William Umbima
Nairobi, 2006.
Background
African music was at its purest during the pre-colonial period when there was minimal foreign influence largely due to geographical and other communication barriers. Unfortunately, literary tradition has only started in the last century, thus most of this purity has not been captured and preserved. The factors that revolutionized the entire scene came with the unconfined opening up of the continent to foreigners. This for most brought literacy, which came with colonial rule and Christian/Muslim missionaries. Missionaries are often condemned - wholesale as the destroyers of African culture. On the contrary, they created most of the earliest records that we rely on today. A further influence came from the Second World War, which exposed Africans to new experiences. At about the same time, the phenomenal growth of the music recording industry also greatly influenced the development of African music.
The first real foreign influence in many parts of Africa was the introduction of recorded Cuban rumba (Columbia GVs) and American folk music carried by the Decca label among others. Earlier, the slave trade and other migrations also introduced new influences. Urbanization which came with colonialism created the necessary marker for recorded music and also served as an inspiration for creative music. One of the best examples of this external musical influences is the copper belt spreading between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo which has produced some of the most outstanding musicians on the continent.
Indeed, the copper belt is the nucleus, of most of the colonial and post colonial music of east and central Africa. The final influence on the development of African music was the independence from colonial rule starting in the late 1950s and early l960’s. Initially, this loosened Western influence on African music and resulted in a period of experimentation and a partial but conscious return to traditional roots. This was short lived as the massive increase in recording facilities saw the return of foreign influence, especially from the Americas. Proliferation of recording studios also meant that anything could be recorded, regardless of the artistic value. On the negative side, many critics have condemned modern African music as unashamed and inferior imitations of African American norms in particular and Western popular music in general, and lacking inventiveness.
Art in Music
It is not easy to talk about art or tone poetry in African music. Music, like all arts, is part of culture. As such, it must have a context and a definite identity. The elements that define art are determined by the complexity or other cultural practices in society. African culture is not as complicated or multifaceted as Western culture. However, its simplicity has been disrupted by colonial occupation and since then has remained in a transitional state. The ensuing rapid cultural change makes it difficult to identify solid cultural norms. At its simplest, art is skill. This can be expanded to include: knowledge and cultural compositions/performances and preservation in all forms, taste and the (intellectual?) expression of feelings (beauty/happiness and thoughtfulness/sadness). Each musical instrument has its own rules. A good example is the chord system on the guitar. No art is possible without following these rules. So much of what the topic would cover remains unknown as African ethnomusicology has only a very short and incomplete tradition. Moreover, no firm methodology exists for classifying it. Hardly any of the African instruments have the breadth and versatility of the piano or the organ, for example. Rarely does it have parallels with Western music in terms of instruments and idioms. The ultimate difference between the two is Western classical music which probably has no equivalent any other culture. The contrast is exemplified by the well defined norms in Western music which are easy to understand: symphonies, concertos, sonatas, chamber music, etc. No such categorization can be made about African music.
The exception is the Spanish guitar which has become central to most African music. Here you occasionally, find established Western forms such as rondo and descant (see Rycroft on Jean Bosco).The other exception is music played on African traditional instruments. Despite the simplicity of the instruments, gifted musicians make the most of what the instruments can offer. Some of the east African lyres and kwela music from central Africa fall in this category (see, for example, Moya Aliya Malamusi). It is in this light that we can talk about art in African music and the examples selected in this presentation conform to this.
The three regions have been put together as they have many traditions in common. The first is the rumba form which has survived until today with local variations here and there. In Kenya, the localized version of rumba is known as benga. Vula matambo (see Kubik on Malawi) which originated in the southern half of the continent is another dominant feature. It affects even the so-called gospel music of these areas. Examples are to be found in Zulu vocal music past and present, George Sibanda, Jean Bosco Mwenda (especially Gallotone GB 1781 - Mwami and Gallotone CO 93 - Walumendo), Brenda Fassie and many others. The regions also share many traditional instruments: flutes, xylophones, the one stringed "violin", drums, lyres, kayamba, ete. The guitar, real and improvised, has become the central musical instrument since the European colonial invasion.
