Algaita
Algaita ( Pl . Algaitu ) for the Hausa , (other spellings algeita, alghaita , algayta and algheita ), algaitasu for the Fulbe (Pl. Algaitagi ), is a woodwind instrument with a double reed in the north-west African savannah , especially in Niger . The deep-sounding algaita is usually played together with the tubular drum ganga for the traditional ruling upper class.
Origin and Distribution
The name is derived from the Arabic al-ghaita , as is the double-reed instrument ghaita played in the Maghreb , which is also used by the Tuareg as algaita , and some bagpipes that are common as far as southern Europe . The Galician gaita belongs to a group of bagpipes in the Iberian Peninsula , while the gaita is played in Thrace .
This shape of a cone oboe is related to the Asian type of surnai , which includes the Turkish zurna , the Arabic mizmar ( zamr ), the Indian shehnai , the Chinese suona and the Korean taepyeongso . Common features are the wide bell and the loud, shrill sound that the more finely crafted Asian instruments have. The tangmuri played in the northeast Indian state of Meghalaya is very similar to the algaita .
In contrast to the one-piece Turkish zurna and Persian sorna , the algaita has a multi-part tube. The algaita type, which is probably older than the zurna type, appears as albogón in Western Europe (Spain) in the first half of the 14th century, like albogue derived from the Arabic al-būq , and evolved there into the pomeranian . The multi-part design of the algaita also corresponds to the nzumari found on the East African coast .
Design
The algaita is about 45 centimeters long and has a conical melody tube made of wood with four to six finger holes on the front. The end of the tube widens to a funnel-shaped to bell-shaped bell, with other instruments a bell made from a different piece of wood has been adapted. The mouthpiece consists of an iron or brass tube that is inserted into the melody tube. A disc made of metal, wood or pumpkin is attached to the mouthpiece tube and is pressed to the lips while playing. The small, attached double reed made of a type of grass is enclosed in the mouth. In order to generate a constant blowing pressure, the musicians often let their cheeks protrude like a balloon.
Style of play
In the traditional ruling houses in Islamic North Africa, the natural trumpets played only by men have a particularly representative symbolic meaning. In this capacity, the algaita is played in the Hausa court orchestra in front of the local dignitary, together with the long kakaki trumpet and the double-headed cylinder drum ganga ( gangua, gangan ). The Toungo court orchestra in eastern Nigeria included two algeitas , a long trumpet ( gagashi ) and a ganga . The kakaki and the algaita were believed to have been introduced first in the Bornu empire , from where they spread to other Islamic empires.
There are prize songs for the ruler performed by Hausa Griots , in which the algaita enters into a musical interplay in a duet with the singer who is also playing ganga . The songs for the praised client gain in importance with increasing length, they are melodically simple and rhythmically resemble a pounding that is not tied to a beat.
In a prize song recorded by a Kanembu ensemble in western Chad near N'Djamena in 1966 , the algaita not only plays a melody but - as many West African hourglass drums can do - a kind of language that the familiar listener can understand. The algaita , blown by the leader of the ensemble , is accompanied by two double-headed cylinder drums , gangua , a small double-headed drum with snarling strings, trombel , and a small copper trumpet , gourounjjio . The wind instrument modeled on a European military trumpet takes on the role of the kakaki .
The algaita is not a purely male instrument; an algaita player without a male descendant may also teach his daughter.
literature
- Roger Blench: The Morphology and Distribution of Sub-Saharan Musical Instruments of North-African, Middle Eastern, and Asian, Origin. (PDF; 463 kB) In: Laurence Picken (Ed.): Musica Asiatica. Vol. 4 Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1984, pp. 177-180, ISBN 978-0521278379
- PG Harris: Notes on Drums and Musical Instruments Seen in Sokoto Province, Nigeria. In: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland , Vol. 62, January - June 1932, pp. 105–125, here pp. 119f
- Algaita . In: Curt Sachs : Real Lexicon of Musical Instruments. At the same time polyglossary for the entire instrument area . 3rd edition, Georg Olms, Hildesheim 1979, p. 6, ISBN 3-487-00205-1 (reprint of the first edition Berlin 1913).
Web links
- Algaita - Traditional Musical Instrument. ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) stevenmikki.com (image and audio sample)
- Algaita, Nigeria or Savannah Area of Western Africa, ca.1925. National Music Museum, The University of South Dakota (illustration)
- centros.edu.xunta.es Illustration with four finger holes
Individual evidence
- ^ Roger Blench, p. 178
- ↑ Alfons Michael Duration : Tradition of African Wind Orchestras and the Origin of Jazz. (Contributions to jazz research, vol. 7) Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1985, p. 76
- ↑ Griots Hausa. Nigeria. CD produced by Charles Duvelle. Prophet 24, 2001, title 2 (and cover photo booklet)
- ^ Gerhard Kubik : Africa and the Blues. University Press of Mississippi, Jackson 1999, p. 88
- ^ Makada Robo ( algaita ) and Boussa Baléri (vocals and gangan ) in: Niger. Haoussa - Songhay - Zarma. Prophet 04, CD produced in 1999. Recording by Charles Duvelle 1961, 16.43 min
- ↑ Abakar Moustapha ( algaita ) and Ensemble: Aba Guirmi. In: Tchad. Arabe Dékakiré - Arabe Salamat - Barma - Kanembou. Prophet 19, CD produced in 2000, recording by Charles Duvelle in 1966
- ↑ Beverly B. Mack: Muslim Women Sing: Hausa Popular Song. Indiana University Press, Bloomington 2004, p. 51