The Kora is a really genius instrument. The scale mostly alternates between the two groups of strings on either side, so that by going up or done one side one progresses mostly by skips. This means that a lot of chords are made by plucking successive strings on one side or the other. I can't think of a way to make a stringed instrument more intuitive or more suited to playing two different parts at once. Certainly it suits a music based on both rhythmic and harmonic tension, which is a very sophisticated combination.
Helpful info thanks George. I was actually going to post asking questions along those lines.. Maybe like a Harp with alternate strings in non-chromatic order..?
It's the same concept of the Arabic instruments the Qanun or Kanun, Qanun in addition has keys and instant tuning nobs.. amazing instruments like these and rich cultural heritage of these parts of the world sadly are unkown to the average westerner and are only known to a certain intellectual elite.. like who would know that the French guy was actually in some of his solos playing Moroccan folkore , imitating the Gambri instrument and the Gnawa folklore music and others
This was the pair of instruments my dad would play with his friend at parties....never thought I'd see this combination again out in the wild let alone on a tiny desk
Today is Tuesday, November 3, 2020 and the peace this music brings is about all I have the bandwidth for today. Prayers of thanks up to Mr. Sissoko for leaving us with this balm for restless souls.
This has to be one of the best Tiny Desks I have ever heard, and that’s saying a lot because they’ve been serving for a while. Sissoko and Segal are amazing. The kora is such a dope instrument.
I heard these two today! Immediately after the concert ended I raced for the merch table and purchased 2 of their CDs. What an other-worldly treat! Just beautiful!!!
Last year I had the great fortune to travel overland with two friends to Mali from my home in Andalucía . When I arrived in Bamako, Mali I started to learn the Kora. The reason I was on the trip was that as an ethnomusicographer I had always wanted to go to the Festival of the desert and had booked but due to the troubles in Mali I couldn’t go - so this was a ‘make up trip.’ I can’t wait to return - our driver and my friend has now married a Malian and I do feel Mali calling me. Beautiful music and I hope that you have found a Kora to surpass the one destroyed by US border customs.
4 года назад+7
Two artists that sound like four. Beautiful music. Thank you.
😊 🙏 Thanksfully, warmfully to this wonderful duo of "Brothers in Music and Culture" !!! They are very appreciated in Paris, in France !!!! Ballake Sissoko is one of the best of the world with the Kora, fantastic instrument totally homemade !! I'm very glad that NPR Music in Tiny Desk Concert invites so talentuous and different types of music !!!🙏 Astrid (Paris)
This needed in all forms of life. When shit seems to real and painful just stop and listen to something like this. Also their faces, omg , they are happy. I need more music in my life.
Already a big fan of the kora, and have a sense of the spell it can weave, but this blew me away completely. For me, music doesn't get any better than this collaboration between two fine artists.
Aye, I just go back and forth between this and Kayhan Kalhor/Erdal Erzincan [Tahran 2012, Kalan Music] based on whether my mood is going up or down. All the rest is filler, I can't say which of the two I like most but I can't come close with anything else. Peace.
Magnifique !!! Merci de garder, préserver la pureté du son de ces deux instruments merveilleux qui dialoguent si harmonieusement...juste les sons naturels des instruments (sans électro ou autre déformation), gardez l'âme de ces sons de l'éternité, grâce à vos mains et vos esprits qui composent librement... Merciiii à tous deux !!!! ;-)
I can listen to this music all day and never get bored of it. And since I discovered it a few weeks ago, I have been sleeping a lot better. Probably because it is so relaxing I forget all my worries with it ! Thank you so much, musicians and people who posted this marvel.
Here I am in self isolation because of Covid19 and I am elevated beyond my sickness. Thank you Ballake and Vincent for your transformative musical sounds.
Just wanted to listen to something different for a change, and this has just blown me away. The obvious talent these two beautiful musicians possess and the combination of both is unique sounding and utterly gorgeous. Thank you to the incredible pair of musicians and to Tiny Desk for uploading such uplifting and wonderful music.
