European folk music has not one sound but many. There are countless soundscapes between Sardinia and Norway, from the Atlantic coast to the Urals, each one distinct. All have their own character. Europe means polyphony, a thicket of diversity where for millennia cultures have been flowing together and drifting apart, creating a musical patchwork. Traditional music? The term suggests constancy and permanence: familiar tunes and homely songs. The melodies of the past seem to offer a stable foothold, in opposition to the ever faster innovations of the present. However this nostalgia is an illusion, a false idyll. Many of the musical styles we now perceive as traditional were originally radical and modern. They resulted from dramatic changes which shook the 19th century European world and turned it upside down. The industrial revolution triggered technical innovations and social change on a massive scale. New instruments were invented: the accordion, mouth organ, concertina, banjo and saxophone, plus brass instruments equipped with valves like the trumpet and tuba. Later, factory production turned these new musical instruments into relatively cheap mass produced items which many people could afford.

Tracklist:

Bashful Bachelor / Sunshine Hornpipe, medley of traditional melo
Scottish (or "Foursome") Reel, traditional melody - Hannah Willi
Morpeth Rant / Steamboat, medley of traditional melodies: a. Mor
Polka piqu‚e, traditional melody - Jean Pradal/Martin Cayla
Fado da Minha Aldeia, traditional melody
Sevillanas: No. 2
Parado de Valldemosa, song for voice (Catalan)
Markensmandagen (Monday in the Meadow), traditional melody
Hattemageren (The Milliner), traditional melody - Folkedanseorke
Tegernseer L„ndler, traditional melody
Alpufzug, traditional melody
Innviertler L„ndler (Vierzeiler), traditional melody
Buon principio d'anno, traditional melody - Nullo Romani
Mediana for launeddas in D major (after a traditional Sardinian
Camporeale bello, traditional polka - Il Quattro Siciliani
Punaliivi (The Red Vest), folk song - Erik Kivi
Yiddisher Wulach (Jewish Dance), traditional Byelorussian melody
Staropolski kujawiak, traditional melody - Tadeusz Zadroga
Mindenf‚le Szerelemnek, traditional melody
B¡r¢ uram ‚s s rga cserebog r, traditional melody - Olah Lajos
Micika Polka, traditional melody - Verni's Troubadours Tamburica
€elni ju moj lule, ‡elni (Blossom, You Flowers, Blossom), folk s
Tha horepseis gero, traditional melody
Doina si Ardeleana de la Sibiu, traditional melody - Orhestras T
Zaporozec Polka, traditional melody - Ukrainska Orchestra Pawla
Kukushka, folk song - Sisters Fiodorov

UPC: 4010228162622
Label: Wergo Germany
Release Date: 4.11.06
Format: CD

Various Artists - Patchwork Europe (CD)