Music of the Central African Republic
Encyclopedia
The music of the Central African Republic
includes many different forms. Western rock
and pop music
, as well as Afrobeat
, soukous
and other genres have become popular nation-wide. The sanza
is a popular instrument.
The Pygmies
have a complex folk music tradition. Polyphony
and counterpoint
are common components, as is a varied rhythmic structure. The trumpet
-based music of the Banda
s has also gained some popularity outside of the area due to its jazz
y structure. The Ngbaka use an unusual instrument called a mbela, which is made with an arched branch and a string strung between the two ends and held in front of the musician's mouth. When the string is struck, the mouth is used to amplify and modulate the tone. Instruments similar to the mbela are sometimes considered the oldest ancestors of all string instrument
s http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/central_african_republic/printable.htm.
The national anthem
of the Central African Republic is "La Renaissance
". This song, which has been the anthem since 1960, was written by Barthélémy Boganda
(words), the first President of the Central African Republic, and Herbert Pepper, who also composed the melody for the Senegal
ese national anthem http://www.nationalanthems.info/cf.htm.
in the Central African Republic generally comes from the music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
or elsewhere in Africa; however, Latin
, European and American pop are also common, as is jazz
and rock and roll
. African folktales are very popular as well, like the Panda.
people have produced some modern popular music, using a trumpet
-based kind of jazz
y music which UNESCO
has called one of the "great musicological discoveries of our century" http://www.unesco.org/culture/cdmusic/html_eng/caf.shtml. Banda folk music includes ongo
, a kind of trumpet made from wood
or antelope
horn
. Ongos are used in ceremonies and rituals, including adolescent
initiation
rites, in polyphonic
ensembles of eighteen trumpets.
consists of at most only four parts, and can be described as an, "ostinato
with variations
," or similar to a passacaglia
, in that it is cyclical. In fact it is based on repetition of periods of equal length, which each singer divides using different rhythmic figures specific to different repertoires and songs. This interesting case of ethnomusicology
and ethnomathematics
creates a detailed surface and endless variations of not only the same period repeated, but the same piece of music. As in some Bali
nese gamelan
these patterns are based on a super-pattern which is never heard. The Pygmies themselves do not learn or think of their music in this theoretical framework, but learn the music growing up.
Pygmy styles include liquindi
, or water drumming, and instruments like the bow harp (ieta), ngombi (harp zither) and limbindi (a string bow) (Abram).
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
includes many different forms. Western rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, as well as Afrobeat
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a combination of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularised in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave it its name, who used it to...
, soukous
Soukous
Soukous is a dance music genre that originated in the two neighbouring countries of Belgian Congo and French Congo during the 1930s and early 1940s, and which has gained popularity throughout Africa...
and other genres have become popular nation-wide. The sanza
Mbira
In African music, the mbira is a musical instrument that consists of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached. It is often fitted into a resonator...
is a popular instrument.
The Pygmies
Pygmy
Pygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm in average height. A member of a slightly taller group is termed "pygmoid." The best known pygmies are the Aka,...
have a complex folk music tradition. Polyphony
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
and counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
are common components, as is a varied rhythmic structure. The trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
-based music of the Banda
Banda people
Banda is an ethnic group of the Central African Republic, some of who also live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and South Sudan....
s has also gained some popularity outside of the area due to its jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
y structure. The Ngbaka use an unusual instrument called a mbela, which is made with an arched branch and a string strung between the two ends and held in front of the musician's mouth. When the string is struck, the mouth is used to amplify and modulate the tone. Instruments similar to the mbela are sometimes considered the oldest ancestors of all string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/central_african_republic/printable.htm.
The national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of the Central African Republic is "La Renaissance
La Renaissance
"'" is the national anthem of the Central African Republic, adopted upon independence in 1960. The words were written by the then Prime Minister, Barthélémy Boganda. The music was composed by Herbert Pepper, who also composed the national anthem of Senegal, ""....
". This song, which has been the anthem since 1960, was written by Barthélémy Boganda
Barthélemy Boganda
Barthélemy Boganda was the leading nationalist politician of what is now the Central African Republic. Boganda was active prior to his country's independence, during the period when the area, part of French Equatorial Africa, was administered by France under the name of Oubangui-Chari...
(words), the first President of the Central African Republic, and Herbert Pepper, who also composed the melody for the Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
ese national anthem http://www.nationalanthems.info/cf.htm.
Popular music
Popular musicPopular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
in the Central African Republic generally comes from the music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Describing the music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is difficult, due to vagaries surrounding the meanings of various terms. The country itself was formerly called Zaire and is now sometimes referred to as Congo-Kinshasa to distinguish it from the Republic of the Congo...
or elsewhere in Africa; however, Latin
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
, European and American pop are also common, as is jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
. African folktales are very popular as well, like the Panda.
Banda music
The BandaBanda people
Banda is an ethnic group of the Central African Republic, some of who also live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and South Sudan....
people have produced some modern popular music, using a trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
-based kind of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
y music which UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
has called one of the "great musicological discoveries of our century" http://www.unesco.org/culture/cdmusic/html_eng/caf.shtml. Banda folk music includes ongo
Ongo
Ongo is a news site that compiles stories from newspapers and major media outlets including the New York Times, USA Today, the Washington Post, the Associated Press, Reuters, ProPublica, the Financial Times and over 50 other sites...
, a kind of trumpet made from wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
or antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
horn
Horn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
. Ongos are used in ceremonies and rituals, including adolescent
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
initiation
Initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components...
rites, in polyphonic
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
ensembles of eighteen trumpets.
Pygmy music
Formally Pygmy musicPygmy music
The Pygmies are a broad group of people who live in Central Africa, especially in the Congo, the Central African Republic and Cameroon. Music is an important part of Pygmy life, and casual performances take place during many of the day's events...
consists of at most only four parts, and can be described as an, "ostinato
Ostinato
In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...
with variations
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
," or similar to a passacaglia
Passacaglia
The passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used by contemporary composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre....
, in that it is cyclical. In fact it is based on repetition of periods of equal length, which each singer divides using different rhythmic figures specific to different repertoires and songs. This interesting case of ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
and ethnomathematics
Ethnomathematics
In mathematics education, ethnomathematics is the study of the relationship between mathematics and culture . Often associated with "cultures without written expression" , it may also be defined as "'the mathematics which is practised among identifiable cultural groups'" In mathematics education,...
creates a detailed surface and endless variations of not only the same period repeated, but the same piece of music. As in some Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
nese gamelan
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
these patterns are based on a super-pattern which is never heard. The Pygmies themselves do not learn or think of their music in this theoretical framework, but learn the music growing up.
Pygmy styles include liquindi
Liquindi
Liquindi is water drumming, typically practiced by Pygmy women and girls.Typically the sound is produced by persons standing in water, and hitting the surface of the water with their hands, such as to trap air in the hands and produce a percussive effect that arises by sudden change in air pressure...
, or water drumming, and instruments like the bow harp (ieta), ngombi (harp zither) and limbindi (a string bow) (Abram).