I love this combination! The music was great and it was definitely something different. The kora is such an interesting instrument. The cellist is also a great player. This is really appreciated being a cellist.
Your beautiful music has reached around the world and uplifted my heart today, years after this recording. This is what the internet really offers...Thank you!
Still the best video on YT. Every time Segal plays flute on his cello I am taken to a new plane of existence. Also this video was the primary inspiration for me to learn to play kora.
I have their Chamber Music CD and it's just gorgeous, but thank you NPR for always being a source of richness in my life! The piece at 4:47 is new to me :)
Breathtakingly beautiful music. Just gotta give a shout out to the Tiny Desk production team who never fail to do these wonderful artists the justice they deserve. The sound, camerawork and editing are all truly great.....so thanks to you guys too.
Thanks so much for hosting this wonderful pair! They're a very nice example of not trying to place "western" tonal references (sometimes very limiting) on west-african musicality!! All too often western ears hear things in very stable tonal-centers where many other cultures have a more fluid way of approaching where "home" is musically. There is another area where we can get closer to what african rhythmic interplay tends to do to the highest levels on the planet, a good example can be seen around 13:00 minutes where contrasting riffs start to create an interplay of ideas, rather than mirroring each other as much, and it creates a true sense of "play" and therefore joy!
Thank you so much NPR for the Tiny Desk Concert videos - so much talent and many different musical styles and expressions. This intimate format is the best!
Je ne commente pas souvent mais là il le fallait c'était un mélange incroyable et absolument époustouflant je suis ravie d'avoir eu cette chance de découvrir cette vidéo d'artistes incroyable :)))
I was at the 2011 WOMAD in Abu Dhabi!!! I remember walking onto the beach at the cornice, and the announcer saying that Toumani Diabate was playing in a few minutes!!!
Abdul Razak Harun the year WOMAD was also in Al Ain outside at the old fort, many amazing moments & as it was free many South Asian & African workers attended & enjoyed
This music is just one of the most shooting and relaxing 😌 Thanks to the great Ballake Cissoko the other brother's touch was great as well. Kora is just an instrument which is unique in the hands of someone who knows what to do with it's many strings. Much love from Dakar.
All that is beautiful about humanity is resonating here - wonderful recording too...I stumbled on to this - reminds me of Meeting by the River - thanks you
Balake CiSSOkO , virtuose incontestable de cet instrument magique la KORA mais VINCENT SEGAL est un génie. Je rends grâce à DIEU pour verte symbiose qui frise une complicité. Bravo aux deux mastodontes. !
Beautiful music! It brings peace to the soul. I never saw this instrument before. Thanks You Tube for your kindness in showing this video to us. These two men are magnificent and it appears to me that they love the music and instrument. If only everyone bring music like this to make merry.
I know I shouldn't just jump to comparisons etc but I hear so much Arthur Russell in this music which is incredibly appealing to me. I knew he was into a lot of different music and music teachings so it wouldn't surprise me if he came across music like this and took influence from it. Good stuff.
![Lethal Company Music Video 🎵 "Follow The Orders" [VERSION A]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QeooZB4Z7RA/mqdefault.jpg)
The Kora is a really genius instrument. The scale mostly alternates between the two groups of strings on either side, so that by going up or done one side one progresses mostly by skips. This means that a lot of chords are made by plucking successive strings on one side or the other. I can't think of a way to make a stringed instrument more intuitive or more suited to playing two different parts at once. Certainly it suits a music based on both rhythmic and harmonic tension, which is a very sophisticated combination.
@@4tado I just came here from a tweet talking about this. So sad that such a beautiful instrument is gone. 🥺😖😥
That was a very good comment. Thanks
Helpful info thanks George.
I was actually going to post asking questions along those lines..
Maybe like a Harp with alternate strings in non-chromatic order..?
It's the same concept of the Arabic instruments the Qanun or Kanun, Qanun in addition has keys and instant tuning nobs.. amazing instruments like these and rich cultural heritage of these parts of the world sadly are unkown to the average westerner and are only known to a certain intellectual elite.. like who would know that the French guy was actually in some of his solos playing Moroccan folkore , imitating the Gambri instrument and the Gnawa folklore music and others
similar to a kalimba?
