Here is a playlist of songs from Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Africa

African Trilogy

This is a synthesis of three South African songs.

Siyahamba is said to have been composed around 1950 by Andries van Tonder, a church elder. It was originally written in Afrikaans, but later translated into Zulu by Thabo Mkize. In 1978, the Swedish choral group Fjedur toured South Africa and their musical director, Anders Nyberg, returning after the tour, heard and recorded Siyahamba at a girls' school in Natal. In 1984, he arranged it for a Western four-voice setting and published it in a songbook and recording called Freedom is Coming: Songs of Protest and Praise from South Africa. In the 1990s, it started appearing in Catholic and other church hymn books under the title We Are Marching in the Light of God.

Shosholoza is a work song that was especially popular with the men whose work it was to lay railway lines. Meaning to push forward, endeavour or strive, it evokes a sense of pride, and these days is used as a rallying cry by sportsmen and women and their supporters.

Sikele Africa is the South African national anthem, sung here in English.

The African Trilogy has become a favourite with male choirs in particular.At our 2008 End of Season party at Helena May, the Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir did an impromptu performance of the trilogy between the main course and the dessert, beginning at the tables and ending up in choir formation out the front. My wife and a friend managed to capture most of the song on video, but because of the unplanned nature of the performance, could not get the beginning.

Mangwani Mpulele (Zulu)

This Zulu song was sung by Theodore Bikel, and also recorded by the KIngston Trio.

The words are very simple and repetitive, and may be translated as follows:

Mangwani Mpulele kinelwa kitula = Aunt, open the door for me, I am getting wet with rain.

Le haele mule, le haele mula kinelwa kitula = Whether it is here, whether it is there, I am getting wet with rain.

Here is me singing it, and here are the lyrics.

Marching to Pretoria (Traditional / Josef Marais)

This Afrikaans song from the Boer war was translated into English by Josef Marais of the duo, Marais and Miranda.

Josef Marais writes in their collection World Folk Songs (1964):

In 1939 I introduced this song to American radio audiences over NBC's Blue Network. Pretoria, of course, was the important objective of the British during the Boer War of 1901, the last of the so-called "gentlemen's wars." As both sides sang it, there was no recognizable set way of performance. I wrote English verses and a definitive musical adaptation which, to my delight, has captured the enthusiasm of school and college students across the U.S.A.

I first heard it sung by The Weavers.

Here is my rendition of the song, and here are the lyrics.

Tunisia

We went to a few great concerts when we were in Tunisia in August 2012.

Lotfi Bouchnak - Concert at Sousse Kasbah

Lotfi Bouchnak (Arabic: لطفي بوشناق‎), born in 1952, is a Tunisian singer, composer and oud player. He is considered to be one of the best tenors in the Arab world and has been called Tunisia's "Pavarotti".

We were fortunate to be able to see this performance at the kasbah in Sousse, Tunisia, in August 2012. The concert, part of a Ramadan festival, began at about 10:45 pm and was still in full swing when we left at 1 am. Lotfi had the enthusiastic audience in the palm of his hand, singing and clapping along as the performance drew to a climax.

I filmed several of the songs, and made five videos, which I will upload over the next few weeks for those interested in hearing this kind of music.

I have no information about the actual songs he is singing and would appreciate If anyone can help with this.

Here is Part 1 of the concert, and here are Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

Ouled El Manajem - Concert at Mahdia Borj

Ouled El Manajem are a Tunisian group noted for their revolutionary songs of freedom.

On Saturday, December 17th, 2011, they were attacked by a group of Salafists (Muslim extremists) as they prepared to give a concert at Meknassi's House of Culture, as part of a festival to mark the first anniversary of the revolution. There were scenes of violence between Salafists and fans of the musical group as the Salafists ransacked the venue and attacked with sticks. Instruments valued at 8,000 dinars were destroyed and one member of the group was injured.

We saw them performing at Mahdia in the borj, a historic fort, on 13th August, 2012, to a small but enthusiastic audience. The concert was supposed to start at 10:30 pm but it was nearly 11 pm by the time it got under way, not unusual for Tunisia. By the time it finished at 1 am the audience were singing and clapping excitedly and continued to do so as they left the theatre and walked towards the medina. I'm sure my wife and I were the only non-Tunisians present.

I have no information about the actual songs they are singing and would appreciate If anyone can help with this.

We made two videos showing some of the music from this concert. Here is Part 1 and here is Part 2.

Here is a video about our stay in Mahdia, including more footage of this group and some other Tunisian music.

Ramadan Concert in Mahdia, Tunisia

Ramadan might be quiet during the day in Muslim countries, but the night is very much a time of celebration. Families are up until the early hours of the morning eating, playing, swimming, etc. Not far from our hotel in the medina of Mahdia, where we stayed in August 2012, we found a lot of activity going on in a big park - lots of food stalls, fairground fun, camel rides for the children, theatrical performances and this musical concert by a group unknown to us. I wanted to film one or two of their songs, but it's hard to know where one ends and another begins, so I ended up recording a whole bracket, I think their final one for the night. Sorry about the shaky camera. It wasn't easy to keep it steady with so much activity going on.

