Music of Madagascar
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Madagascar is an island off the east coast of Mozambique in the Indian Ocean. Malayo-Polynesians were the first to settle the island around 2,000 years ago, followed later by Sub-Saharan Africans and Arabs who settled primarily along the coasts and mixed with the earlier migrants. This blend of cultural influences is evident in the music of the Malagasy people, which can be roughly divided into three categories: traditional, contemporary, and popular music.
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[edit] Traditional Instruments
Instruments and vocal styles, as well as the style and purpose of music, traditionally vary widely from one region to the next. The oldest musical traditions are those of the Highland peoples (including the Merina and Betsileo)[citation needed], who trace their ancestry back to the original Malayo-Polynesian settlers.
Traditional instruments include the valiha, a bamboo tube zither very similar in form to those used traditionally in western Indonesia. The strings were originally raised from the fibers of the bamboo tube itself, although a contemporary form also exists that uses bicycle brake cables for strings instead to give the instrument a punchier sound. The sodina, an end-blown flute, is also typical of the region; the master of sodina performance, Rakoto Frah, passed away in 2001, prompting national mourning. The kabosy is a four to six-stringed simple guitar common in the southern Highlands. Also emblematic of the region are the marovany, a wooden box with a set of metallic strings on both sides, which produces a sound similar to the valiha, and metal or wood harmonicas.
Typically Southern instruments include the jejy voatova, a stringed instrument with a calabash resonator (not unlike the West African kora), and the lokanga, a three-stringed fiddle popular among the Southern Antandroy and Bara ethnic groups.
Coastal music has traditionally featured a blend of instruments that are predominant in either of the two regions above, although drums are ubiquitous and certain traditional instruments like the valiha, kabosy and marovany are particularly widespread.
[edit] Vocal Traditions
Vocal traditions in Madagascar are most often polyharmonic; southern vocal styles bear strong resemblance to South African song (as exemplified by groups such as Salala or Senge), whereas Highland harmonies, strongly influenced in the past two hundred years by European church music, are more reminiscent of Hawaiian or other Polynesian vocal traditions. Musical performance in Madagascar has often been associated with spiritual functions; music is a key component in achieving a trance state in tromba spiritual rituals practiced in several regions of the island, and has long been central to the famadihana ceremony (periodic reburial of ancestors' shroud-wrapped mortal remains)[1].
[edit] Hiragasy
In addition to its spiritual and entertainment functions, musical performance in the Highlands took on a distinctly political and educative role through the hiragasy (hira: song; gasy: Malagasy). The hiragasy is a day-long spectacle of music, dance, and oratory performed by a troupe- typically related by blood or marriage and of rural origin- or as a competition between two troupes. The tradition began in the late 18th century when Merina prince Andrianampoinimerina first used musicians to draw a crowd for his political speeches; these troupes became independent, and began to incorporate political commentary and critique in their performances. The audience plays an active role at hiragasy events, expressing their satisfaction with the talent of the troupe members and the message they express through applause, cheers or sounds of disapproval.[2] Hiragasy troupes were used during the French colonial administration to communicate decrees and other information to the rural population in the Highlands, and as such troupe members were exempt from the forced labor requirements imposed on all other Malagasy.[3]
After independence from France in 1960, the hiragasy troupe was held up as an icon of traditional Malagasy culture, and began to find greater popularity along the coasts, although performances remain largely concentrated in the Highlands. Aspiring politicians routinely hire hiragasy troupes to attract a crowd for their political speeches while campaigning. While most troupes remain apolitical, some have opted to throw their support behind particular candidates to spectacular effect, as when former hiragasy member-cum-popstar Rossy authored his 1995 song "Lera." The song was critical of the Zafy regime and was picked up by hiragasy troupes, who performed it across the island; the popularity of this song played a key role in mobilizing popular support for Zafy's impeachment.[4] The most famous troupe is Ramilison Fenoarivo, Rossy's former troupe and staunch supporter of ex-President Didier Ratsiraka.
