The music of the Solomon Islands is part of the oceanic musical tradition , characterized by the active use of flutes . The music of the Solomon Islands has influenced neighboring countries. This musical tradition attracted the main attention of the international community after the country gained independence from Great Britain in 1978.
Content
Folk music
Traditional Melanesian music is represented in the Solomon Islands by group and solo vocals, ensembles of slot drums and flutes [1] . The ensembles of Pan flute performers are known in Malaite and Guadalcanal ; there are up to ten performers with instruments with different settings [1] .
Popular Music
In the 1920s, “bamboo music” gained popularity in several countries. In bamboo music, sound is extracted by striking holes in open bamboo tubes of various sizes, originally coconut shells [1] . After American sandals were brought to the Solomon Islands in the early 1960s, they replaced coconut shells and music began to spread in Papua New Guinea [2] .
In the 1950s, Edwin Nanau Sitori composed the song Walkabout long Chinatown, which became popular throughout the Pacific and was called the government of the Solomon Islands unofficial national song of the state [3] .
Popular music of modern Solomon Islands is represented by various types of rock and reggae , as well as the so-called "island music", played on guitars and ukuleles and influenced by Polynesian and Christian music [4] .
The traditional Melanesian choral singing is vividly presented in the soundtrack of the film “ Thin Red Line ”, which is dedicated to the battle for Guadalcanal .
Rorogwela
In 1969-1970, musical ethnographer Hugo Zemp recorded a number of local compositions that were released on vinyl in 1973 as part of the UNESCO Musical Sources collection. One of the songs, a lullaby called Rorogwela, performed by Afunakwa, a woman from the north of Malaita , was used as a vocal sample for the 1992 single, Sweet Lullaby on the French duet Deep Forest . The composition became a world hit, at the same time causing some controversy over the alleged "looting" of Western musicians of the world musical heritage.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Feld, pg. 186
- ↑ Feld, pgs. 186-187
- ↑ “„ Wakabauti long Chinatown “: The song, the composers, the storyline” Archived February 18, 2011. , Office of the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands
- ↑ Feld, pg. 187
Literature
- Feld, Steven. "Bamboo Boogie-Woogie." 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific , pp 183-188. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
Further reading
- Firth, Raymond and Mervyn McLean. Tikopia Songs: Poetic and Musical Art of a Polynesian People in the Solomon Islands. - Cambridge University Press, 1991. - ISBN 0-521-39812-6 .
Links
- In search of Afunakwa on YouTube.com