OCC African Percussion Ensemble

February 27, 2009

11:15 Storer Auditorium

Jen Vacanti, Vinnie Ludovico and Rob Bridge, directors

Shawn Westover & Ashley Trudell, student directors

 

 

 

Macuta                                       (Congolese) arr. Ludovico

 

Macuta is a lively rhythm that expresses joy.  It was often used to “distress” at the end of a hard work day. 

 

 

Bembe w/sticks for Ellegua           (trad. from Matanzas)

  

A Bembé is a party for the Orishas.  Traditionally, the goal is possession and the rhythms are used to entice the Orishas to “mount” one of the priests or priestesses in attendance.   

 

 

Gota                                               Dahomey traditional

 

“Gota” is a dance for wedding parties and as such is a happy dance.  It is also a somewhat flirtatious dance.  Today, Gota is performed for social entertainment. The synchronized stops and starts of the drums and dancers lend the dance an air of suspense and excitement.  Our teacher for this piece, Bernard Woma, has challenged our master drummer to engage audience members in this dance during today’s performance—we’ll see how he does! 

 

The instruments used in this piece are from the Ewe tribe in Ghana.  The bell, gankogui, is considered the engine and it supplies the power for the other players.  The kaganu is the road and it should open up for the ensemble.  The kidi (in this case paired with a lower drum) is the driver and he is responsible to maintain the engine and stay with the road.  The sogo and the atsimevu are passengers in this piece—they have various experiences and provide the “call” the stops and starts the motion. 

 

The drums in this ensemble are primarily played with sticks or a combination of stick and hand.  The stick strokes used are: open strokes; muffled or “dead” stokes; rim shots and hitting the shell of the drum.  The hand strokes are: bass; open; muffled; and the occasional slap. 

 

 

 

Yiila and Guola                                  Sissala traditional

 

Yiila means song or singing and it is for youth during moonlight dancing and all other occasions, including funerals. Guola is the traditional Sissala funeral music and dance for the elderly. The Sissala people also use a wooden xylophone--called Zenseh in their language--much as the Dagara people. The two groups each speak languages the other does not understand and have many different customs. The costumes and props used in this dance are the same the Dagara people use in their social, recreational and circular dances.  (http://www.dagaramusic.com)

 

 

 

Rattlesnake                                             Layne Redmond

 

"Rattlesnake" is a composition for Middle Eastern tambourines, or Riqs, first created by Layne Redmond in the early 1990's for her group The Mob of Angels.  This piece pays homage to the frame drummers of the ancient cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome and ancient Turkey.  The frame drum happened to be the predominant drum at this time in these cultures and were played almost completely by women.  Frame drums and rattlesnakes were once thought to have powers of healing so Layne Redmond's "Rattlesnake" depicts the mythological beliefs of an ancient culture.

 

 

 

Ne Wa Seb (come and dance)        Dagara Traditional

 

A simple piece for three players using the Dagara Gyil.  The Dagara xylophone (Gyil) is one of the world’s most complex and beautiful instruments.  The keys are hand carved from a fire-dried hardwood.  The resonators are made from dried gourds, with the soundholes covered with vibrating spider webs (a thin plastic in our case.)  The xylophone is held together with antelope leather. 

 

 

 

Two West African Dances         Transcribed by Serge Blanc

 

 

Didadi – is from the Bamana ethnic group that is from Mali’s Sikasso region.  This dance is used at the end-of-the-year holidays to celebrate the arrival of important guests. 

  

Kurubi – is from the Jula ethnic group, originating in the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso (Bobo Dioulasso).  This rhythm is played during festivities towards the end of Ramadan, the 27th night.  It is the last big fling for the young girls who will be married the following year.

 

 

The djembe is a beautiful goblet shaped drum from West Africa.  It is played with the hands and is capable of producing many tones: bass; open tone; muffled tone; and slap sounds being the most prominent.  This ensemble also includes djun djun drums.  These are bass drum like instruments that can be played with either sticks or hands.  The most prevalent strokes for djun djun are open bass notes and “dead strokes” (produced by pressing the stick into the head to reduce its resonance.)  The djun djun player often plays bell with his pattern as well.

 

 

 

Kpanlogo                                                   Ga traditional

 

Traditional recreational and social dance of the Ga people of Ghana.  The words to the song mean: "humble yourself and the world will be humble.” 

 

(2 times through; call and response)

Baa baa baa ba,

Shie baa ba oo,

O shie baa ba.

 

Baa baa baa ba,

Shie baa ba oo,

O shie baa ba.

 

(3 times through; call and response)

O shie baa ba

O shie baa ba

 

 

 

 

OCC African Percussion Ensemble Members

Jen Vacanti, Vinnie Ludovico and Rob Bridge, directors

 

Josh A’Hearn          Laura Buck           Candice Carmen

Jamie Claxton        Anthony Corsaro   Troy Fitchette      

Andrew Fortuna    Michael Gentile     Cory Hopkins       

Matt Kelly            Nick LaMendola    Tyler O,Connell         

Kyle Parente          Ed Perry               Ashley Trudell      

Paul Weinell          Shawn Westover    Jaime Zolfaghari