Music of Grenada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grenada is a small Caribbean island nation that has produced several major musicians, including David Emmanuel, one of the best-selling reggae performers ever, and Mighty Sparrow, a legendary calypsonian. The island is also known for jazz, most notably including Kingsley Etienne, a keyboardist, while the Grenadan-American Joe Country & the Islanders have made a name in country music.

African dances brought to Grenada survive in an evolved form, as have European quadrilles and picquets. Some of the most popular recent dances include Heel-and-Toe and Carriacou Big Drum, with popular dancers including Willie Redhead, Thelma Phillips, Renalph Gebon and the Beewee Ballet.

Independence in 1974 launched a Grenadian national identity which was exemplified in the calypso of the time, which tended to be intensely patriotic. More modern calypso performers have experimented, using political commentary and poetry to expand the possibilities of Grenadian calypso. Indian influences, likely spilling over from nearby Trinidad, have also changed the sound of Grenadian calypso.

1 Carriacou
2 References
3 Notes
4 Further reading

[edit] Carriacou

Many years of domination by the British and the French have left behind influences in Carriacou, in songs like lullabies and reels, cantique, chanteys and quadrilles ^[1].

Carriacou is an island north of Grenada, best-known for the Big Drum Afro-Caribbean song-style. Big Drum dates back to at least the late 18th century ^[2]. Carriacou's Afro-Caribbean population is divided into nations, each of which has a distinct rhythm that identifies it; Big Drum glorifies the ancestors of these nations, which include the Manding, Chamba, Temne, Moko, Igbo, Banda, Arada, Kongo and Cromanti ^[3]. The Cromanti, being the biggest nation, begins the Big Drum ceremony with a song called "Cromanti Cudjo" (or "Beg Pardon"); this is followed by the other nations' songs, all of which are based on short, declamatory phrases with choruses, accompanied by two boula drums and a single, higher-pitched cut drum, both of which are made from rum barrels ^[4]. Big Drum music is used to honor the memory of the dead if the deceased's family is not able to have the traditional Tombstone Feast ^[5]

The funeral music of Carriacou is a major part of the island's folk music; Carriacouan religion centers on reverence for the "Old Parents", the apocryphal founders of the island's society ^[6]. The saraca funerary rite, practiced on Carriacou and throughout the Grenadines, involves music, storytelling and feasting; saraca songs include both European and African lyrics ^[7]. African elements, such as the call-and-response style, are often present.

Lesser Antillean music
Anguilla - Antigua and Barbuda - Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles - Barbados - Dominica - Grenada Guadeloupe - Martinique - Montserrat - Saint Kitts and Nevis - Saint Lucia - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Trinidad and Tobago - Virgin Islands