British Forum for Ethnomusicology

Review: [untitled]
Author(s): Trevor Wiggins
Reviewed work(s):
Akom: The Art of PossessionSoungalo Coulibaly: Dengo
Source: British Journal of Ethnomusicology, Vol. 10, No. 2 (2001), pp. 132-134
Published by: British Forum for Ethnomusicology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3060670
Accessed: 06/01/2009 19:49
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=bfe.
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the
scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that
promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
British Forum for Ethnomusicology is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
British Journal of Ethnomusicology.
http://www.jstor.org
132 BRITISH JOURNAL OF ETHNOMUSICOLOGY VOL.10/ii 2001 132 BRITISH JOURNAL OF ETHNOMUSICOLOGY VOL.10/ii 2001
of
rag Pilu, where an extensive section of
double
stopping
is used. Khan notes that
this use of chords must be done
carefully
"without
disturbing
the mood of the
raga"
(41)
and that it is more
appropriate
to
lighter pieces. Certainly
this
technique
sounds unusual, although
the musical and
harmonic
purpose
of it was
slightly
unclear
-
at least to this reader.
Many
influences have
shaped
Halim Jaffer
Khan's
style.
In
particular,
his work with
the
legendary
film music director Naushad
has led him to use elements from that
medium in his
playing.
He has also
played
with Dave Brubeck and Julian
Bream and drawn on South Indian music
for
ragas
and other
aspects
of
playing
technique.
In this book/CD Abdul Halim Jaffer
Khan
explains
his art with enthusiasm
and an obvious love for the instrument to
which he has devoted his life.
Certainly,
other similar works
by
eminent Indian
musicians in this
type
of medium and
produced
to this excellent standard would
be an invaluable resource for students
and scholars.
One technical note: this CD ROM can
only
be
played
on a PC, so the
many
thousands of Mac users are excluded ...
again.
GERRY FARRELL
City University,
London
g.j.farrell
@
city.ac.
uk
of
rag Pilu, where an extensive section of
double
stopping
is used. Khan notes that
this use of chords must be done
carefully
"without
disturbing
the mood of the
raga"
(41)
and that it is more
appropriate
to
lighter pieces. Certainly
this
technique
sounds unusual, although
the musical and
harmonic
purpose
of it was
slightly
unclear
-
at least to this reader.
Many
influences have
shaped
Halim Jaffer
Khan's
style.
In
particular,
his work with
the
legendary
film music director Naushad
has led him to use elements from that
medium in his
playing.
He has also
played
with Dave Brubeck and Julian
Bream and drawn on South Indian music
for
ragas
and other
aspects
of
playing
technique.
In this book/CD Abdul Halim Jaffer
Khan
explains
his art with enthusiasm
and an obvious love for the instrument to
which he has devoted his life.
Certainly,
other similar works
by
eminent Indian
musicians in this
type
of medium and
produced
to this excellent standard would
be an invaluable resource for students
and scholars.
One technical note: this CD ROM can
only
be
played
on a PC, so the
many
thousands of Mac users are excluded ...
again.
GERRY FARRELL
City University,
London
g.j.farrell
@
city.ac.
uk
Recordings
Akom: the art
of possession. Village
Pulse VPU-1009, 1999. 72 mins.
Recordings
and booklet
(24pp.) by
Scott Kiehl in
English.
Soungalo Coulibaly: Dengo.
Ethnomad
ARN 64544, 2001 (recorded
in
1995). 51 mins. Booklet
(16pp.)
in
French, English.
These two CDs illustrate two different
approaches
to the musical traditions of
West Africa. Akom is a series of field
recordings
from southeastern Ghana. The
music is
specific
to traditional
religious
rituals
involving
trance and
possession by
spirits.
The
recordings
document the
musical
aspects
of these traditional occa-
sions in accordance with established
ethnomusicological practice. By contrast,
on
Dengo Soungalo Coulibaly,
virtuoso
of the
djembe (a goblet-shaped
wooden
hand drum with a
tightly
laced skin),
has
set out to invent his own
style,
which he
calls "Flez Music". This draws on tradi-
tional
styles
and instruments from Mali,
makes a
point
of
being
acoustic while
using
studio resources, and is a conscious
fusion with other musical
styles
and
musicians. This fits within what is now
an established
contemporary
tradition of
composition
and invention in West Africa,
in
parallel
with other collections and
artists such as the Women
of
Wassoulou
(Stems
STCD 1035)
and the Pan
African
Orchestra (Realworld
CDRW 48).
Kiehl's
recordings
of the music for the
annual
yam
festival were made between
1993 and 1999.
