Before There Was “World Music”: The Nonesuch Explorer Series

When I was a kid, there were certain albums that I checked out from the library over and over again. The one I probably borrowed the most was The Nonesuch Explorer: Music from Distant Corners of the World. A 1971 double-LP compilation of folk music recordings from the Nonesuch Explorer Series, the album featured music from Indonesia, Japan, India, Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia), the Americas, Eastern Europe, Greece, and Sweden. It introduced me to music ranging from gamelan music to Swedish fiddle tunes from Dalarna.

This album is long out of print, but years later I discovered Java: Javanese Court Gamelan. I purchased it and was thrilled to recognize one of the pieces from The Nonesuch Explorer. The album has since been reissued as Java: Court Gamelan.

In fact, most of the source recordings for the album I loved so much are still available through the Nonesuch Explorer Series. There are some noticeable holes. Only one CD from India is in print, and it contains none of the music from The Nonesuch Explorer. You also won’t find Greek or Swedish music in Nonesuch’s Explorer Series. But there are plenty of other recordings, including many from places not included on the 1971 compilation, including Tahiti, Iran, Tibet, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Burundi.

These recordings are not what we normally refer to as “world music” today. They do not reflect contemporary music around the world. They are recordings made by ethnomusicologists in specific places and specific times. But if you have wide-ranging musical taste, these recordings are gold.

I swear there were informative liner notes with the double-album, but I can’t find them online. For instance, I seem to remember that the compilation album said that Guarani songs like “El Chupino” traditionally were interrupted with a compliment to a woman, but perhaps I’m remembering that incorrectly. From what I’ve been able to catch, it certainly seems that the singers are saying something about a beautiful woman.

If you decide to delve into the Explorer Series, where should you start? It really depends on the regions of the world that interest you the most. I recommend sampling the available music and deciding what you like best. Nonesuch’s website allows you to listen to 30-second samples of their music, and Warner Music Group (which owns Nonesuch), has uploaded several songs in their entirety on YouTube, though it’s a bit of a pain to find them. (I recommend searching by “Nonesuch [Name of Song].”)

But if you asked me to recommend just one album, I’d tell you to get Music of Bulgaria. None of its music was included on The Nonesuch Explorer compilation, though I could have sworn that’s where I first heard “Polegnala E Todora.” It’s a nice mix of Bulgarian music, and as far as I’m concerned, “Polegnala E Todora” is absolutely beautiful. You can also find a different recording of that song on the Nonesuch recording Le Mystère dex Voix Bulgares. It’s not part of the Explorer Series, but there’s a good reason NPR included it in its list of the 150 greatest albums by women.