Ethiopiques 21 Ethiopia Song Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou CD

In the rich, varied and bizarre history of African music, the tragedy of the Ethiopian pop recording industry stands alone. But for the past few years, Buda Records has brought us the Ethiopiques series, showcasing the immense scope of the golden age of Ethiopian music – lovingly assembled, remastered and fully annotated. An outstanding pianist and a remarkable composer, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guébrou (now a Christian nun in a Jerusalem monastery) once recorded her own piano solo works, steeped in Ethiopian culture.The rich, personal poetry of these songs brings to mind Claude Debussy or Carlos d'Alessio's "India Song" – a rare curiosity indeed, with beautiful melodies and a charming interpretation.
"Having exposed the goldmine of pre-Mengistu Swinging Addis and tentatively explored traditional instrumental and vocal music, Francis Falceto's incomparable Ethiopiques series keeps rolling with one of its strangest volumes yet. Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou was a daughter of privilege, and as such was sent abroad to Europe in the 1930s for a Western education. Her schooling included music, and she became a pianist, eventually moving to Jerusalem and recording highly unique pieces that filter the traditional Ethiopian pentatonic scale through classical technique-- in the end sounding like impressionistic jazz." - Pitchfork

"The Buda label’s Ethiopiques reissues prove that this 3,000-year-old civilization has much more to offer than bad news.Totaling nearly 20 volumes to date, the series presents the golden age of modern Ethiopia, prior to 1975’s coup and the repressive regime that fueled subsequent violence and unrest.” – Austin Chronicle

Track Listing:
The Homeless Wanderer
The Last Tears of a Deceased
A Young Girl’s Complaint
The Mad Man’s Laughter
Presentiment
Mother’s Love
Ballad of the Spirits
The Song of the Sea
Homesickness
Golgotha
The Jordan River Song
The Garden of Gethesemanie
The Song of Abayi
The Story of the Wind
Evening Breeze
Tenkou! Why Feel Sorry?