For a long time pearl diving has been a source of wealth on this island in the Persian gulf (Bahr-eïn meaning "two seas"). It has disappeared today but a tradition of ancestral songs quite remote from any known reference still exists. It is exclusively male who sing, alternating voices in solo and in chorus, hands clapping and percussions on drums, cymbals and terra cotta jars (close to the Indian pakhawaj). This music captivates with its sudden syncopes, its low vocal drones similar to the Tibetan Buddhists singing, that answer back to the high exclamations from the soloist. On an obscur border between muslim incantations and the Indian and Asian traditions.
Fidjeri :
chants des pêcheurs de perles
Auvidis/UNESCO - D8046