Album Club
30-07-2013, 17:25
Many thanks to Barry for this week's Album Club thread.
Album Club Week 104 - 30.07.2013: Le Trio Joubran Majāz - 2007
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SNeDBrk4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Le Trio Joubran are three brothers: Samir, Wissam and Adnan, descendents from a Palestinian family of oud makers and players going back four generations.
Their mastery of the oud (a North African and Middle Eastern pear-shaped fretless lute) is singular and so is the harmony and the synchronization of their performance On this disc the three brothers are occasionally accompanied on percussion by Youssef Hbeisch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Trio_Joubran
This recording, Majāz, recorded in 2007, is the third of five in the brothers output.
EgDucfjDO4c
spotify:album:6bYVfnQq7psGFlF6qSSsTA
Grooveshark: Le Trio Joubran Majāz (http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Majaz/3614788) (9 tracks only)
The recording consists of eleven tracks all, save one, being purely instrumental. As mentioned the oud and the European lute can be considered cousins. With some exceptions, the modern oud has eleven strings. Ten of these strings are paired together in courses of two. The eleventh, lowest string remains single. There are many different tuning systems for the oud. The ancient oud had only four courses, increasing to five by the 9th century. The strings are generally lighter to play than those of the modern guitar.
Unlike the European lute, the oud tends to sound more pensive, reflective and at times possibly mournful. Here Le Trio Joubran with their use of three instruments produce a more sprightly sound, which is reflective, celebratory, evocative but never mournful. Think dappled light through the leaves of the tree in the centre of the courtyard of a North African or Middle Eastern home. Or, of sounds floating out from shuttered windows as the late afternoon sun causes the shadows to lengthen.
This is music to relax to, to delight you, to lift your soul. And best played in the late afternoon, or when you return home from work. Whilst the three brothers play the music with consummate skill, it does not require intense listening or concentration but neither should it be dismissed as easy listening. It shouldnt be put on the CD player whilst you are running around doing something else, one should sit down to listen to it (and to create the right atmosphere and mood, listened to with a glass of mint tea [¹]) and relax.
http://www.ocmevents.org/ocm/tools/artworks/showImage;jsessionid=A63D3F6F2968A5D2CC2A5F04A031D 43D?id=1143
(Image: OCM)
How to make (Moroccan) mint tea
The method of preparation of mint tea is relatively complex and varies from region to region. The typical green tea used is a gunpowder variety imported from China. A simple and practical method runs as follows:
In a teapot, combine two teaspoons of tea-leaf with half a litre of boiling water. Allow it to steep for at least fifteen minutes.
Without stirring, filter the mixture into a different stainless steel pot, so that the tea leaves and coarse powder are removed.
Add sugar (about one teaspoon for each 100ml glass, or less, dependant on taste).
Bring to boil over a medium heat. This important step in the preparation process allows the sugar to undergo hydrolysis, giving the tea its distinctive taste.
If desired, add fresh mint leaves to the teapot or directly to the cup. Remember to remove the mint within two minutes, as it can give some people acid reflux.
Traditionally the tea is served three times, and the amount of time the tea has been steeping gives each of the three glasses of tea a unique flavor, described in this famous proverb:
Le premier verre est aussi amer que la vie,
le deuxičme est aussi fort que l'amour,
le troisičme est aussi doux que la mort
The first glass is as bitter as life,
the second is as strong as love,
the third is as gentle as death.
Album Club Week 104 - 30.07.2013: Le Trio Joubran Majāz - 2007
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SNeDBrk4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Le Trio Joubran are three brothers: Samir, Wissam and Adnan, descendents from a Palestinian family of oud makers and players going back four generations.
Their mastery of the oud (a North African and Middle Eastern pear-shaped fretless lute) is singular and so is the harmony and the synchronization of their performance On this disc the three brothers are occasionally accompanied on percussion by Youssef Hbeisch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Trio_Joubran
This recording, Majāz, recorded in 2007, is the third of five in the brothers output.
EgDucfjDO4c
spotify:album:6bYVfnQq7psGFlF6qSSsTA
Grooveshark: Le Trio Joubran Majāz (http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Majaz/3614788) (9 tracks only)
The recording consists of eleven tracks all, save one, being purely instrumental. As mentioned the oud and the European lute can be considered cousins. With some exceptions, the modern oud has eleven strings. Ten of these strings are paired together in courses of two. The eleventh, lowest string remains single. There are many different tuning systems for the oud. The ancient oud had only four courses, increasing to five by the 9th century. The strings are generally lighter to play than those of the modern guitar.
Unlike the European lute, the oud tends to sound more pensive, reflective and at times possibly mournful. Here Le Trio Joubran with their use of three instruments produce a more sprightly sound, which is reflective, celebratory, evocative but never mournful. Think dappled light through the leaves of the tree in the centre of the courtyard of a North African or Middle Eastern home. Or, of sounds floating out from shuttered windows as the late afternoon sun causes the shadows to lengthen.
This is music to relax to, to delight you, to lift your soul. And best played in the late afternoon, or when you return home from work. Whilst the three brothers play the music with consummate skill, it does not require intense listening or concentration but neither should it be dismissed as easy listening. It shouldnt be put on the CD player whilst you are running around doing something else, one should sit down to listen to it (and to create the right atmosphere and mood, listened to with a glass of mint tea [¹]) and relax.
http://www.ocmevents.org/ocm/tools/artworks/showImage;jsessionid=A63D3F6F2968A5D2CC2A5F04A031D 43D?id=1143
(Image: OCM)
How to make (Moroccan) mint tea
The method of preparation of mint tea is relatively complex and varies from region to region. The typical green tea used is a gunpowder variety imported from China. A simple and practical method runs as follows:
In a teapot, combine two teaspoons of tea-leaf with half a litre of boiling water. Allow it to steep for at least fifteen minutes.
Without stirring, filter the mixture into a different stainless steel pot, so that the tea leaves and coarse powder are removed.
Add sugar (about one teaspoon for each 100ml glass, or less, dependant on taste).
Bring to boil over a medium heat. This important step in the preparation process allows the sugar to undergo hydrolysis, giving the tea its distinctive taste.
If desired, add fresh mint leaves to the teapot or directly to the cup. Remember to remove the mint within two minutes, as it can give some people acid reflux.
Traditionally the tea is served three times, and the amount of time the tea has been steeping gives each of the three glasses of tea a unique flavor, described in this famous proverb:
Le premier verre est aussi amer que la vie,
le deuxičme est aussi fort que l'amour,
le troisičme est aussi doux que la mort
The first glass is as bitter as life,
the second is as strong as love,
the third is as gentle as death.