But even with no deeper knowledge about african drumming, ewe drumming is amazing to watch and never sounds monotonous. Bamaya, the dance is usually performed by men in ladies skirts, involves wiggling of the pelvis. Now, it is often performed at cultural gatherings and to entertain tourists. The version on the a level syllabus was recorded by mustapha tettey addey, who plays the atsimevu. These performances lead to popularizing this style of dance to where it is performed worldwide today. Under the direction of nani agbeli, the agbekor drum and dance society joined tufts african music ensemble, kiniwe, for their end of semester concert of ghanaian music and dance. Defrantz uses the story of alvin ailey to chart the story of african americans in 20thcentury america. Using the casestudy approach, the text presents indepth explorations of music of several cultures from around the world. If a virtual private party is more your thing, go here for details. As evidenced on this recording, ewe instrumentation is largely percussionbased and includes talking drum, double or single gong, and gourd rattle played in complex, polyrhythmic patterns. It is interesting to note that the ewe sometimes think of the. Specialists in the publishing and distribution of dance books and dvds for over 30. Songs, drum language of the ewes, with compact disc. Come browse our large digital warehouse of free sample essays.
Buy dance drumming of the anlo ewe featuring the ghana dance ensemble. Agbekor dance mustapha tettey addy the war dance quiz. Learning about such things makes listening to ewe drumming even more interesting. Legacy percussion this collection of educational and performance videos represents the culmination of 4 decades of studying, performing, teaching, and writing about world percussion, with a. Learn in africa american music history with free interactive flashcards. Sex, scandal, and suffering behind the symbol of perfection by deirdre k. Apple books features more than two million biographies, mysteries, comedies, classics, textbooks, and so much more. Along with much patient instruction, this means that an ensemble could spend many months in solitude before they feel ready to perform in public. This marketleading, bestselling text covers ethnomusicologythe study of music in a peoples way of life, which treats music as a distillation of cultural styles. Perhaps not the same one from the worlds music book but similar in concept. From forest to stage after reading the first section on african world music, i had gained a basic knowledge of agbekor, the song and dance of the ewe people. One would have to find a book on the subject to consult for reference and significance history. His recent projects include an oral history and musical documentation of dance drumming from the dagbamba people, and an indepth musical documentation of agbadza, an idiom of ewe music. The performance featured akpese, a relatively recent style of ghanaian music which blends christian songs with traditional ewe recreational drumming and dancing.
Choose from 500 different sets of in africa american music history flashcards on quizlet. Once known as atamga, it is an ancient and traditional dance form often performed in many functions, and also in funerals. Alokli songs of west africa songbook by dan gorlin. Plus easytounderstand solutions written by experts for thousands of other textbooks. Get the knowledge you need in order to pass your classes and more. I highly recommend this book cd set to everyone interested in african music. Join a live hosted trivia game for your favorite pub trivia experience done virtually. Agbekor is a style of dance by the west african peoples of ewe and foh.
So the player must know the role of the particular instrument in the totality, and also the rhythm or rhythms assigned to it and precisely where they fit into the music. Kinka agbadza slow agbekor fast agbekor drums used in this video are atsimevu, sogo, kidi, kaganu, and gaokogui. Johnstons a history of dancing 1906 was the first book published in english on its subject in the twentieth century. Browse, buy, and download books from your favorite authors on apple books. The dance of agbadza, which features contractionexpansion of the torso and birdlike arm motion, is the ewe national dance. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books.
At first they dance in place at the perimeter of the performance area, marking time until the sogo. Originally a religious harvest dance, it now functions as social dance. Although this is by no means an exhaustive list of world music resources, it is our hope that this page introduces users to the ran ge of mat erials that are available through the music library at missouri state university. Kobla dotse published in 2011 xxxx publications disclaimer the material we present here is provided to you mainly for educational and information purposes only. Founder and director, agbekor drum and dance society. Agbekor is one of the popular warrior dance forms that is originated with the ewa and foh people who live on the atlantic coast of western africa. It is an ancient dance once known as atamga, ga meaning great, atam meaning oath.
