Hugo Zemp

A short film set in the mountainous province of Svaneti, documents the performance of polyphonic men’s funerary laments common to the region.

A short film set in the mountainous province of Svaneti, documents the performance of polyphonic men’s funerary laments common to the region.

A short film set in the mountainous province of Svaneti, documents the performance of polyphonic men’s funerary laments common to the region.

A short film set in the mountainous province of Svaneti, documents the performance of polyphonic men’s funerary laments common to the region.

A short film set in the mountainous province of Svaneti, documents the performance of polyphonic men’s funerary laments common to the region.

At the beginning of the 20th century in Jacqueville, near Abidjan in the Côte d'Ivoire, traditional music was forbidden by the missionaries. But the inhabitants' enjoyment of their local festivals proved stronger, and the little town developed its own brass band. This is the story of that brass band, a brass band that isn't at all like a military band. It's a dancing brass band, an African brass band, that accompanies all the big and little moments of life: national festivals, religious ceremonies, funerals, fetes and celebrations, a musical game involving a football, tunes from the famous Mapuka dance, or the experimental use of sacred drums together with the brass band. A lively debate between the musicians, in which a sense of humor is clearly present, as they examine fundamental questions about their tradition and its transformations in the context of the life of people today.

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument. Returning to Senufo country 40 years after his first encounter with balafon music in 1958, ethnomusicologist Hugo Zemp recalls memories of this and subsequent visits in the early 60s, before participating in a musical event of startling impact. Six orchestras, playing simultaneously but independently, circle with the dancers around the deceased person, who is swathed in fabric by the men before being buried.

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument. Balafon makers are all musicians, but a balafon player isn't necessarily an instrument maker. The film shows in detail the manufacture of this musical instrument, an indispensable element in the life of the Senufo people. Each step is shown, from the initial prayer to the genies of the balafon before felling a tree, through the cutting and tuning of the keys and the resonators, to the fixing of the buzzing membranes, which give this instrument its very characteristic timbre. Nanga, the balafon maker, talks about his work and discusses different aspects with friends during a meal.

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument. The music of the balafon is a source of joy while the young men are doing collective work in the fields, at age-group ceremonies, for the poro initiatory society, for the catholic mass and during young people's dance evenings. Musicians and non-musicians, young and old, talk about the different occasions for which this instrument is an indispensable presence marking the rhythms of life for this agricultural people. Traditional balafon music is far from dying out, and its extraordinary vitality and importance are evident in the activities of the younger generations.

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte d'Ivoire, the balafon (xylophone with calabash resonators) is an emblematic musical instrument. This film shows balafon orchestras playing in five villages during the two principal days of funeral festivities, celebrations that include the most important rites, ceremonies and rejoicings in the life of the Senufo. During dialogues with Sikaman, a young musician who acted as research assistant for this film series, the master balafonist Nahoua gives the key to understanding how this marvelous music comes into being, and what it means.

The Pshavi people of the eastern mountains of the Republic of Georgia perform a ritual which can be characterized as a syncretism of ancient polytheistic beliefs and Orthodox Christian faith, but which is qualified by city habitants of Tbilisi as "pagan". The ritual of Tamar and Lashari celebrates queen Tamar (12-13th century) and her son Lasha, deified by the mountain dwellers. Each year, and for three days, on the hillside of a Caucasus valley, pilgrims consecutively meet at two sanctuaries consecrated to these deities and worship them through prayers, songs and sacrifices, enjoying at the same time food and happy chats with friends they have not seen for a year. In addition to prayers and sacrifices by a shrine priest, religious songs are an essential part of the ritual.

In the practice of overtone singing (called also bi-phonic singing), whose best-known examples can be found in Mongolia and with the Tuva people of Southern Siberia, a single person sings what the audience perceives as two voices at the same time: a low pitch with his vocal cords, and in addition, a high-pitched melody using harmonics (overtones) selected by modifying the volume of the mouth cavity. This documentary is not an ethnography filmed in location. It is partly an illustration of the results of former research, partly the very actual investigation on overtone singing carried out in Paris, in the Ethnomusicology Department of the Musée de l'Homme, during a workshop, during a concert of the Mongolian National Ensemble, and in the medical visualization department of a hospital.

A documentary about the traditional music of the 'Are'are people of the Solomon Islands.

For the 'Are'are people of the Solomon Islands, the most valued music is that of the four types of panpipe ensembles. With the exception of slit drums, all musical instruments are made of bamboo; therefore the general word for instruments and the music performed with them is "bamboo" ('au). This film shows the making of panpipes, from the cutting the bamboo in the forest to the making of the final bindings. The most important part of the work consists in shaping each tube to its necessary length. Most 'Are'are panpipe makers measure the length of old instruments before they shape new tubes. Master musician 'Irisipau, surprisingly, takes the measure using his body, and adjusts the final tuning by ear. For the first time we can see here how the instruments and their artificial equiheptatonic scale-seven equidistant degrees in an octave-are practically tuned.

Siaka Diabaté is a musician at Bouaké, the second largest town in the Côte d'Ivoire. Through his mother's family he is Senufo, but through his father's ancestry he considers himself a Mande griot. He is a multi-talented professional musician, and for the local festivals plays five instruments: the Senufo and Maninka balafons, the kora harp, the dundun drum and the electric guitar. This film shows Siaka playing in the group led by Soungalo Coulibaly before his death in 2004, including the use of jembe drums, which we also see being made. Using long continuous shots that give priority to the music and to what Siaka and Soungalo have to say, this documentary introduces the audience to a fascinating world of urban music that incorporates traditional songs and dances by griots.

While lullabies – with their intimate relationship between a mother and her child – are a universal musical genre, the polyphonic singing of lullabies by choirs is very rare. In Georgia (South Caucasus), men’s choirs have been singing lullabies on stage since at least the end of the 19th century, as the movement of national liberation from the Russian empire favored the affirmation of the Georgian cultural uniqueness. Polyphonic cradlesongs performed by men’s, women’s or mixed choirs in the different regional styles have become a new musical genre added to the repertoire of traditional national folklore. Individual as well as choral lullabies are called Nana.

While lullabies – with their intimate relationship between a mother and her child – are a universal musical genre, the polyphonic singing of lullabies by choirs is very rare. In Georgia (South Caucasus), men’s choirs have been singing lullabies on stage since at least the end of the 19th century, as the movement of national liberation from the Russian empire favored the affirmation of the Georgian cultural uniqueness. Polyphonic cradlesongs performed by men’s, women’s or mixed choirs in the different regional styles have become a new musical genre added to the repertoire of traditional national folklore. Individual as well as choral lullabies are called Nana.