Afrique Vol. 2 – Guinée / Sénégal / Dahomey – Vogue EXTP 1029

GUINEA – SENEGAL – BENIN
Afrique Vol. 2 – Guinée / Sénégal / Dahomey – Vogue EXTP 1029, recorded by Gilbert Rouget in 1952 (7 in 45 RPM)

This seminal 7-inch album, recorded during the 1952 IFAN (Institut Français d’Afrique Noire) mission by the eminent French ethnomusicologist Gilbert Rouget (1916-2017) – known for his authoritative work on the relations between music and possession – showcases great authentic West African music of old recorded in Guinea, Senegal and Benin, including terrific gourd-resonated balafon xylophones (A1).

 

Ce remarquable 45 tours, enregistré en 1952 à l’occasion d’une mission de l’IFAN (Institut Français d’Afrique Noire) par l’éminent ethnomusicologue Gilbert Rouget (1916-2017) – connu pour son travail sur les relations entre musique et possession – présente d’authentiques musiques ouest-africaines du monde traditionnel d’antan enregistrées en Guinée, au Sénégal et au Bénin, avec notamment un jeu mémorable de balafons (xylophones avec gourdes résonantes) (A1).

GUINEA – GUINÉE

A1 – Malinke (or Mandinka) – Celebration music.
Three griot balafon players, including leader Sidi Mamadi Diabate (pictured on front cover), and three female singers, jingle bells.

A2 – Malinke people – Parade music;

Two bolon harps and singers.

 

A3 – Malinke people – circumcision music;

Drums and boy’s choir.

 

B1 – Kono (or Konan) people – Worksong;

Singer, jingle bells, and the workers’ voices.

 

SENEGAL – SÉNÉGAL

B2 – Wolof people – Religious chant;

Three blind male singers from the Tidjane Sufi brotherhood (tariqa) led by Yatma Ndiaye from Saint-Louis, Senegal.

 

BENIN – BÉNIN

B3 – Fon people – Historic chant;

Women’s choir and flutes. Here women narrate the story of the mpété three-holed reed flute which may only be played by the royal Dossou Yovo family.

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Our other post from the Vogue 7-inch series:

Afrique Vol.4 – Mauritanie Guinea Benin Ivory Coast – Vogue EXTP 1032 here

Vintage postcard of venerable Vodun (Vodou, Voodoo) priests-dancers, 

Abomey, Benin:

Vintage postcard of young priest with sacred pythons, presumably Ouidah, Benin:

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IRAQ Music of Iraq – Seven Seas – Ethnic Music of the World Series – GXC-5013

IRAQ – IRAK

Music of Iraq – Seven Seas  – Ethnic Music of the World Series – GXC-5013 – Recorded by Fumio Koizumi in 1975 & 1977 (LP)

This excellent panorama of traditional Iraqi music, recorded by musicologist Fumio Koizumi (1927-1983) on the Japanese Seven Seas label’s essential Ethnic Music of the World Series, includes inspired authentic classical Iraqi music (A1-A3), Iraqi Bedouin folksongs (A4-B1) and a riveting Sufi Dhikr, or Zikr, ceremony (B2) with performers in a collective state of trance-like ecstasy in the remembrance of God.

Cet excellent panorama de musique traditionnelle irakienne enregistré par le musicologue Fumio Koizumi (1927-1983) sur l'incontournable Ethnic Music of the World Series du label japonais Seven Seas, présente de la musique classique irakienne (A1-A3) et des chansons folkloriques bédouines irakiennes (A4-B1 ) inspirées, ainsi qu'une cérémonie soufie Dhikr, ou Zikr (B2) envoûtante avec des participants en état d’extase collectif dans le souvenir de Dieu.

A1 – Qanun Taqsim – Hassan Al-Shakarchi - qanun or kanun.

A2 – Pasta – Ali Imam - ud lute / Sita - vocals.

A3 – Iraqi Maqam – Saleh Abdul Gafor - vocals/ unknown joze fiddle.

 

Bedouin Folksongs (A4-B1)

 

A4 – Ataaba – Ibrahim R. Abdullah - vocals / unknown rabab.

A5 – Mohammedawi – Ibrahim R. Abdullah - vocals / unknown rabab.

A6 – Naqqare solo – Abdel Karim Halbud - naqqare kettle drum.

A7 – Matbudj solo – Abdel Karim Halbud - matbudj flute.

A8 – Zurna-Tabl-Naqqare – Iraqi Traditional Group.

A9 – A Song with Matbudj "Sweheri" – Ibrahim R. Abdullah – vocals / Abdel Karim Halbud - unknown matbudj flute.