This is stunning,How lucky are we to be able to see all this wonderful music online.
This was the pair of instruments my dad would play with his friend at parties....never thought I'd see this combination again out in the wild let alone on a tiny desk
Pairing made in heaven, are wine consumed in such gatherings? Thank you.
Today is Tuesday, November 3, 2020 and the peace this music brings is about all I have the bandwidth for today. Prayers of thanks up to Mr. Sissoko for leaving us with this balm for restless souls.
Did anyone else shed a few tears while watching this? It is so moving.
The Kora is amazing of course but for a moment there the cello was definitely making flute sounds and that blew my mind.
This has to be one of the best Tiny Desks I have ever heard, and that’s saying a lot because they’ve been serving for a while. Sissoko and Segal are amazing. The kora is such a dope instrument.
Don’t forgot Toumani! Amazing Kora player.
I feel like from the moment you hear it the kora is such a healing instrument. Tears leap everytime.
Their rythym is ridiculous. Superb musicians to stay in time with eachother through such complex movements.
Tiny Desk concerts have taken over as the main source, other than friend recommendations, for finding new music. This is typically wonderful.
imagine being so musical that your tuning break sounds like a masterpiece
Goodness. These men are gods that have come to bless us
I heard these two today! Immediately after the concert ended I raced for the merch table and purchased 2 of their CDs. What an other-worldly treat! Just beautiful!!!
Last year I had the great fortune to travel overland with two friends to Mali from my home in Andalucía . When I arrived in Bamako, Mali I started to learn the Kora. The reason I was on the trip was that as an ethnomusicographer I had always wanted to go to the Festival of the desert and had booked but due to the troubles in Mali I couldn’t go - so this was a ‘make up trip.’ I can’t wait to return - our driver and my friend has now married a Malian and I do feel Mali calling me. Beautiful music and I hope that you have found a Kora to surpass the one destroyed by US border customs.
Two artists that sound like four. Beautiful music. Thank you.
😊 🙏 Thanksfully, warmfully to this wonderful duo of "Brothers in Music and Culture" !!! They are very appreciated in Paris, in France !!!! Ballake Sissoko is one of the best of the world with the Kora, fantastic instrument totally homemade !! I'm very glad that NPR Music in Tiny Desk Concert invites so talentuous and different types of music !!!🙏 Astrid (Paris)
This needed in all forms of life. When shit seems to real and painful just stop and listen to something like this. Also their faces, omg , they are happy. I need more music in my life.
going to take a walk with my dog after hearing this. Smile on my face - happiness in my heart...
Already a big fan of the kora, and have a sense of the spell it can weave, but this blew me away completely. For me, music doesn't get any better than this collaboration between two fine artists.
Aye, I just go back and forth between this and Kayhan Kalhor/Erdal Erzincan [Tahran 2012, Kalan Music] based on whether my mood is going up or down. All the rest is filler, I can't say which of the two I like most but I can't come close with anything else. Peace.
So elegant and soft, gorgeous music. Love from Serbia!
First time I've ever seen sounds like a flute come from a cello. That was pretty mind blowing :)
Elegance beauté. ..les âmes voyagent sur les notes , funambules libres .
Merci pour cet instant de grâce.
What a gorgeous pairing of instruments. Absolutely spectacular piece and performance. This is the grail kids, It just doesn't get better than this.
Ooohhh Malian Kora . New fav instrument lovely with beautiful cello
Magnifique !!! Merci de garder, préserver la pureté du son de ces deux instruments merveilleux qui dialoguent si harmonieusement...juste les sons naturels des instruments (sans électro ou autre déformation), gardez l'âme de ces sons de l'éternité, grâce à vos mains et vos esprits qui composent librement... Merciiii à tous deux !!!! ;-)
I can listen to this music all day and never get bored of it. And since I discovered it a few weeks ago, I have been sleeping a lot better. Probably because it is so relaxing I forget all my worries with it ! Thank you so much, musicians and people who posted this marvel.
