Kôrôlén is the title of a very special collaboration between two giants in music: Toumani Diabaté, the Grammy-winning Malian kora maestro, and the celebrated London Symphony Orchestra (LSO).
Commissioned as a special project by the Barbican Centre in London and produced by World Circuit Records, Kôrôlén features Diabaté and his group of prominent Malian musicians (including Kasse Mady Diabaté and Lassana Diabaté), accompanied by the LSO, with arrangements by Nico Muhly and Ian Gardiner and conducted by Clark Rundell.
‘Kôrôlén’, translates from the Mandinka language as ‘ancestral.’ The album combines ancient jeli (griot) melodies and Western orchestral arrangements.
Toumani’s discography includes: Djelika ( 1995), Kaira (1988), Songhai (1988), Songhai 2 (1995), New Ancient Strings (1999), Kulanjan (1999), In the Heart of the Moon (2001), Mali Music ( 2002), Malicool (2003), In the Heart of the Moon (2005), Boulevard de l’Independance (2006), Ali & Toumani, Afrocubism (2010), A Curva da Cintura (2011), and Toumani & Sidiki (2014).
The album is scheduled for release in April 2021. Order Kôrôlén.
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
oh! It is SO beautiful!!!! thanks a lot for this post.
Superb! I was there … wasn’t it also jointly commissioned with Liverpool Philharmonic, though, and premiered with them in Liverpool, also conducted by Rundell?