Brass Ensemble Music From Other Cultures

Fanfare Ciocărlia

As I mentioned in class today, we as musicians are often musical ambassadors for our culture, and listening to brass ensemble music from other cultures is an excellent way to learn about both the similarities and differences between cultures. Musicians also know and embrace the value of diversity, for it is the source of inspiration and variety that often leads to the creation of new genres. There are brass band traditions around the globe, each with its own heritage and style, including the Balkans, South and Central America, Polynesia and India. I hope you enjoyed listening to this diverse playlist and also hope it inspires you to do further exploration on your own. Here is the list of recordings we sampled today of brass ensemble music from other cultures: 

Rusasca De La Buzdug - Fanfare Ciocarlia (Balkan Brass Band)

Canchis Tierra Linda – Banda San Martin de Sicuani (Peruvian Festival Music)

Obassanthi – Jaipur Kawa Brass Band (Indian Brass Band)

Paayaliyaa - Jaipur Kawa Brass Band (Indian Brass Band with vocalist)

Te Presumo – Banda el Recodo (Mexican Banda Pop Music)

Ishq Bina Ishq Bina – The Bollywood Brass Band (Indian Film music of A.R. Rahman;mixture of funk and raga)

Dola Dola - The Bollywood Brass Band (Indian Film music of A.R. Rahman; Latin influenced)

Ta Ka E Sola (He was a stranger) – Mailefihi College Band from the nation of Tonga.

Tuitui Tamafa #1 (Sewing and Eating While Standing) - ) – Mailefihi College Band from the Nation of Tonga

Lavemalie (Touch Me Gently) ) – Mailefihi College Band from the nation of Tonga; Polynesian folk song with vocalists. The three selections above are on the CD: Ifi Palasa Tongan Brass

Siupeli Silver #3 (Silver Jubilee) by Vilami Tu’ipulotu – Maopa Band of Kolofu’ou

Concertino Para trompete-Finale by José Urscino da Silva “Duda” – Quintetto Brassil

Coletanea '93-os Monges De St. Thomas by José Urscino da Silva “Duda” – Quintetto Brassil

We also viewed this recording of the Trombones de Costa Rica performing Curubandeando, an original work written for them by Costa Rican composer Vinicio Meza.

Here is a bonus video from YouTube of Shyam Brass Band performing and many others from their website.