Some examples of art in African music
The music presented here is only a small selection. It covers music played on traditional instruments, vocal/choral music combined with Western instruments and guitar music of the colonial and post colonial period. The colonial period is, in many ways, the golden period of artistic music in most parts of east and central Africa. This is the era in which both local and foreign norms have fused in a successful way. Early musicians throughout the three regions learned and obeyed the rules governing the newly introduced instruments: guitars, trumpets, saxophones, accordions, flutes, etc. In the early recordings, there are many examples where African musicians copy the contemporary popular music styles of the West, especially America. As Rycroft has observed, gifted musicians were then able to express their own (African) ideas on the new instruments. What is noticeable as art in these early songs are the simple but deft melodies and a credible mixture of voice and instruments within cultural settings. They are based on a genuine local idiom with influences from church music and contemporary western popular styles. It has not been possible to deal with steel band music of colonial and post-colonial periods in this presentation as very little scholarly analysis has been devoted to that. Nevertheless, some of the musicians involved, especially from the Democratic Republic of Congo such as Nico
Kasanda, Leon Bukasa, Jonny Bokelo, Franco, etc. must be mentioned.
In recorded traditional music, distortions are inevitable especially where cameras are present. In general, however, the vocal element is dominant. In some traditional songs vocal arrangements are spontaneous and for a particular occasion. Beer songs fall in this category. The songs are natural expressions of people who are happy or sad under the influence of alcohol. The art is in the various moods of the performers and also in the (accidental?) presence of some western forms such as rounds. Henry Anyumba has some very inspiring recordings of this nature.
Instrumental music is also often dominated by the vocal element. Here the instruments simply accompany the voice. In most cases the voice is in plain song mode and variation - a major manifestation of art - is limited. In other cases (talking drums, some of the lyres, etc.) the instruments provide the main form of the art with welcome variations in the tonal presentations. In yet another case, when drums, voice and dancers are mixed, art can be discerned in all three. Similarly, when an instrument is used to express an idea, art is present in the music. A perfect example is a selection from Moya Aliya Malamusi's Malawi productions in which the human voice and the traditional wind instrument imitate or converse with each other in a most intriguing manner.
As for guitar music, there is a greater inventiveness as the instrument offers more versatility than most African instruments. The twin cradle for artistic music appears to be the copper belt we referred to earlier and the rich vocal tradition kept by the Zulu south of the Zambezi River. From both the two finger guitar style and the melodious Zulu style of singing spread to the rest of the regions. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, musicians such as Jean Bosco Mwenda, Abelo, Kazembe, Masengo were the flag bearers while George Sibanda, combining the rich vocal tradition and the guitar, led the southern group. Simultaneously Frank Hamblick from Tanzania blazed the East African trail composing and playing songs in a very unique guitar style. Of course there were many more outstanding musicians than the ones mentioned here. One such example is the little known Faustino Okelo whom Kubik discovered in Uganda in the 1960s. Many more remain undocumented. Bosco must be singled out for both for his handling of the guitar and his creative genius that produced a mini- music world that is unequalled even today. In all, he composed and recorded over 100 songs in which he was composer and performer, single-handedly. His music includes forms resembling early European music (David Rycroft, 1961).
There are also elements of Johann Sebastian Bach's style, particularly the toccatas and fugues. This is obviously a coincidence as we know that Bosco had no connection with Western music of that nature. His compositions show elements that are rare in African music before and during his time. A good example is an introductory phrase and a finale or coda in many of his songs. His compositions usually have a definite form that is interspersed with unusual variations or explorations. He also composed and produced songs for two guitars with the player of the second guitar usually remaining anonymous (e.g. Gallotone CO 113B and Gallotone CO 123B). David Rycroft, John Low and Gerhard Kubik have attempted a serious analysis of Bosco's music. Kubik found that it is
difficult to pinpoint with certainty the influences that went into Bosco's compositions.