Okomfo
Nana Ntiriwa
leads this
specific
celebration (the
title
Okomfo
means that she is a
priestess
of
Ghana's traditional
religion, Akan).
Kiehl's
engagement
with the
people
and
music comes
through
in the careful cred-
its, his evident
respect
for and
personal
knowledge
of those
participating,
and
his honest comments about the editorial
Recordings
Akom: the art
of possession. Village
Pulse VPU-1009, 1999. 72 mins.
Recordings
and booklet
(24pp.) by
Scott Kiehl in
English.
Soungalo Coulibaly: Dengo.
Ethnomad
ARN 64544, 2001 (recorded
in
1995). 51 mins. Booklet
(16pp.)
in
French, English.
These two CDs illustrate two different
approaches
to the musical traditions of
West Africa. Akom is a series of field
recordings
from southeastern Ghana. The
music is
specific
to traditional
religious
rituals
involving
trance and
possession by
spirits.
The
recordings
document the
musical
aspects
of these traditional occa-
sions in accordance with established
ethnomusicological practice. By contrast,
on
Dengo Soungalo Coulibaly,
virtuoso
of the
djembe (a goblet-shaped
wooden
hand drum with a
tightly
laced skin),
has
set out to invent his own
style,
which he
calls "Flez Music". This draws on tradi-
tional
styles
and instruments from Mali,
makes a
point
of
being
acoustic while
using
studio resources, and is a conscious
fusion with other musical
styles
and
musicians. This fits within what is now
an established
contemporary
tradition of
composition
and invention in West Africa,
in
parallel
with other collections and
artists such as the Women
of
Wassoulou
(Stems
STCD 1035)
and the Pan
African
Orchestra (Realworld
CDRW 48).
Kiehl's
recordings
of the music for the
annual
yam
festival were made between
1993 and 1999.
Okomfo
Nana Ntiriwa
leads this
specific
celebration (the
title
Okomfo
means that she is a
priestess
of
Ghana's traditional
religion, Akan).
Kiehl's
engagement
with the
people
and
music comes
through
in the careful cred-
its, his evident
respect
for and
personal
knowledge
of those
participating,
and
his honest comments about the editorial
REVIEWS 133
decisions he has made. The
recordings
have been edited to
give
an
exemplary
cross-section of the music associated with
the
possession
of
akomfo [pl.
of
okomfo]
by abosum, the
spirits
or deities of a
par-
ticular location or a deified ancestor. The
possessed person
leads the
dancing
and
singing,
with each
song sung
tradition-
ally
three times.
The CD contains 18
songs,
and the
booklet
gives
the words, translation and
meaning, rhythm used, and
year
of
recording
for each. It
gives
a
good
intro-
duction to the occasion, the events, the
instruments and the
songs
themselves.
More information about the musical
aspects
would have been useful, but there
is
only
so much that can be fitted into a
booklet. There are
plenty
of
photographs
(b/w
and colour)
but no
captions except
for
naming drums, thereby limiting
the
use to the
ethnographer
of a number of
fine
images.
There are a few
problems
with the
accuracy
of some of the infor-
mation about instruments
(bearing
in mind
that in West Africa instruments and names
vary,
even within a
region),
so that, for
example,
the
petia
and other drums with
a
goblet shape
are described as
having
a
"closed bottom".
Every petia
I have seen
has a substantial vent in the base and
would
only
be closed if the drum was
played completely upright
-
which the
photographs
show is not the case.
The
recordings
are of
good quality,
carrying
a
strong
sense of the event, very
different from a controlled studio envi-
ronment. The balance between the various
elements (voices, drums, bells, sticks/
clapping)
varies
unavoidably,
but the
recordings
chosen
provide
the
opportu-
nity
to hear most
aspects clearly
at some
point.
The music is
typically
West African/
Ghanaian, having
a timeline that is
usually provided by
one or more
clapper-
less iron bells, a drum ensemble with
support
drums often
bringing
out differ-
ent
polyrhythmic
elements of the time-
line, and a lead drum that
responds
and
interacts with
singers
and dancers.
Sometimes the drummers are
evidently
playing phrases
that "talk", i.e.
they
imi-
tate
linguistic phrases,
but no mention is
made of this. The
singing
is
mostly
call-
and-response
in short
phrases,
often
"harmonized" in
parallel
thirds. With a few
reservations, this CD makes a
very
useful
addition to
any
collection concerned with
traditional West African music, religion,
or more
general
issues of
trance/posses-
sion and music.