Here I am in self isolation because of Covid19 and I am elevated beyond my sickness. Thank you Ballake and Vincent for your transformative musical sounds.
Get well soon!
Wow! That first song was incredibly beautiful
Just wanted to listen to something different for a change, and this has just blown me away. The obvious talent these two beautiful musicians possess and the combination of both is unique sounding and utterly gorgeous. Thank you to the incredible pair of musicians and to Tiny Desk for uploading such uplifting and wonderful music.
when music speaks
, words silently listen to her . thank you npr ♥ one love from morocco
I love this combination! The music was great and it was definitely something different. The kora is such an interesting instrument. The cellist is also a great player. This is really appreciated being a cellist.
Never thought that somebody could make pizzicato so easy and pure.
Vincent Segal takes the Cello to another level. Absolutely fantastic
Your beautiful music has reached around the world and uplifted my heart today, years after this recording. This is what the internet really offers...Thank you!
Still the best video on YT. Every time Segal plays flute on his cello I am taken to a new plane of existence. Also this video was the primary inspiration for me to learn to play kora.
I have their Chamber Music CD and it's just gorgeous, but thank you NPR for always being a source of richness in my life! The piece at 4:47 is new to me :)
I always come back to this when I need to still my mind and calm my soul. So uplifting!!
I would love to see this live
How can two different culture they get so well together amazing couple thank you
Same here
Magical - the bit between 12:31 and 13:21 is probably my favourite fifty seconds on RUclips
Beautiful conversation here!
Ain’t nothing like some good music to help you through life’s rough times. Thank you npr.
Ballake and Vincent are the man
It reminds me of two butterflies at play, chasing each other.
That's a really beautiful way to put it. Thank you.
Or birds playing with each other before the sun sets..
What a beautiful comment G Kuljian
@@Soulfull8 that's beautiful
Or birds flying over a moonlit lake
Breathtakingly beautiful music. Just gotta give a shout out to the Tiny Desk production team who never fail to do these wonderful artists the justice they deserve. The sound, camerawork and editing are all truly great.....so thanks to you guys too.
Bravo et merci pour ce duo qui éveille notre plus belle part d humanité 😇
Something about the movement of each of these pieces just draws me in deeper. I loved it!
The music is Mali folklore. The Cellist vincent is adapting his instrument to the traditional african cora instrument. This is a wonderful thing.
Such unique and kindred musical talents! So lovely and peaceful. We are grateful 🌈💜
that first song was so soothing and down right hypnotic! loved it!
this is a special duo. beautifully intimate, warm, and so richly colorful
the first piece always gets me.
Thanks so much for hosting this wonderful pair! They're a very nice example of not trying to place "western" tonal references (sometimes very limiting) on west-african musicality!! All too often western ears hear things in very stable tonal-centers where many other cultures have a more fluid way of approaching where "home" is musically.
There is another area where we can get closer to what african rhythmic interplay tends to do to the highest levels on the planet, a good example can be seen around 13:00 minutes where contrasting riffs start to create an interplay of ideas, rather than mirroring each other as much, and it creates a true sense of "play" and therefore joy!
exquisite collaboration!!!!!!!! wow, yo... just wow.
Thank you so much NPR for the Tiny Desk Concert videos - so much talent and many different musical styles and expressions. This intimate format is the best!
+Hjernded It is the best, you are right.
Je ne commente pas souvent mais là il le fallait c'était un mélange incroyable et absolument époustouflant je suis ravie d'avoir eu cette chance de découvrir cette vidéo d'artistes incroyable :)))
Quel bouquet touchant à l'intime: merveilles des cordes...sensitives.Merci
can stay the whole day listening to this!
So many things in this world are ugly. This makes up for a lot of that.
A true smoothing medicine.....
speechless ... but how much more fusion can exist is beyond imagination
+Jamil Brownson
True, it's also great to know that there is still music that can be made, and that is being made that we have not heard yet.