Nevertheless, he is probably a unique example of an African genius who used a European instrument in a simple way to express African ideas built on African traditional instruments.
Here is a brief description of a very small fraction of African artistic music .
Joshua Omwami who plays an east African lyre is one of the greatest virtuosos of this instrument. He mastered the instrument so well that he was able to modify it by adding an eighth string. The selection from Moya's production on Malawi is simply unique with the voice, rattles and flutes engaging each other. On the guitar side, the three musicians presented are among the most inventive of African musicians. Both George Sibanda and Frank Hamblick are in a class of their own with their beautiful and harmonious tunes on the guitar. The four songs by Bosco are a small but representative sample of the genius, concluding with "Masanga", the solo guitar song that made him immortal. Bosco at one
time launched into steel band music which had taken the Democratic Republic Congo by storm in the late 1950s (Leon Bukasa, Franco, Bokelo, Rochereau, Nico, etc.). Although he recorded a number of songs using this band (Gallotone COs 168-193, all published in 1958), this experiment was not so successful and he was forced to return to his single instrument style of the earlier days.
A final example, combining voice, local linguistic effects and Western instruments, is a reminder of the eternal nature of Vula matambo, as presented by Brenda Fassie. Like most modern music, the song is presented from live shows and DVDs. As already indicated, all the examples given in this lecture are only a tiny fraction of African artistic music. As more and more studies are carried out, no doubt more and more artistic music will emerge.
The Challenges
Research on African music has lagged behind related disciplines (painting, sculpture, etc) in spite of the proliferation of universities and similar institutions on the continent. There is still a dearth of serious scholars among Africans for the simple reason that such careers are not attractive in terms of remuneration at the individual level. This explains why, so far, most of the quality work already has been done by non-Africans. African institutions which provide opportunities for research are still very week indeed. In addition, in most African countries, there is very little appreciation of history beyond condemnation of colonialism and western imperialism/neo-colonialism, and over-glorification of a hitherto neglected past. As a result, preservation, an essential ingredient for scholarly studies, is neglected. To give an example, in Kenya all the streets in the towns bearing the names of people of non-African origin of the colonial era have been replace by names of Africans, mostly politicians. This gives the impression that white people or westerners have nothing to do with modern Kenya and that all this history has been made by the blacks on their own. This contradiction remains a big dilemma in all African studies. Finally, another serious impediment is the rapid cultural change which wipes out new cultural traits before they are clearly discernible for documentation and scholarly interpretation. There is still much work to be done in recording, preserving and analysing African music. Examples of outstanding work are still too few and of foreign origin. This is not a bad thing in itself. But for a deeper understanding of the subject, Africans themselves will have to become involved more than today. A real campaign similar to the one that was waged on wildlife preservation will be required to promote a culture of preserving the past and the present for posterity.
Refernces
Kubik, Gerhard
1991 Mwenda Jean Bosco (J 930-1990): songs with guitar, ShabalZaire. CD
Ethnologische Abteilung des Museums fur Volkerkunde Berlin.
Low, John
1982 " A history of Kenyan guitar music 1945 -1980." African Music 6(2): 17-36.
1982 Shaba diary: a trip to rediscover the 'Katanga' guitar styles and songs of the
1950's and '60''s. Wien-Fohrenau: Stiglmayr.
Malamusi, Moya Aliya
1999 African Music from Lake Malawi to the Zambezi. CD Frankfurt/Main:
Gunter Gatz.
Owuor-Anyumba, Henry
1964 "The nyatiti lament songs." In East Africa, past and present, 187-198. Paris:
Ed. Presence Africaine.
Rycroft, David
1961 "The guitar improvisations of Mwenda Jean Bosco." African Music 2(4):
81- 98.
1962. "The guitar improvisations of Mwenda Jean Bosco (part II)." African Music
3(1): 86-102.