Ewe drumming one of africas coolest drumming styles. Founded in 1988 as a scholarly journal, studies in dance history was redefined as a book series in 1994. Live in southeast ghana, southern benin, and the southern half of togoin africa most people are farmers, and many fish their religionhas great influence on their lives is organized around a god called mawu, and numerous lesser gods. This dance today is used to show the history of south africa and as any form of dance, this style has been adapted to many new modern forms of dancing south african.
The authors all ethnomusicologists working in their fields of expertise base their. It is now published by the university of michigan press. People rise to dance as the mood strikes them, usually in a small group of two to four people. According to ewe master drummer emmanuel agbeli of kopeyia, ghana, gahu is an adaptation of kokosawa, an older african drumand dance style that originated with the yoruba people of nigeria. Agbekor music of the ewe people by aqua rempel on prezi. This book presents a course text for dance teachers and students, as well as a reference for dance professionals. The origins and brief history of the ewe people narrated by dr. Titon introduces us to the ewe people who reside on the western african coast particularly ghana and togo. Two or three males may dance in rivalry, performing difficult leaps, kicks, and other acrobatic stunts to demonstrate vigour and virility. The song texts are sensitively translated and their meaning is well explained. This shorter version of the bestselling worlds of music is based on the 4th edition and provides. Its in john chernoffs insightful book african rhythm and african sensibility that i found the meaning of this drum dialogue.
An introduction to the music of the worlds peoples is written to make music accessible. The agbekor dance is a war dance of the ewe people of southeastern ghana, which often depicted scenes of battle. The names of its various rhythms, of which there are a good twenty, are. It is now performed by the people of dzogadze, a farming community near akatsi in the southern part of the volta region of ghana. In african drum ensembles, a musician establishes a time line which establishes the points of entry for the different instruments. The authors of this text approach diverse musical styles with the desire to understand them on their own termsas the people who.
History and contemporary performance legends of origin. Ewe music of ghana smithsonian folkways recordings. What this reading failed to provide me with, however, was a visual representation of how this sacred musical ritual is performed. In broader terms it proposes that practical understanding of the ways in which some non.
It suggests that researching and performing ewe music leads to a deeper understanding of rhythm and time in reichs music, and contributes to accurate, informed performances of his compositions. Dance books for educators princeton book company dance. The word dunumba or doundumba describes a type of dance that is popular in upper guinea in the kankan, siguiri and kourousa regions, but its roots are to be found in hamanah, a canton of the prefecture of kourousa. Elements of ewe music in the music of steve reich ubc.
A slow absorption of the style and necessary skills. Dancedrumming of the anlo ewe featuring the ghana dance. Using an investigative approach, this book presents the who, what, when, where, why, and how of dance history in relation to other arts and to historical, political. According to ewe master drummer emmanuel agbeli of kopeyia, ghana, atsiagbek. Among the ewe of southeast ghana, drummers must also be proficient dancers, and dancers are often required to become musicians as well. Originally a war dance, agbekor has been popularized due to its dance and percussion ensemble performances. Intended for students with no prior musical training, this textbook for a beginning appreciation course studies the music of the worlds peoples by region, describing the older musical layers in a given region first, then presenting increasingly more contemporary musical styles, forms, and. This category is for dances common to several cultures of africa, for undecided ethnicity, or. If you have a specific research topic that youd like to explore, you can arrange a oneonone consultation with a member of our library staff by emailing us at. Halling, vigorous norwegian folk dance for couples. In his telling, the ewe took kokosawa and increased the tempo to more than double its original value, resulting in the much livelier gahu. Dance drumming of the anlo ewe featuring the ghana dance ensemble. An introduction to the music of the worlds peoples.
This study examines contextual and structural similarities between ewe music and the music of steve reich. He founded the agbekor drum and dance society, a communitybased performance group. The ewe people ghana religious worldview human world marriage coming of age birth music dance death mawu deities ancestor spirits spirit world agbekor clear life agbekor songs cd 1 track 11 call and response singing flexible melody series of short songs sung back to back lyrics about war praise loyalty and valor reflect on death celebrate heroism agbekor ensemble. When it comes to exhaustive ballet records, few books cover the history of the art form quite as thoughtfully.
427 789 66 1532 923 1229 420 82 331 1031 584 876 374 1554 868 901 1305 214 1560 1313 863 1621 1638 1314 526 612 649 1053 1472 311 814 1414 190 414 544 1035 265 1412 749 1181