Soungalo Coulibaly's
second
recording,
Dengo,
was made in the studios of Radio
Suisse Romande in 1995 and has now
been released in this new edition on the
Ethnomad label.
Drawing
on the
rhythms
and
songs
of the Bambara, Malinke and
Peul
peoples
of Mali, it adds influences
from
jazz
and is
carefully
scored and
arranged. Coulibaly's playing
of the
djembe
is
technically superb, showing
great
control over a
variety
of sounds
performed
at
speed
and often
interacting
polyrhythmically
with other
parts.
Lead
singer
Miriam Diakite, who comes from
the Wassolon area of Mali, has the
typi-
cal vocal sound of the
region: slightly
husky
and nasal, and
capable
of
carrying
for miles in clear air.
The instruments used are
mostly
tradi-
tional: Senufo and Malinke
balafons (xylo-
phones),
the kamele
n'goni (harp-lute),
the
ubiquitous djembe
and the
guitar,
together
with a number of other instru-
ments that are named but not described.
The instruments are all acoustic but this
is
very
much a studio
recording, present-
ing
the instruments in a character and
balance that would not be
possible
with-
out
microphones, mixing
and
digital
sound
processing.
The liner notes
give
a brief
biography
of the
principal
members of the
group
and, for each of the ten
songs,
an extract
of the words
(composed by Coulibaly)
and a translation. There are also some
BRITISH JOURNAL OF ETHNOMUSICOLOGY VOL.10/ii 2001 BRITISH JOURNAL OF ETHNOMUSICOLOGY VOL.10/ii 2001
photos
of the
group
in
performance,
which
usually
includes the
choreography
of Anne-France Brunet.
This is
carefully groomed ethnicity,
presenting
music that shows
great
skill in
performance,
with a
variety
of moods
and
styles, appealing
sounds and some
memorable
grooves.
TREVOR WIGGINS
Dartington College of
Arts
t.
wiggins
@
dartington.
ac. uk
photos
of the
group
in
performance,
which
usually
includes the
choreography
of Anne-France Brunet.
This is
carefully groomed ethnicity,
presenting
music that shows
great
skill in
performance,
with a
variety
of moods
and
styles, appealing
sounds and some
memorable
grooves.
TREVOR WIGGINS
Dartington College of
Arts
t.
wiggins
@
dartington.
ac. uk
Serbie:
anthologie
de la
musique popu-
laire serbe / Serbia: an
anthology of
Serbian
folk
music.
VDE-GALLO,
CP 945/ AIMP
LX, 1999. 72.22
mins.
Recordings (1975-96) and
accompanying
notes in French and
English (47pp.) by Dimitrije
0.
Golemovic, Katarina Knezevic.
The traditional music of the Serbs, one
of the
largest
nations on the Balkan
Peninsula, is an
important part
of Balkan
musical
heritage.
The
living
rural music
tradition is
extremely
rich and diverse,
with
huge expressive power
and a
range
of
interesting
musical forms. The lack of
authoritative Serbian rural music record-
ings
on the
Yugoslav
market has been felt
for
years
and this CD is therefore
very
welcome.
The disc consists of field and studio
recordings,
made between 1975 and
1996,
from Serbia as well as
contemporary
Croatia and Bosnia
(where
Serbs lived
before the recent
migrations
caused
by
wars
during
the last
decade). Songs
and
instrumental
pieces
from a wide area are
included: from Obrovac in Croatia to
Negotin
in eastern Serbia and from Kik-
inda in
Vojvodina
to
Livadje
and
Ranilug
in Kosovo. The tracks include both rural
traditional music
(the majority)
and
contemporary developments
of those
Serbie:
anthologie
de la
musique popu-
laire serbe / Serbia: an
anthology of
Serbian
folk
music.
VDE-GALLO,
CP 945/ AIMP
LX, 1999. 72.22
mins.
Recordings (1975-96) and
accompanying
notes in French and
English (47pp.) by Dimitrije
0.
Golemovic, Katarina Knezevic.
The traditional music of the Serbs, one
of the
largest
nations on the Balkan
Peninsula, is an
important part
of Balkan
musical
heritage.
The
living
rural music
tradition is
extremely
rich and diverse,
with
huge expressive power
and a
range
of
interesting
musical forms. The lack of
authoritative Serbian rural music record-
ings
on the
Yugoslav
market has been felt
for
years
and this CD is therefore
very
welcome.