The performance of the hiragasy follows a number of conventions, such that there are certain similarities between the 80+ troupes currently performing in Madagascar. Among these are the order in which songs, dances and oratory are performed; how troupes are named (after the last name of the founding member and his/her town of origin); what costumes are worn (men typically wear straw hats, red coats and pants inspired by 19th century French military garb, and matching lamba cloth sashes; women wear identical dresses designed after the style popular among ladies of the court during the Imperial period); and which instruments are used. Traditional instruments are not common at hiragasy performances, due to the origins of the performance with the royal court, where European influences reigned. Instead, the most common instruments are violins, trumpets, and snare and bass drums; the sodina, accordion, kabosy or clarinet may occasionally make an appearance.
[edit] Musical Appropriations
Three instruments of foreign origin stand out in the extent to which local Malagasy musicians have adopted them to perform distinctly Malagasy musical styles: the accordion, the guitar, and the piano. The accordion is popular across Madagascar, although today its sound is most often replicated by a synthesizer in salegy or tsapika bands due to the expense and rarity of the instrument. The piano was introduced to the royal Merina court in the early 19th century by English missionaries, but local musicians soon began creating their own piano music based on valiha technique. Their compositions were later adapted by guitarists, and lead to an explosion of Malagasy guitar styles across the island. compositions reached their peak in the 1920s and 1930s, before declining in the 1940s. [5] Today, the compositions of this period by such pianists as Andrianary Ratianarivo and Naka Rabemananatsoa form part of the canon of classical Malagasy music and feature in the repertoire of Malagasy students of piano.
As noted earlier, musical styles from abroad have been merged with pre-existing Malagasy musical traditions to create distinctly Malagasy sounds with foreign roots. An example of this is the Afindrafindrao, a tune based on the rhythm of French quadrille dance that was popularized in the Malagasy court in the 19th century. A specific form of partner dance accompanies this piece, which is played at the beginning of many social events and concerts to kick off the festivities. Attendees at the event will form a long chain of male-female pairs with the woman at the front of each pair, both facing forward holding each other's hands while advancing to the rhythm of the music.
[1] Afindrafindrao.mp3.
[edit] Contemporary Music
Contemporary music comprises modern-day compositions that have their roots in traditional musical styles, and have been created for entertainment purposes, typically with the intent of eventual mass dissemination via physical copies, radio or internet.
[edit] Highlands
In the 1950s and 1960s, a variety of bands in the Highlands (in the area between and around Antananarivo and Fianarantsoa) were performing covers of European and American hits or adapting mainland African tunes for local audiences. Madagascar got its first supergroup in the 1970s with Mahaleo, whose members blended traditional Malagasy sounds with soft rock to enormous and enduring success. Rossy emerged as a superstar shortly afterward, adapting the instrumentation, rhythms and vocal styles of the hiragasy to create a distinctly Malagasy radio-friendly sound. His open and enthusiastic support for then-President Ratsiraka assured his band regular performances in association with Presidential functions, and his band came to define the Ratsiraka epoch for many. Since Ratsiraka's defeat in 2001, Rossy's political affiliations were widely condemned, leading him to emigrate to France with his immediate family; however, the political views of the expatriate population there are hardly more empathetic toward his views, so Rossy performs less frequently today.6
Other important contemporary musicians from the Highlands include Justin Vali and Sylvestre Randafison, both valiha virtuosos; the late Rakoto Frah, who could play two sodina simultaneously; Solo Miral, featuring guitar played in the style of a valiha; Tarika, a Malagasy fusion band based in England; Olombelona Ricky, a highly accomplished solo vocalist, and Samoëla, a roots artist whose blunt social and political critiques propelled his group to popularity.
[edit] Coastal Styles
Distinct contemporary forms of music, rooted in local musical traditions, have emerged in the coastal regions over the last fifty years. Chief among these are two up-tempo dance music styles that have become popular across Madagascar and have achieved crossover success: salegy, a 6/8 style that originated in the northwest around Mahajanga and Antsirananana, and tsapika, a 4/4 style centered in the southwest between Tulear and Betroka.
