TANZANIA Magical Sounds from Lake Manyara – Heartbeat of Africa – Sapra Ltd CMIL 101

TANZANIA
Magical Sounds from Lake Manyara – Heartbeat of Africa – Sapra Ltd CMIL 101, recorded by David Fanshawe (7 in, 33 RPM)

Here's another rare, mellifluous Sapra album recorded around Lake Manyara, a 180-square-mile (470-square-kilometer) lake in northern Tanzania, by David Fanshawe (1942–2010) in the early 1970s.

The lake is the centerpiece of the Manyara National Park. The Manyara region is home to various ethnic/cultural groups, including the Iraqw, Maasai, Mbugwe, and Datoga peoples.

This album, featuring the fluid and sensuous African magic of old, includes voices, zithers (A1), a large irikano lyre (A2, A3), a litungu lyre (A4), a flute (A3), an ekegogo violin (B1), a nyatiti harp (B4), and horns (B3), accompanied by drums, percussion and rattles. 

Voici un autre album rare et mélodieux du catalogue Sapra, enregistré au début des années 1970 par David Fanshawe (1942-2010) autour du lac Manyara, un lac de 470 kilomètres carrés situé au nord de la Tanzanie.

 

Le lac est la pièce maîtresse du Parc national de Manyara. La région de Manyara abrite également divers groupes ethniques/culturels, notamment les Iraqw, les Masaï, les Mbugwe et les Datoga.

Empreint de la magie africaine fluide et sensuelle d'antan, cet album nous fait entendre des voix, des cithares (A1), une grande lyre irikano (A2, A3), une lyre litungu (A4), une flûte (A3), un violon ekegogo (B1), une harpe nyatiti (B4) et des cors (B3), accompagnés de tambours, de percussions et de hochets.

A1 – Music from the Southern Shores 
“Reflecting the full glory and color of Lake Manyara, an orchestra of traditional zithers sounds on the southern shores.”

 

A2 – Irikano lyre and voice 
“This strange boat-shaped instrument is very rare, and the effect is pure, musical delight.”

 

A3 – Flute and irikano lyre
“The irikano player was suddenly joined by a friend who played a simple flute, made from a tree branch.”

 

A4 – Litungu lyre and voices in the rains 
“A singer celled Nyamaronge had been playing his instrument at a beer party when rain suddenly came. Amidst darkening clouds over Lake Manyara and the patter of rain drops, the musician went on to praise his friends.”

 

B1 – Ekegogo violin and voice
“Played here by a wandering minstrel at the beer party and reminiscent of an Irish traditional melody, here is a song about Independence — a very rare and fine example.”

 

B2 – Virama Dance with voices, drums, percussion and rattles
“A triumphant dance of the Pare people to the east of Lake Manyara, as they celebrate the coming-of-age of a daughter.”

 

B3 – Wameru circumcision with voices, horns, drums, percussion and rattles
“A song, recorded during a boy's circumcision, in which relatives praise the bravery and wisdom of the youngster.”

 

B4 – Nyatiti harp solo
“Played by a popular young traveling performer named Apuot Ochiereg, in the traditions of his fathers, this brilliant recording keeps alive an art and skill which otherwise might be lost.”

Download:

Flac

MP3

My other East African music posts:

Fabulous Gogo Music from Tanzania – Heartbeat of Africa – Sapra Ltd CMIL 98 here
Musical Gems from Lake Victoria – Heartbeat of Africa – Sapra Ltd - CMIL 102 here

Sounds of Masailand – Heartbeat of Africa – Sapra Ltd CMIL 87 here
British East Africa – Columbia Masterworks Volume X – SL 213 here

David Fanshawe (1942-2010) was an English composer whose most famous work was the album African Sanctus (1972), which combines Western choral harmony with his recordings of traditional African music. Fanshawe passionately explored the great diversity of our dying global traditional musical heritage and painstakingly recorded thousands of hours of indigenous music in Europe, Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bahrain, and the Pacific islands.

Postcards of the Maasai people of Tanzania:

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