B1 – Drum Ensemble – Iraqi Traditional Group (tabl. - naqqare - hashshabi - Reg. - Tabla).

B2 – Sufi Dhikr or Zikr  – Ceremony with religious leader Masjid al-Khalifa in Baghdad.

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Other Iraqi music posts:
Jamil Bachir - Luth Traditionnel - Jamil Bachir ‘Ud – Iraq Arabesques N°4, 1973 here

Arabian Music - Maqam – UNESCO Musical Sources – Philips 6586 006, 1971 here

Photographs below are from The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul by Jill Purse, Thames & Hudson, 1980, and the British Museum’s online collection here

“The spiral ascent of this holy mountain is symbolic of the expansion and evolution of consciousness and the accompanying flame of wisdom. As the pilgrim travels towards God, so his receptivity is met by the descending spiral, the manifestation of the Spirit. Indeed, since minarets are used for launching prayers, it is as if the spiral dynamic propels the word on vortices of air towards the Divine.”

 

Minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra, Iraq, 9th century:

Queen of the Night

Old Babylonian, Southern Iraq, 19th century B.C.-18th century B.C.:

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curation project and share the best finds with you on this blog:

GABON Music from an Equatorial Microcosm – Fang Bwiti Music (with Mbiri Selections) – Albatros VC 0708

GABON
Music from an Equatorial Microcosm – Fang Bwiti Music (with Mbiri Selections) – Albatros VC 0708, recorded by James W. Fernandez, 1975 reissue of Folkways FE 4214 (Cassette)

These 1959-1960 recordings by anthropologist James W. Fernandez (b.1930) highlight the fascinating ritual music performed by the Fang people of Gabon during Bwiti – a syncretic religion that incorporates Fang traditional ancestor cult with Christian elements – and Mbiri – a connected cult primarily dedicated to restoring the cosmic balance and well being of its devotees. 

 

Much of the music on this record is played and sung under the influence of iboga, a psychotropic tree root chewed in small doses to energize people during all-night ceremonies. The sacred iboga is also ingested in large quantities during initiations to facilitate a multi-sensory journey between life and death conducted under the guidance of elders, who then interpret the initiates' spectacular visions in the invisible world. 

 

The inspired, gentle, ethereal music here – played on eight-string ngombi harps, various bells and percussion, and male and female voices and choruses – offers intimate, heartfelt interactions with the ancestors, blending with the natural ambient sounds of the equatorial forest.

Ces enregistrements réalisés au Gabon en 1959-1960 par l'anthropologue James W. Fernandez (né en 1930) présente des musiques Fang rituelles fascinante dans le cadre du Bwiti – une religion syncrétique qui incorpore notamment le culte traditionnel des ancêtres Fang avec des éléments empruntés au Christianisme – et le Mbiri – un culte associé dédié à la restauration de l'équilibre cosmique et du bien-être des adeptes.

 

L’essentiel de la musique sur ce disque est jouée et chantée sous l'influence de l'iboga, un arbre aux racines psychotropes mâché à petites doses afin de stimuler les adeptes lors de longues cérémonies nocturnes. L'iboga sacré est également ingéré en grande quantité lors d’initiations en forme de voyages multi-sensoriels entre la vie et la mort sous la conduite de sages, qui interprètent ensuite les visions spectaculaires des initiés dans le monde invisible.

 

La musique inspirée, douce et éthérée – jouée ici sur des harpes ngombi à huit cordes, diverses cloches et percussions, ainsi que des voix et des chœurs masculins et féminins – propose des interactions sonores sensuelles avec le monde des ancêtres, qui se mêlent aux riches sons naturels de la forêt équatoriale.

*Condensed and paraphrased from James W. Fernandez’s liner notes.

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Our other Gabonese music posts:

Musiques des Mitsogho et des Batéké – Ocora OCR 84, 1965-1968 here

Musique Bantou d'Afrique Équatoriale – BAM LD 324, 1946 here

Check out the essential Smithsonian Folkways catalogue with well over 100 albums of authentic African traditional music albums and much, much more here

The photographs below are from Visions d’Afrique – Fang by Louis Perrois, 5 Continents, 2006, and Masques d’Afrique by William Fagg, Fernand Nathan/L.E.P., 1980:

                           Fang priest with Ngil mask, Moyen-Ogooué, Gabon, c. 1900:

Fang masks behind a ritual door, shot by Jacques Millot in Ediak, 

near Mimongo, Gabon, 1960:

Ngumba Fang female ancestor fetish, Southern Cameroon:

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curation project and share the best finds with you on this blog: