Criteria for curation

As I tried to choose 10 musical pieces for this curation exercise, I set my first criteria to be that these pieces represent a ‘cross section of humanity‘. To me, that meant trying to first identify where and from which culture each piece derived. Just because Carl Sagan was a white, North American man, didn’t mean I was also going to be predisposed to Bach and Beethoven in my curated list (though these are beautiful pieces of music). I then considered whether the pieces highlighted a vocal element (singing, either alone or in a group, with instrumental back up or not) or an instrumental element (one instrument, a blend of several instruments, or a band or symphony). I also investigated the historical background to these pieces, and was maybe subjectively swayed to incorporate pieces that had a long historical and cultural record. In creating this list, I noticed what was missing and what was over-represented, so this affected my choices as I made my final selections. However, I was unable to include songs from Africa and Australia when sticking to my criteria, so I feel quite conflicted about my choices, but in sticking to just 10, I am unable to swap anything out. Ideally I would include at least two more!

Strangely, the song that has ‘stuck’ with me over the last week (Peru, wedding song) didn’t make my list! Beyond the beauty of the girl’s singing, the background of this piece is especially interesting for me because my parents lived in Peru in the 1960’s as Peace Corps volunteers, and this experience really shaped both of them. But it didn’t fulfill my criteria 🙁

Curated list:

  • Java, court gamelan, “Kinds of Flowers,” recorded by Robert Brown. 4:43
  • Mexico, “El Cascabel,” performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi México. 3:14
  • Japan, shakuhachi, “Tsuru No Sugomori” (“Crane’s Nest,”) performed by Goro Yamaguchi. 4:51
  • Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria, no. 14. Edda Moser, soprano. Bavarian State Opera, Munich, Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor. 2:55
  • “Melancholy Blues,” performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven. 3:05
  • Stravinsky, Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky, conductor. 4:35
  • Bulgaria, “Izlel je Delyo Hagdutin,” sung by Valya Balkanska. 4:59
  • Navajo Indians, Night Chant, recorded by Willard Rhodes. 0:57
  • China, ch’in, “Flowing Streams,” performed by Kuan P’ing-hu. 7:37
  • India, raga, “Jaat Kahan Ho,” sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar. 3:30

Notes taken as I set my criteria and made decisions for my curated list