Album: Endless Songs from Bhutan
Artist: Jigme Drukpa
A CD music album which I ordered several months ago finally arrived today. And it was indeed worth waiting for.
I have been drawn to, and fascinated by the Kingdom of Bhutan for countless years. Collecting bits of information here and there in both books and the internet.
Have forgotten exactly where I first heard the voice of Jigme Drukpa, but having been captivated, I launched a search to find some of his recordings. Surprisingly Amazon stocked his CD 'Endless Songs from Bhutan', but at nearly the same time I discovered an internet CD site in Hong Kong which offered the same album at a much better price. [Compariing prices is a game retired folk frequently play.] And besides Hong Kong was so much closer to Thailand than Amazon's U.S. shipping center, and hence it would arrive sooner. Or so I thought at the time.
It is an absolutel beautiful, sonorous album, captivatingly melancholic and surprisingly engrossing. Jigme Drukpa is a master musician and vocalist. He accompanies himself on a variety of local instruments - the dra-nyen [Bhutanese lute], yangshin [Asian dulcimer], dong lim and zur lim [flutes] and kong-tha [bamboo mouth harp]. Some of the selections are instrumentals with no vocal accompaniment.
Coincidentally last night I prepared 'Kewa Phagsha' [Spicy Pork] for my dinner. A savory Bhutanese combination of pork loin, potatoes, geeen chiles, onion, garlic and ginger. Absolutely declicious combination of flavors. And since there was a considerable amount left over, today's luncheon menu will include Kewa Phagsha with the sounds of Jigme Drukpa.
[click on the music bar below for a sample of the album]
Comments