Download Victor, Sarah - The Spirit of Great Oak

Comparison of Hausa Music
and the Music of Samuel Barber
Presentation by
Sarah Victor
Demographics of the Hausas
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Country: Nigeria (West Africa)
Population: 25,391,000
Life Expectancy: 56
33% unemployed, 25% literate
Religion: Islam (Sunni)
Languages: English, Hausa
Hausa
Hausa History
• 1500: Islam was introduced by traders,
religion was forced upon them
• 1804-1808: “holy wars”, conquered by
Fulani, strongly Islamic neighbors
• Became slaves until early 1900’s
• 20th century: colonized by British
Hausa Culture
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Either commoners or chiefs
Marry close relatives
Wife must appear unhappy
Takes care of children, pleases husband
Women have less opportunity
High divorce rate
Land divided into 7 states based on strengths
Language & Music
• Hausa is numerically one of the world’s most
popular languages
• Hausa word “Boog”, meaning “to beat” is a
linguistic precursor for the English phrase
“Boogie-Woogie”
• A repetitive drum pattern is typical of
Hausan music, much like the redundant
base-line of American Boogie-Woogie
Hausa Instruments
Kuntigi A one
or two-stringed
lute
Kakaki 3-4 meters long,
metal trumpet
Dondo Drum
Goje
Shekere
Louange Aux Gens Du Terroir/Praise
Of The People Of The Land
• Recorded on the album “Nigeria.
Hausa Music. Traditions of the
Emirate of Kano” by Various
Artists: Maryam Yusuf Kabara,
Murja Ibrahim, Safiya Ayuba
Kigama, Jumoke Abdulrazak,
Sa'adatu Abubakar, Sadiya
Muhammad Sunusi, A'isha
Baballe, Maijida Umar Abdullahi.
Song Introduction
• Hausa music is traditionally used to celebrate
major life events such as births, marriages,
and circumcisions
• My selection is a celebration, or praise, of the
people of the land
Listen!
• The repetitive bass line of the drum beats
continually while the vocalists improvise and create
their own melodies over the bass line
• The celebratory nature of Hausa music is
representative of the jovial dancing associated with
current day Boogie
• Chorus becomes very loud
• http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/album/-//11073892/
Samuel Barber
• Born March 9, 1910 in West Chester,
Pennsylvania
• Studied at Curtis Institute of Music
• American Prix de Rome, two Pulitzers,
elected to American Academy of Arts &
Letters
• Famous works include Adagio for Strings
and his opera Vanessa
Samuel Barber
Curtis Institute of
Music in Philadelphia
Samuel Barber’s Music
• Called a Neo-Romantic composer
• “broad lyricism and dramatic expression”
• Rarely ventured into Americana music
Excursions, Op. 20
• First published solo piano piece of Barber &
his only excursion into Americana music
• Includes elements of boogie-woogie, blues,
cowboy, and hoedown music
• Four movements
• Inspired by Jeanna Behrend
• Debuted by Vladimir Horowitz in July 1944
at Carnegie Hall
http://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=1L2Cn8ZF
FzI
New Grove Dictionary of Music
• “a percussive style of piano Blues favoured
for its volume and momentum… is
characterized by the use of blues chord
progressions combined with a forceful,
repetitive left-hand bass figure… [and]
independence of the right-hand
improvisations from the steady, rolling
rhythm maintained by the left hand”
This excerpt is an example of the “repetitive left hand bass
figure” with “right hand improvisations”, a classic
characteristic of Boogie-Woogie music.
Measure 4-9 demonstrate the “momentum” characteristic
of Boogie music, with quarter notes that transition to eighth
notes, and eventually sixteenth notes.
This excerpt represents the extreme dynamics of
“volume”, with frequent shifts from sf to pp .
Excursions Music Theory
• A1BA2CA3Coda
• A section are in tonic key of C minor
• B section uses subdominant f, C uses
dominant G
• I-IV-I-V-I simple progression
• B and C sections use bitonality
• 7th chords used in melody
Music Theory ~ Connection
• The West African word “Bogi” means “to
dance”
• The Hausa word “Boog” means to beat, as in
a drum
• These are linguistic precursors for the
American term “Boogie”, a style of music
which is closely associated with dance with a
repetitively beating bass
Comparison (Continued)
• Both selections of music possess the
repetitive bass figure reminiscent of boogie
music with right hand improvisations
• The origin of the term “boogie” is technically
unknown, however these similarities
insinuate that the celebratory nature of
dance and style of American Boogie music
derivate from West African tribes such as the
Hausas.
Similarities & Differences
•Vocals/Drums
•Celebratory
sound
•Alternation
between soloist
then chorus
•No chord
progressions,
just drum beat
• Ostinato left-hand
bass line
• “Right-hand”
improvisation for
melody
• Aspects of volume
• Allegro Tempo: 152
and 144
• Very energetic from
start
• Recognizable melody
• Piano solo
•Very dissonant
•Minor key
•Use of blues
chords
•Chord progression
and structure
Works Cited
• http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/album/VariousNig%C3%A9ria-Musique-HaoussaNig%C3%A9ria-Hausa-Music-MP3Download/11073892.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogie-woogie
• http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopleprofile.php?peo3=12070&rog3=NI
• www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Hausa.html
• http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcnigeria.
htm
• www.schirmer.com/composers/barber_bio.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hausa_people
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hausa_music
• http://www.naxos.com/person/Samuel_Barber/25965.ht
m
• http://obit-mag.com/articles/a-fanfare-for-samuel-barber
• http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/barber.php
• http://www.musolife.com/444/features.html?page=9
• http://www.africandrums.com/hausa_dondo_drum_nov.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakaki
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goje
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shekere