Salegy: Salegy today, as it has been popularized by originators like Jaojoby or relative newcomers Ninie Doniah or Dr. J.B. and the Jaguars, is a funky, tight, energetic form of dance music dominated by ringing electric guitars, accordion (real or synthesizer), and call-and-response polyphonic vocals, propelled by heavy electric bass and a driving percussion section. Salegy is something of an electrified version of the antsa musical style that was traditionally performed at Betsimisaraka and Tsimihety rituals. In addition to their commonalities in tempo, vocal style, and tendency toward minor keys (which some attribute to an Arab influence, and which stands in contrast to the major key dominance of Highland music), the salegy shares the antsa's structure in that it always features a middle section called the folaka (broken) which is primarily instrumental - voice serves only to urge on more energetic dancing- and during which the vocalists (and the audience) will launch into intricate polyrhythmic hand-clapping to the beat of the music.
Tsapika: Like the salegy, tsapika (or tsapiky) is an energetic form of dance music that has recently been adapted to contemporary instruments such as electric guitar, bass, and drum kit. Generally even more rapid than the salegy, this form of music features a guitar performance style inspired by traditional marovany compositions, but the influence of South African township music is evident in both the guitars and polyharmonic vocals- often female singers who repeat variations on a short refrain throughout the song. Tsapika music is performed at all manner of festive occasion in the South, whether a birthday celebration, community ball, or funeral. While salegy had risen to national popularity by the mid-1980s (some would argue the 1970s), tsapika only truly began to garner a similar level of widespread appreciation by the mid-1990s, and it was not until the 2000 release of "Tulear Never Sleeps" that the genre achieved international exposure on a major label. This compilation, however, showcases 'traditional' tsapika, such as might have more commonly been performed in rural villages twenty years ago, rather than the amplified, synthesized and remixed style in heavy rotation on radio stations, performed by national stars like Tirike, Jarifa, and Mamy Gotso.
There are many more regional styles of contemporary music that have yet to achieve the level of national recognition attained by salegy and tsapika, and many nationally and internationally acclaimed musicians who draw upon the musical traditions of the coastal regions in their compositions. Of note are Hazolahy (a largely acoustic roots band from the Southeast), D'Gary (a brilliant acoustic guitarist from the inland South near Betroko), and Toto Mwandjani (master of ndombolo-style guitar, whose band performs a fusion Central/East African and Malagasy dance styles).
[edit] Popular Music
A wide range of foreign music styles have been popularized in Madagascar, including French chanson, soft rock, gospel music, heavy metal, jazz and reggae. Foreign superstar musicians are commonly played on the radio; Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley and Mariah Carey are among the more popular artists. The most popular Malagasy artists currently performing in these styles include ballad songstress Poopy and hard rockers Green among many others.
Malagasy hip hop broke into the mainstream in the mid-nineties and has since skyrocketed to popularity.
[edit] References
- [1]Randrianary, Victor. Madagascar: Les Chants d'une Ile. 2001. Paris: Actes Sud.
- [2]Edkvist, Angela. The Performance of Tradition: An Ethnography of Hira Gasy Popular Theatre in Madagascar (Uppsala Studies in Cultural Anthropology, 23). 1997. Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet.
- [3]Mauro, Didier. Madagascar, le theatre du peuple de l'art Hira Gasy entre tradition et rebellion. 2001. Paris: Karthala.
- [4]Rossy's "Lera"
- [5]Anderson, Ian. "Ocean Music from Southeast Africa". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Douche, Orla (Eds.), The Rough Guide to World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 523-532. New York: Penguin Books.
- [6]Interview with Rossy
[edit] External links
- Afropop article: Salegy (genre)
- National Geographic article: Rajery (artist)
- Rootsworld article: Guitarists of Madagascar
- Virtual Archive of Malagasy Music
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