Rhythms of the World

Based on his children’s book, The First Book of Rhythms, published in 1954, poet Langston Hughes describes how rhythms throughout the world are connected, from the human heartbeat to the waves of the ocean. “All the rhythms of life in some way are related,” Hughes says. “You, your baseball, and the universe are brothers through rhythms.” Hughes’ narration is augmented with sounds that illustrate the rhythms he describes. Many of the sampled sounds were taken from other Folkways recordings such as Sounds of Animals (FW06124), Sounds of the Sea, Vol. 1 (FW07004), and Footnotes to Jazz, Vol. 1 (FW02290). Liner notes include Hughes’ script and a listing of sound sources.