Sons d’Afrique

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Sons d’Afrique (1993, revised 1995)                      

fl, cl, pno, perc, vln, vcl

Duration: 10 minutes

Commissioned by the Vale of Glamorgan Festival with funds provided by the Arts Council of Wales

Sons d’Afrique is a re-working of traditional songs from the Central African Republic. The first section is based on a harp tune performed by the Nbaka people. The song is associated with rites on the birth of twins and is performed on a large arched ten-string harp. The starting point for the second section is a xylophone pattern from a dance piece in the repertory of the Sabanga people. It is performed on a portable ten-note xylophone which is held in playing position by a strap running around the musician’s neck. The final section is based on sanza music of the Gbaya people. The sanza, or mbira, is an invention peculiar to Africa. Sometimes called a ‘thumb piano’, it consists of a set of metal lamellae of unequal length which are plucked with the thumbs. The main points of interest to me in writing this work were the unusual layout of the pitches in these African instruments as well as the rhythmic content of the music performed on them.

First performed at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival on 27 August 1993
with Kathryn Lucas (flute), David Campbell (clarinet), Andrew Ball (piano), Simon Limbrick (percussion), Madeleine Mitchell (violin) and Christopher Van Kampen (cello)

Performances

27.08.93ST DONATSVale of Glamorgan Festival
17.08.95ST DONATSVale of Glamorgan Festival

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