Toumani Diabaté and the London Symphony Orchestra – Kôrôlén (World Circuit Records, 2021)
Kôrôlén is a truly exquisite collaboration between kora maestro Toumani Diabaté and the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Clark Rundell. Toumani Diabaté composed all the music and Nico Muhly and Ian Gardiner provided the captivating arrangements.
This is not a solo kora album with a symphony orchestra. Toumani Diabaté brought a full traditional Malian band featuring various distionguished musicians on vocals, balafons, ngoni, guitars and calabash.
This album is a delight to listen to. Toumani Diabaté wants to show that African music has different sides. It is not all dance music. Kôrôlén introduces the listeners to a gentler and mystical neoclassical side. As Toumani explains, the goal was to say to audiences, “look at this music in a new way, look at African music in a different way.”
The lineup includes Toumani Diabaté on kora; Kasse Mady Diabaté on vocals; Fode Lassana Diabaté on balafons; Fanta Mady Kouyaté on acoustic and electric guitars; Ganda Tounkara on ngoni; and Fode Kouyaté on calabash and tama.
The London Symphony Orchestra includes Carmine Lauri as first violin leader; Nicholas Wright, Michael Humphrey, Claire Parfitt, Laurent Quenelle and Ian Rhodes on first violin; David Alberman, Thomas Norris, Matthew Gardner, Belinda McFarlane, Paul Robson and Louise Shackelton on second violin; Paul Silverthorne, Malcolm Johnston, Richard Holttun and Jonathan Welch on viola; Moray Welsh, Alastair Blayden, Minat Lyons and Hilary Jones on cello; Colin Paris and Nicholas Worters on double bass; Celia Chambers on flute; Gordon Hunt on oboe; Christine Pendrill on cor anglais; Andrew Marriner on clarinet; John Stenhouse on bass clarinet; Ursula Leveaux on bassoon; Richard Clews on horn; and Neil Percy on percussion.
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Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.