Fairouz is the nightingale of the Arab pop world. Here’s an album’s worth of hits for you to hear.
Chanson
[Music] Elina Duni Quartet – Ka nje mot e gjysem viti
Perhaps Albania’s most beautiful export, Swiss-based jazz singer Elina Duni captivates with this tune.
[Video] Magdalith – La Naissance
Except finding that Magdalith was from Toulouse, France, that she was a stunningly beautiful Jewish woman who converted to Roman Catholicism and that she sang in Hebrew as well as her native French (with inflections which remind me of Diamanda Galás), there is scant information available about this artist. Any info would be highly appreciated, and she seems to be due a reissuing of her albums.
[Video] Vasco Bulgarelli – Amapola (Canzone Spagnola)
I’m surprised that there is so little information about Vasco Bulgarelli online, but it seems ‘Amapola’ is a Neapolitan classic. It seems the Spanish left a lot of good in that city (how much we got back in return is debatable, but I loved the city nonetheless).
[Video] Eli Fara – Kolazh Serenatash
Eli Fara is a rather beautiful singer from Korçë, Albania. She does a sort-of pop-folk-chanteuse bit, and does it stunningly well.
[Video] I Baci – Cerco Lei
Sometimes, it’s very pleasant to hear a bit of 70’s schmaltz. When it’s done by Italians, it’s so much better!
There is no information readily available about I Baci (The Kisses), but the grooves here are perfectly in keeping with the richly over-produced…
[Video] Lotte Lenya – Alabama Song
Lotte Lenya was the wife and muse of master songwriter Kurt Weill. If this song sounds familiar to you, it should: The Doors, David Bowie and countless others have covered it.
The recording is from somewhere around 1930, and it remains powerful.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 