Music of Guadeloupe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Music of Martinique and Guadeloupe: Topics | |
|---|---|
| Biguine | Mini-jazz |
| Chouval bwa | Gwo ka |
| Kadans | Zouk |
| Timeline and Samples | |
| Francophone Caribbean | |
| Guadeloupe - Martinique - Haiti - Louisiana | |
| Other islands | |
| Anguilla - Antigua and Barbuda - Aruba and the Dutch Antilles - Bahamas - Barbados - Bermuda - Cayman Islands - Cuba - Grenada - Jamaica - Dominica - Dominican Republic - Montserrat - Puerto Rico - St Kitts and Nevis - Saint Lucia - St Vincent and the Grenadines - Trinidad and Tobago - Turks and Caicos - Virgin Islands | |
The former French colony of Guadeloupe, and its neighbor Martinique, are small islands in the Caribbean. Despite their small size, the islands have created a large popular music industry, which gained in international renown after the success of zouk music in the later 20th century. Zouk's popularity was particularly intense in France, where the genre became an important symbol of identity for Martinique and Guadeloupe [1]. Zouk's origins are in the folk music of Martinique and Guadeloupe, especially Martinican chouval bwa and Guadeloupan gwo ka, and the pan-Caribbean calypso tradition.
Contents |
[edit] Carnival
Carnival is a very important festival on Martinique and Guadeloupe. Music plays a vital role, with Martinican big bands marching across the island, and Guadeloupan gwo ka ensembles travelling and performing music (mizik vidé) in a manner akin to Brazilian samba schools. Carnival in both islands declined following World War II, bouncing back with new band formats and new traditions only in the 1980s. Both islands feature participatory, call-and-response style songs during their Carnival celebrations.
Guadeloupan Carnival includes many of the same elements as the Martinican celebration. Gwo ka ensembles travel the island, playing music called mizik vidé in a participatory style that allows anyone to grab an improvised percussion instrument and join in. Traditionally, Carnival includes dances of African origin, including laghia, haut-taille, grage, calinda and bel-air [2]. Traditional instruments include the chacha, makyé, boula, tanbou chan and tanbou bas drums.
[edit] Gwo ka
Main article: Gwo ka
Gwo ka is a family of hand drums used to create a form of folk music from Guadeloupe. There are seven basic rhythms in gwo ka, and multiple variations on each. Different sizes of drums establish the foundation and its flourishes, with the largest, the boula, playing the central rhythm and the smaller, markeur (or maké) drums embellishes upon it and interplays with the dancers, audience or singer. Gwo ka singing is usually guttural, nasal and rough, though it can also be bright and smooth, and is accompanied by uplifting and complex harmonies and melodies [1].
Rural Guadeloupans still use gwo ka drums in communal experiences called lewozes; this is the most traditional manifestation of gwo ka in modern Guadeloupe. Gwo ka is also played at Carnival and other celebrations. A modernized and popularized form of gwo ka is well-known on the islands; it is known as gwo ka moderne [1].
[edit] Popular music
Though Martinique and Guadeloupe are most frequently known only for the internationally-renowned zouk style, the islands have also produced popular musicians in various updated styles of traditional biguine, chouval bwa and gwo ka. The world-famous zouk band Kassav' remains easily the most famous performers from the island, while the Guadeloupan Carnival band Akiyo has become the only group in that style to record commercially. [1].
[edit] Gwo ka moderne
A more modernized version of gwo ka is gwo ka moderne, which adds new instruments ranging from conga or djembe drums and chimes to electric bass guitar. At root, however, these styles all use the same fundamental seven rhythms as folk gwo ka. Zouk legends Kassav' played an important role in the modernization of gwo ka, giving urban credibility to a style that was seen as backward and unsophisticated; they initially played in a gro ka format, using songs from the gwo ka Carnival tradition of mas a St. Jean and even placing an homage to traditionalist drumming legend Velo on their earlier albums [1].
Gwo ka moderne artists include Pakala Percussion, Van Lévé and Poukoutan'n, alongside more pop-influenced musicians like Marcel Magnat and Ti Celeste, while Gerard Hubert and others have fused gwo ka with zouk. The most famous modern gwo ka performer, however, is William Flessel, whose Message Ka in 1994 became an international hit [1].
[edit] References
- French West Indies. New Grove Dictionary of Music. Retrieved on September 27, 2005.
- Broughton, Simon and Mark Ellingham with James McConnachie and Orla Duane (2000). Rough Guide to World Music, Vol. 2. Rough Guides Ltd.. ISBN 1-85828-636-0. - "Dance Funk Creole Style" by Charles de Ledesma and Gene Scaramuzzo, pgs. 289-303
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Ledesma and Scaramuzzo, pgs. 289-303
- ^ de Ledesma and Scaramuzzo, pg. 290, The authors do not cite any evidence that the dances in question are of primarily African origin.
[edit] Further reading
- Berrian, Brenda F. (2000). Awakening Spaces: French Caribbean Popular Songs, Music and Culture. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-04456-4.
