Centrafrique : Trompes Banda Linda
(Buda Musique) Used CD $20.00
Farmers from the savannah region of Central African Republic use readymade tree roots (hollowed out by termites) for horns, similar in sound to a didjeridoo. Each one emits a single note and twenty are grouped together forming four pentatonic scales. For higher notes, antelope horns with lateral mouthpieces are used. Each player has his own tempo so the themes slide and evolve as if propelled by a polyphony of hiccups, recalling at times the cyclical, machine-like tape loops of Steve Reich. For variety the group also plays slit log drums, xylophones, and zithers. The repertoire here includes music for rituals (harvest cycles, weddings, circumcisions, the arrival of foreign visitors). From 2005