The disc consists of field and studio
recordings,
made between 1975 and
1996,
from Serbia as well as
contemporary
Croatia and Bosnia
(where
Serbs lived
before the recent
migrations
caused
by
wars
during
the last
decade). Songs
and
instrumental
pieces
from a wide area are
included: from Obrovac in Croatia to
Negotin
in eastern Serbia and from Kik-
inda in
Vojvodina
to
Livadje
and
Ranilug
in Kosovo. The tracks include both rural
traditional music
(the majority)
and
contemporary developments
of those
traditions.
Many
are the field
recordings
of
Dimitrije
Golemovic and
Dragoslav
Devic, made
during
the 1970s and 1980s
-
particularly
in the
regions
of ULice,
Ivanjica,
Podrinje,
Negotin, Vojvodina
and Kosovo. The rest are the
recordings
of
ethnomusicologist
Katarina Knezevic.
Some of the newest
recordings
were
made in
Belgrade during
the 1990s
immediately
after the exodus of hundreds
of thousands of Serbs from Croatia and
Bosnian
Krajina.
The tracks are ordered
according
to
the music's
geographical origin.
The disc
begins
with
interesting examples
from
Knin and Bosnian
Krajina:
track 1 illus-
trates
groktalice (a grunting song)
and
uses
long
ornamental sections
thought by
ethnomusicologists
to be one of the old-
est forms of Serbian
singing;
track 2 is an
example
of the traditional
single-reed
instrument, diple;
and track 4 is a
song
in
ornamental
heterophony.
Several of the
examples
from western
Serbia stand out: track 9 illustrates the
polyphonic singing style
of zlatiborska
kajda (lit.
"melodic
pattern
from Zlatibor
mountain"),
with a
fascinating
rise in into-
nation; track 11 contains a rare
recording
of a male
two-part song (with bourdon)
in the loud, open-throated
na
glas style
(lit.
on the
top
of the
voice);
and track 12
is a
song performed
in the sonorities of
na bas
(lit.
"on the
bass") by
an extraor-
dinary
female vocal
group
from the vicin-
ity
of Uzice. Instrumental
pieces
from the
same
region
include the
widespread
svi-
rala
(end-blown
duct
flute)
and dvojnice
(double-duct flute), and a
peculiarity
of
southwest Serbia, the clarinet and drum
duet
(track 15).
This
group
of
recordings
also includes a
song accompanied by
the
gusle
or
single-string
fiddle
(track 16).
From eastern
Serbia, two traditional
songs performed
in unison
(tracks
24 and
26)
and a
two-part
bourdon
song (track 25)
are
particularly interesting.
Instrumental
traditions of this
region
are
represented
traditions.
Many
are the field
recordings
of
Dimitrije
Golemovic and
Dragoslav
Devic, made
during
the 1970s and 1980s
-
particularly
in the
regions
of ULice,
Ivanjica,
Podrinje,
Negotin, Vojvodina
and Kosovo. The rest are the
recordings
of
ethnomusicologist
Katarina Knezevic.
Some of the newest
recordings
were
made in
Belgrade during
the 1990s
immediately
after the exodus of hundreds
of thousands of Serbs from Croatia and
Bosnian
Krajina.
The tracks are ordered
according
to
the music's
geographical origin.
The disc
begins
with
interesting examples
from
Knin and Bosnian
Krajina:
track 1 illus-
trates
groktalice (a grunting song)
and
uses
long
ornamental sections
thought by
ethnomusicologists
to be one of the old-
est forms of Serbian
singing;
track 2 is an
example
of the traditional
single-reed
instrument, diple;
and track 4 is a
song
in
ornamental
heterophony.
Several of the
examples
from western
Serbia stand out: track 9 illustrates the
polyphonic singing style
of zlatiborska
kajda (lit.
"melodic
pattern
from Zlatibor
mountain"),
with a
fascinating
rise in into-
nation; track 11 contains a rare
recording
of a male
two-part song (with bourdon)
in the loud, open-throated
na
glas style
(lit.
on the
top
of the
voice);
and track 12
is a
song performed
in the sonorities of
na bas
(lit.
"on the
bass") by
an extraor-
dinary
female vocal
group
from the vicin-
ity
of Uzice. Instrumental
pieces
from the
same
region
include the
widespread
svi-
rala
(end-blown
duct
flute)
and dvojnice
(double-duct flute), and a
peculiarity
of
southwest Serbia, the clarinet and drum
duet
(track 15).
This
group
of
recordings
also includes a
song accompanied by
the
gusle
or
single-string
fiddle
(track 16).
From eastern
Serbia, two traditional
songs performed
in unison
(tracks
24 and
26)
and a
two-part
bourdon
song (track 25)
are
particularly interesting.
Instrumental
traditions of this
region
are
represented
134 134