rough terrain and fields of snow. The Hindu goddess Nanda Devi is worshiped in the former Western Himalayan kingdoms of Garhwal and Kumaon, which together make up the modern Indian state of Uttarakhand. During Nanda Devi’s annual festival, in the Hindu months of Bhadrapad and Shravan, her songs are sung by women throughout the state. The jagar of Nanda Devi is an example of a religious ballad that lasts for several hours and can go on through the night. This extract is the very beginning of a commissioned recording made by William Sax in 1981. The original version is six hours long. The performers are the women of Nauti village, District Chamoli, Garhwal, Uttarakhand. This initial part is a local cosmogony in which female forces and goddesses play the major roles, and are summoned. They are followed by the story of the goddess Nanda, a local version of the myth of the goddess Parvati.

1. The second track has performances of two rāgas, one immediately following the other. In Telugu, the title means, “Know that the supreme soul shines everywhere.” Oral tradition has it that Tyagarāja composed and sang this song shortly before his death, when he had formally be come a saṃnyāsi, one who renounces the world, and that this gives the song its sublime beauty. Rāga nīlāmbarī: ālāpana precedes a kirtana in ādi tāḷa, ambā nīlāmbarī, translated from Telugu as “Mother, blue sky, Ocean of joy” by Tañjāvūr Ponnayya Pillai (1804-1864). Ponnayya Pillai and his three brothers, all students of Muttusvāmi Dīkṣitar (1775-1835), were renowned composers, naṭṭuvanārs (dance masters), and performing musicians. Dīkṣitar’s compositions represent a somewhat different tradition within Karṇāṭak music from his contemporary, Tyagarāja Nīlāmbarī. This music has its roots in ancient Tamil music where paṇ mēkarāgakkuriñci, known from the tēvāram songs of the seventh and eighth century CE, corresponds to this rāga. It is quite different from the Hindustāni rāga of the same name. 2. Rāga jayantasena: kirtana in ādi tāḷa, “vinatāsuta vāhana śrī ramana” (Telugu, Śrī Ramaṇa, with Vinatā’s son Garuḍa for your mount) by Tyagarāja. Jayantasena is a rare rāga known principally through this one kirtana. The ensemble plays the kirtana, “Vinatāsuta vāhana śrī ramana” without melodic improvisation to the fade-out. The tavil, however, plays inventively in the spaces created in the performance.

In the folksongs of Tày-Nùng in Cao Bằng, Hà lều (also called as Lượn Phủ) of the Nùng Inh people are the most attractive melodies. Hà lều is often sung during fun activities, but most commonly on the occasion of January and February—the season of festive singing—the season of lồng tồng. Hà lều is sung in pairs by alternating two men and two women. When one side stops, the other side responds immediately. If both sides respond well without interruption, the song will be very smooth. With Hà lều, we can hear that one sings with a low voice, and the other sings with a high voice, and one waits for the other person for a harmony. This is a unique feature in comparison with many other folk songs. The lyrics of Hà lều usually use a style of a seven-seven word meter poem; the fifth syllable of the second sentence must rhyme with the last syllable of the first sentence. This type of rhyme finding is a typical characteristic of Hà lều.

Since ancient times, the Nùng ethnic minority regarded folksongs as confidence, a means of communication and love expressions, and the vibration of the heart. In singing, they can express their thoughts and feelings at anytime and anywhere. Hò khuyên is sung to the tune of Hèo Phươn, a typical Nùng An folk song. Hèo Phươn is sung based on a pair of poems, each pair has two sentences and each sentence has ten words. When singing, each part for men or women has two people— one bass voice and one high voice. They sing in harmonious and romantic parts. Words of the ancient songs are full of overflowing, profound, lyrical, yearning, and loving words.

This wedding song, “Father, don’t give me far away,” celebrates the friendship among a cohort of girls who will all be married to different villages. The young bride asks her father not to give her far away or to a “different country” in marriage for then she would no longer be able to meet with her group of girlfriends. In the future, she might be able to meet with her father and mother on return visits, but not with her group of girlfriends. The song then goes on to make the same request to the maternal uncle. Such songs, sung around a bride, can be repeated addressing a widening range of relatives, including other paternal uncles and brothers.

Văn Thiên Tường is one variation on Oán pieces, which have three sections and forty-two phrases of eight bars each and are played with an Ai Oán nuance. This instrumental piece was composed by Trần Quang Thọ, a court musician of the Nguyễn dynasty of Huế who moved to Mỹ Tho province. It is to praise the national hero of Vietnam Thủ Khoa Huân in the resistance war against the French in the last decades of the twentieth century. After that, many new songs have been composed in accordance with the melody of Văn Thiên Tường. This item is performed by singer Tuyết Lan with two sections (1 and 3) with the combination of the bầu (monochord) and the kìm (lute).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.