World Music Blog

This song is entitled, "Wings Like a Dove," and is performed by the Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band. Steelpan as an instrument originated in the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The music is comprised of the various-sized steelpans and male voices. This band gained international recognition after performing at the 1967 Montreal Expo World's Fair. In thinking about classification systems of instruments, steelpans (or just pans, as they are known in Trinidad) fit into several categories. I chose to seek out music with steelpans as it is the only acoustic instrument invented in the twentieth century, all others were electronic . Although steelpans may be found in calypso ensembles with a variety of instruments ( heterogeneous ), steel bands ( homogeneous, although most currently add more percussion to drive the beat) are extremely popular in Trinidad, and the best bands compete annually in several national competitions. Steelpan is a type of percussive idiophone ,...

This song is entitled "Zvichapera," and was  performed by Chiwoniso Maraire, a cover of the song  written by Thomas Mapfumo. She was a singer/songwriter from Zimbabwe, and learned to play the mbira from her father, a master with the instrument. In this song, three mbiras are played in accompaniment of the vocals, along with hosho (shaken gourds). This was Chiwoniso's last studio recording before her death at age 37 in 2013. It is in the Shona language native to the Shona people in Zimbabwe. I have listened to this multiple times since discovering it, and I find it hauntingly beautiful. I am intrigued by the polyrhythms, and the timbre of the mbira set against the voices. I sense a melancholy mood, probably from the minor setting and the acoustic sound. When I looked for a translation, the title comes up as Shona for "it comes to pass." Other lyrics appear to be about walking alone on a quiet street, with only my shadow. Based on the course rea...