Here is the video. If anyone can identify the group performing here or the names of any of the songs it would be appreciated.

Turkey

I do not sing any Turkish songs, but I recorded some Turkish songs during our trip there in June 2011.

Music in Bursa, Turkey - Sufi Dancing

On our first night in Bursa we were invited into a local musical gathering, where we met Ahmed, a retired school principal who likes to meet foreign tourists and show them around. He suggested we accompany him and some tourists he had met to a dance school where a different group of students performed a sufi dance every evening. We enjoyed it so much that we found our way there again the next night to see it again.

Sufi is a kind of worship through dance which originated in the 12th century. Sufi fraternities were first organized with a master (sheikh) and disciples (dervishes, from Persian "darwish") as a way of following Islamic beliefs. Sufism is attributed to a series of revered saints, beginning with the prophet Muhammad himself. The dance consists of whirling around, with the left foot as the axis while the right foot makes a 360 degree rotation. The dancer becomes entranced through the repetitious movement. The beautiful accompanying music begins with a hymn honouring the Prophet and ending with passionate songs of praise and a final amen, which the audience joins in with.

This video, taken by my wife, shows about five minutes out of around twenty minutes of dance, so it is a bit disjointed. Hopefully it will give some impression of the beauty of this highly spiritual form of dance and the accompanying deeply religious music.

Turkish Songs Contest in Amasya - 7. Altın Elma Türk Sanat Müziği Beste Yarışması 2011

This video shows some of the songs from a concert we saw on the city square in Amasya, Turkey. It shows the four finalists in a Turkish Art Music Contest presenting their own compositions. I believe the artists are Ayse Mustafa Yolaşan'ın Stone, Tuğçe P, Seda Gökkadar and Nusret Yilmaz Arslan. Each of the four contestants sang two songs. While the judges were consulting, a guest artist came on and gave a brilliant performance. Unfortunately our camera had run out of memory by this time.

Turkish Wedding Music in Tokat

We chanced upon a wedding in Tokat and were invited to join the feast. The resulting video is divided into three parts. The first shows a young man singing and playing a Turkish stringed instrument. The second shows wedding music played on a wind instrument and drum, and in the third part the music continues as we enjoy a delicious Turkish meal.

Israel

Popular Jewish Folk Songs

Here is a set of popular Jewish folk songs, as performed by the Nadezhda Russian Choir at the 2012 Flavours Festival at Grattan Gardens in Prahran.

I recognise Shalom, Chiribim Chiribom and Hava Nagilah. If anyone can help identify the other songs please let me know.

Hava Nagilah (A Z Idelsohn)

Abraham Zevi Idelsohn was the father of Jewish Musicology. Born in Latvia he went to Jerusalem early in the twentieth century to collect traditional music. He found this song, in the form of a wordless mystic chant, when he visited a group of Sadigura Hasidim in 1915.

After serving as a bandmaster in the Turkish Army during the first World War he went back to Jerusalem to lead a chorus in a victory concert. Needing a good crowd-pleasing number to end his concert, Idelsohn browsed through his file, and came upon this Sadigura Nigun he had collected. He arranged it in four parts, put some simple Hebrew lyrics to it, and performed it. Since then it has become the best-known best-known Jewish song in the world.

Some time after his death a man named Moshe Nathanson claimed authorship of the song. As he was a boy in one of Idelsohn's Hebrew classes at the time there may have been some truth in this, but Israel never accepted his claim.

Recordings of Havah Nagilah made in Europe in the 1920s are generally slower than it is played today, as the Hora rhythm we are familiar with today (from a Rumanian folkdance) was added later.

Here is my rendition, and here are the lyrics.

תוכן המאמר:
ראשיתו של הזמר-היהודי-החילוני
שירי ארץ ישראל הראשונים
אידלסון - אבי המוסיקולוגיה העברית
זמר מזרחי - גלגולו של שיר
הזמר העברי בתל-אביב הקטנה
העלייה השלישית - שירי הומור ומצוקה
ראשית הזמר הישראלי
תנופת הזמר הישראלי
סיכום

תקציר: האם קיים זמר ישראלי? ימיו של הזמר הישראלי קצרים, החל משנות העשרים שרו שירי ארץ ישראל. בין המלחינים הידועים ששיריהם מושרים בפינו גם היום: יואל אנגל, מרדכי זעירא עמנואל עמירן וידידיה אדמון. השניים הראשונים היו הגשר בין מיני הזמר שהיו מושרים בארץ ישראל עד שנות העשרים לבין הזמר הישראלי החדש. השניים האחרונים הביאו רעיונות חדשים אודות מהותו של הזמר הישראלי, לחניהם היו דוגמא ומודל למלחינים רבים שפעלו אחריהם.

Lebanon

Zahrat Al Madaan (Fairuz)

Fairuz Almahaba, born in 1935, is not only Lebanon's greatest singer, but also the most popular singer in the Arabic world. She has also performed to large audiences in many European countries.

This song, which you can see here, was written by the Rahbani brothers, as were most of her huge repertoire of songs. It is much loved by the supporters of a free Palestine.

You can see the lyrics in Lebanese with an English translation.