Song of the River
Harps of Central Africa
Présentation
The catalogue contains a lot of pictures describing the trip through Central Africa, which is the subject of the exhibition. The exhibition passes through Central Africa from East to West, and goes through Uganda, Gabon, the Republic of Central Africa, North of Congo, Chad and Cameroon. In this region of Africa, harp is a very popular instrument which appears under different shapes, sizes and fonctions. A multidisciplinary approach (ethnology, art history, linguistic, organology, musicology) brings up numerous questions about harps and their music and suggests some answers.
The CD insert is a good exemple of the music of harps in these African regions… This is the Diapason d'or 1999 prizewinner.
The titles
1. Ganga : 2’51
2. Extract of Alur music : 2’21
3. Gitangi (extract) : 1’42
4. Ngbakia (extract) : 2’38
5. Limanza (extract) : 3’05
6. Agbangale wala wala kete munju voko : 3’26
7. Music for ten-string ngombi harp : 2’57
8. Manna ipaane : 2’52
9. Music of the Mayo-Kebbi : 3’05
10. Music for the chief of the badri genies (extrait) : 1’15
11. Music for the wife of the chief of the badri genies (extract) : 2’20
12. Music for the badri named Sala : 2’48
13-14. Music for the funeral of the President of the Republic (extracts) : 1’41 - 2’21
15. Chek i mevar : 2’05
16. Walay ngwa (extract) : 2’38
17. Ndi gay mbi do déndo (extract) : 2’25
18. Music of the harper-smiths : 2’59
19. Lisumba, extract from à bwiti ritual : 2’32
20. Extract from an ombwiri cult : 3’12
21. Extract frome lombo : 3’10
22. Explanation of the harp : 2’02
Table des matières
Foreword, Brigitte Marger
Preface, Frédéric Dassas
Introduction, Philippe Bruguière and Gaetano Speranza
- Contexts
- Humanity and the harp, Éric de Dampierre
- The harps and what their names reveal, France Cloarec-Heiss
- The first European travellers in Central Africa and the harps they collected, Susanne Fürniss
- Objects
- The harps, Gaetano Speranza
- Restauration and presentation, Joël Dugot
- African harp strings : analysis of several old fragments, Laurent Espié
- Musics
- The song of the harp, Philippe Bruguière
- Ennanga, the royal harp of Buganda, Jos Gansemans
- The musical universe of the zande-nzakara, Jan-Lodewijk Grootaers
- The Banda-Gbambiya harp, Sylvie Le Bomin
- The ngombi of the Ngbaka-Ma’bo, Sylvie Le Bomin
- The harps of Chad, Monique Brandily
- The harps of North Cameroon, Nathalie Fernando
- The harp in Gabon : pirogue of life, Philippe Bruguière
- Photographs
- Great Lakes
- Basins of the Sueh, Uele and Mbomu
- Upper Uele
- Middle Uele
- Upper Ubangi and Lower Mbomu
- Bend of the Ubangi
- South of the lake Chad
- Upper Ubangi and Lower Mbomu
- Basin of the Lua
- Middle Ubangi
- Affinities CAR, DRC, Gabon
- Between Ogoowe and Sanaga
- Bend of the Ogoowe
Notes on the exhibits
Table : models used for the restoration work
Table : restoration work carried out on harp exhibits
CD notes
Works cited
Discography
Glossary
Index of the proper names