Customer Reviews

New Ancient Strings

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an album of music played on the kora, a "harp-lute" with 21 strings in two parallel rows. Toumani Diabate is the world's formost kora player, from Mali--a musically rich land in Africa. He plays here in a duo with Ballake Sissoko, a longtime friend and musical associate. There is nothing else on this album--just the two koras. The sound is utterly captivating.

At first, you might feel that the songs are somewhat similar to each other. But the pleasant plucking sounds certainly had me listen again and again. I then noticed the jazzy sound of the first cut "Bi Lambam" This is a song that dates back to dancing girls and musicians in the court of the kingdom of Mali and it doesn't take much imagination to see cool, shaded stone courts and gently twirling dancers and their seated musician accompanists, entertaining a king and his courtiers. However, Diabate plays a contemporary style and this accounts for the hint of a modern jazz mood in some of the songs.

My favorite cut, however, is the second one on the album "Salaman" which is a love song and is so mysterious and haunting. The minor key and rocking rhythm are hypnotic.

This album was recorded live at the Palais de Congres in Bamako, Mali. The marble hall lends that "palace of ancient kings" sound and this is a live album, recorded in one take, which always lends a sense of intimacy and reality to any recording.

This album is great for relaxation, party or dinner background music, yoga or for relaxing kids before bed. It is also just great to put on any old time and feel, perhaps, like a courtier in the exotic palaces of old Timbuktu. The album grows on you. I just love it.

New Ancient Strings introduced me to the kora, a 21-string, traditional African harp-lute from the ancient land of Mali in Africa. It is a cross between a harp and a lute (and the lute, of course, is African in origin as well.) It has the softness of a lute, the tuneful note range of a harp and the gentle, plucked sound of both instruments. I really like it! It's exotic, yet not strange or hard to listen to.
Toumani Diabate is a reknown kora master, and this all-intrumental album is pleasing in every respect. The sound is foreign (to American ears) but immediately accessible. Because there is no singing, if you are new to world music, you will find this a charming introduction to a new land of music.

It's hard to find fault with anything about this recording. The playing is brilliant, the sound quality is exceptional and the music is sublime. It's like Debussy transplanted to Africa and played on indigenous harps with healthy doses of inventive soloing. This is the most refreshing recording I've heard in a long time, regardless of musical genre.

This is really a gem. Toumani Diabate and Ballake Sissoko have created a masterpiece. The thing that i like best about this recording is that these are extended kora duets recorded in a natural acoustic. They were actually recorded in a marble vestibule of a government building in the Malian capital! The echo generated by the stone walls adds beautiful warmth to the sound, which is something that really sets this album apart. Both Toumani and Ballake showcase their amazing playing skills, and together they make an excellent team. Good work, excellent album!

Listening to Toumani Diabate's NEW ANCIENT STRINGS is the next best thing to sitting in the audience of one of his concerts in Bamako (the capital of Mali and Toumani's hometown). The melodies have been passed down from the rich traditions of Malian music and are newly interpreted by Toumani. Both he and Ballade Sissoko, who accompanies him, are sons of two outstanding Malian musicians, revered till today across all of West Africa. Toumani Diabate has become one of the world's leading interpreters of the `kora', a 21-string, traditional African harp-lute, which originates in Mali. It was the favourite instrument at the courts of the kingdoms of Mali, going back to at least the 13th century.

The techniques and interpretations have evolved since then and are still changing and adapting to popular styles. NEW ANCIENT STRINGS is a completely instrumental collection of traditional Malian melodies and rhythms. Most of the tunes go back to the eighteenth century. They will not be well known to the listener outside West Africa but the interpretations by Toumani make them easily accessible to the unaccustomed ear. The virtuosity of the players enables the music to flow in beautiful rhythms and brings out emotional depth as well as playful harmonies.

NEW ANCIENT STRINGS is not only a great introduction to West African music it is also a great addition for everybody who enjoys traditional solo instrumental music of lute, guitar or harp. Just magic!

Only 4.5 stars? What? Come on? This album is one of the most serene, tranquil, and masterful African albums I have heard. And I personally own over 120 albums from the continent. This is one of my favorites. Why? Well, the moment I turn this on, I am instantly transformed underwater to a surging seaweed garden. The seaweed is going back and forth slowly and in unison. I am submerged, weightless and floating. (Yes, I am sober.) The mood created by the instruments and musicians in this album is incredible. Very few albums affect my mood the way this one does. And I can listen over and over and over and it does the same effect everytime. I wouldn't be surprised if the reviewer at Amazon.com gets this album and listens to it while he/she is posting my review. This really is a 5-star work and only that. You will not be disappointed with owning this.

Thank God for Amazon's music samples. It's impossible to describe to someone just what this plucked African string music sounds like. You have to hear it for yourself. It's absolute auditory refreshment.

Another reviewer said that this music 'grows on you"- but on me it didn't have to. I think this is the most purely beautiful music I've ever heard (that, and certain pages of Bach and Mozart).

Even though - or because - it's desert music, it conjures up fast-flowing water at night: it's mellow, quiet, deeply relaxing, yet full of energy. I can listen to it before going to bed or while at work. I've never tried to play it when other people are around though, it strikes me as 'private moment' music. Think I might play it at my next dinner party to see whether the conversation stops!

I've been listening to West African music for years now, and love it all. But if you have to own only one CD of music from the Sahel, make it this one.

This album joins John Coltrane's "Gentle Side" as one of my favorite albums.

The two musicians and their songs are from Mali, West Afrika. Each plays a Kora, a multi-stringed instrument. The eight songs are all instrumentals -- there are no voices. And this is not the usual fast-paced, festival-stage rhythms often associated with the Kora. These are slower-paced, more reflective pieces.

There are wonderful twists and turns and improvisations throughout.

Underscoring the songs are a bass line that is gentle, unobtrusive but absolutely alluring. Listen for it.

Songs were recorded in a cavernous, marble hall in Mali. There is no electronic amplification here. The reverberations you hear are what the instruments themsleves produced. Wonderful!

Each musician is the son of another great Kora master. Ahhhh -- The fruit does not fall far from the tree.

Toumani Diabate has now carved out a niche for himself as the world's premier player of the kora, a traditional West African stringed instrument that sounds something like a cross between a harp and a hammered dulcimer when played. Diabate's several other recordings have all been very good as well, but this one is truly first-rate. Here he is teamed with Ballake Sissako, another fine instrumentalist, to produce a set of light, sparkling, dancing, mesmerising duet performances of traditional and original material. The kora lends itself to real virtuoso performance potential moreover, and Diabate is fully capable of realizing that potential. Great stuff!