Clayton Kennedy

I’m curious about possible connections between Jewish music like klezmer and this style of music. The tempo and rhythm make it sound like dancing music, and the unison runs between what sounds like two separate wind instruments seem pre-determined rather than improvised. They also have what sounds like a ukelele and a bass fiddle, although I doubt this is the case. The lead instruments sound almost exactly like a clarinet and a concertina. Given the itinerant nature of Roma families, I wouldn’t be surprised if they readily adapted such instruments and integrated them into regular practice amongst themselves.

The name “Bitov Orchestra” puts me off; isn’t the term “orchestra” a specifically Classical one? What I don’t understand is whether or not this is some sort of fusion of Bulgarian aesthetic elements and Classical presentation style. It certainly seems to be comprised of repeated phrases, and suitable for dancing. In fact, it reminds me of an Irish jig or reel.

The fact that this is James Brown blows my mind. Never in my wildest dreams could I have thought that his music ever had a political edge; I normally think of him as primarily an entertainer, someone whose job it was to help people escape from, rather than confront, daily social issues. The fact that this recording even exists testifies to two things: the sense of urgency surrounding the Civil Rights movement, and the power of popular music as a potential vehicle for change. I can only imagine that the problem of racism was so all-pervasive that it couldn’t help but affect the artistic output of even the most feel-good groups of the time. And what would it have been like to be a fan of Brown, showing up at a concert expecting “Sex Machine” and “The Funky Drummer,” and instead getting a self-affirming anthem like this? While the attitude is still overwhelmingly positive, this song would no doubt have seemed significant to blacks who were still seeing themselves within frameworks set up by white Americans.

The lengths to which the Nazi regime went to spread its message are really quite astounding. While using the popular music and the language of their enemies to invade Allied musical space seems, in theory, a good idea, I can’t imagine a scenario in which this music would have swayed the opinion of anyone listening to it! While the music is well-crafted and the performance highly professional, the lyrics are so incredibly obvious that it seems to defeat the whole point. Or was that the point? Did the Nazis purposefully couch their ideas in what would inevitably be received as novelty music? Did they feel that it would be labeled non-threatening, and therefore be left uncensored? I suppose I’ll never know.

The density of this music overwhelms me, and I suppose that that is partly the point. The ebb and flow of the group vocalizations sound spur-of-the-moment, which makes sense given that this is a community event, one in which everyone is encouraged to participate. The interlocking rhythmic patterns of the drums are, while repetitious, too difficult for me to pick apart without some effort, and along with the insistent pulse of the shaker they establish a hypnotic groove. I can easily see how such an overwhelming sensory experience- the sound of pounding, cyclical rhythms, the smell of alcohol and sweat, the intense heat created by bodies in motion- would send one into a sort of transcendental state.

I’m a big fan of Herbie Hancock personally. I had a passing familiarity with this song before listening to it for the class, and had no idea that it drew on or was influenced by BaBenzele music. I have no idea what the cultural context of hindewhu is, so I’m not sure how to feel about Hancock using it in his music. I wonder if he chose it for a particular reason. Did he intend for his audience to recognize it as being of “pygmy” origin, or is he using it for some other purpose? Maybe he just thinks it sounds interesting.

Since I’ve played gamelan already during my time here at Oberlin, the experience of playing it with the rest of the class didn’t necessarily offer me a new musical experience for me. However, I was surprised at how quickly the group gelled, considering that most of them had never played before. For some reason, I find that playing gamelan has a soothing effect for me. Perhaps because of the extremely regular, cyclical nature of the music, I feel as though I enter into another timespace . The blending of the bell-like tones and the gentle pulsing of the gong ageng are very pleasant to me.

The wind instrument that begins the piece sounds like a suling to me (I know it’s not.) It has a similar, airy tonal quality. The playing seems nearly virtuosic to me. The amount of breath control needed to play such a long passage is absolutely staggering. Part of me wonders if certain tones are played by breathing in through the instrument, like a harmonica. The florid ornamentation sounds microtonal; I’m not sure if that’s the case or not, since  my ear isn’t very good. While the playing seems unmeasured, the musician is obviously very concious of timing, since they play a note in unison with the vocalist almost immediately after her entrance. The music actually reminds me of the Egyptian Qur’anic recitations we listened to at the beginning of the course. I wonder if this is secular or sacred music.

This piece is familiar to me in some ways and unfamiliar in others. The cyclic nature of the music, the use of bossed gongs, and the interlocking playing were to be expected. What surprised me was the entrance of the horn-like instrument. It was difficult for me to determine its role in the music. It sounds sometimes like it’s playing within a scale, but often seems off pitch. The phrases seem to be centered on one or two primary pitches, and to be (roughly) in time. I’d like to know more about the kind of instrument is, what its aesthetic is in the context of the piece. Another thing I wonder is whether or not there are particular modes or scales in talempong. If so, do they, like those in gamelan, have particular associations (time, mood, etc.?) When would this piece be heard? During a particular event?

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