Global sounds bring together many instruments from diverse cultures and traditions to create beautiful music
Abdul Razak Harun I remember when Abu Dhabi hosted WOMAD in 2010 & between sets & off main stage so many musicians jammed in togetherness
I was at the 2011 WOMAD in Abu Dhabi!!! I remember walking onto the beach at the cornice, and the announcer saying that Toumani Diabate was playing in a few minutes!!!
Abdul Razak Harun the year WOMAD was also in Al Ain outside at the old fort, many amazing moments & as it was free many South Asian & African workers attended & enjoyed
Quel magnifique voyage musical. Merci de nous rendre le confinement plus léger... dans cet après-midi pluvieux!!!
Masterfully played. Absolutely gorgeous music on your cello and Kora!
This music is just one of the most shooting and relaxing 😌
Thanks to the great Ballake Cissoko the other brother's touch was great as well. Kora is just an instrument which is unique in the hands of someone who knows what to do with it's many strings.
Much love from Dakar.
Beautiful music
the most relaxing music on earth
Quel bel métissage! Merci Ballakè et Vincent.
C'est tellement beau ,que cela fait pleurer ,je suis en gratitude,pour ce cadeau Merci
Aloha Namasté
This is Love, music love between 2 virtuosos joining their talents...
Quel merveilleux CADEAUX MERCI !!!!❤️❤️❤️🌈🌈🌈
¡¡¡pero qué trabajo más lindo!!! es un placer escucharlos, gratitud desde Chile
That groove at the end on the cello made my day, besides the obvious skill and musicianship of course 😁
Just gorgeous, banquet for my soul & ears.😍
Two wonderful men! Their music is so touching and heartwarming
Spiritual music 😢👍❤️
All that is beautiful about humanity is resonating here - wonderful recording too...I stumbled on to this - reminds me of Meeting by the River - thanks you
I love that Music has no borders, no skin colour, no limits
I agree!!.. Music has no political boundaries.. 🌏💝🌎💝🌍💝🥰😘🕊🕊🕊
Except to US CBP who destroyed the Kora you see here.
You have point @@prestwickpioneer3474
Beautiful mix! Bravo! This music breathes space, truth, and peace! Merci!
gracias a los 2 maestros que nos ofrecen esta musica que alegra el corazon!
Que falta nos hace ,querido compatriota y no por ello Amigo.Fuerza.
I'm in love with this! 💕🔥 How does this video not have more views? 🎼🎶
Exstraordinarily beautiful music.
my heart dances on those strings...
Magnifique...quelle belle association, inattendue, improbable....
Maravillosa musica, el arte y la musica trascienden cualquier frontera, Saludos desde Bogota Colombia.
loving this instrument blend!
wow. I only have 20 NPR's left to watch and this was my favorite yet.
Balake CiSSOkO , virtuose incontestable de cet instrument magique la KORA mais VINCENT SEGAL est un génie. Je rends grâce à DIEU pour verte symbiose qui frise une complicité. Bravo aux deux mastodontes. !
This made me cry
Wowww. This is some of the most magical music ever.
I hope this is being passed down to future generations, especially here in the U.S.
The fact that there's not over a million views makes me doubt human BEINGS.
Superb musicians on Chello and the beautiful Ode
Music from two souls...a Great Gift to all of us! Thank you! Greetings from DR
Beautiful music! It brings peace to the soul. I never saw this instrument before. Thanks You Tube for your kindness in showing this video to us. These two men are magnificent and it appears to me that they love the music and instrument. If only everyone bring music like this to make merry.
La douceur qu’il y a à l’intérieur est sublime ✨✨✨🌍🙏🏿♾️🌹 merci beaucoup 💎
at first time hearing this, i have to stop everything and just listening, can't even think. great duo (on the artist and the instruments)
Listening during quarantine Covid 19.....
Thank you tiny desk
Amazing collaboration of two cultures. )))
This great! Never listened to this kind of music before, but it's really beautiful.
Wonderful. So tender.
This made my day!!!! Thank you for the piece of heaven.
I know I shouldn't just jump to comparisons etc but I hear so much Arthur Russell in this music which is incredibly appealing to me. I knew he was into a lot of different music and music teachings so it wouldn't surprise me if he came across music like this and took influence from it. Good stuff.