Death Is Not The End

The Archival Recordings of Constantin Brãiloiu, 1913-1953

Genre: FOLK / ROOTS, DOCUMENTARY

Cassette

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Originally broadcast on NTS, this epic 78-minute archival mix sweeps up jaw-dropping field recordings from celebrated Romanian ethnomusicologist Constantin Brãiliou, splicing together folk songs and dances from across the globe and highlighting the often overlooked harmonies between vastly different cultures.

Brãiliou is an important figure in the field of ethnomusicology. Way back in 1928, he established the "Arhiva de folklore" - one of the era's most significant collections of folk music - traveling through Romania and the wider world and documenting dances and traditional musics that were in danger of being lost to time. In 1931, Brãiliou published 'Schița unei metode de folclor muzical' (outline of a method for music folklore), where he laid out his philosophy and methodology, an article that's since become one of ethnomusicology's core texts. Death is Not the End celebrates his contributions with this bumper 10th Anniversary release, picking out the best moments from the iconic 'The World Collection Of Folk Music' series.

Originally six LPs, the set contained a record combing through African traditional sounds, one focused on Asian and Inuit styles and four concentrating on Europe. Here, we get to experience early recordings from Tuareg and Hausa players in Niger, Gaels on the Isle of Barra, Judaeo-Spanish musicians in Thessaloniki, Ethiopians in Kerker, Flemish and Walloons from Belgium, Basque peoples from Pays Basque and much more. There isn't a tracklist provided, but this just helps amplify the interactions between the sounds, highlighting the similarities rather than the differences. It might not seem as if there's much connection between, for example, English folk music and Central Anatolian forms on the surface, but heard together the borders fall away - the voices and instrumentation phase into one another, and we're left with a pan-global expression that's remarkably ahead of its time.

Cassette (2)