Label: Musicaphon – BM 30 SL2705
Series: Music Of Oceania –
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono
Country: Germany
Released:
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Pacific
Enlightening, otherworldly recordings from the Pacific island nation of Samoa - the final instalment to the much-lauded, rarely sighted six-part Music Of Oceania series published by the Institute for Musicology of the University of Basle. Comprised of recordings spanning the early 1900's to the late 1960's, these pieces seek to document the musical heritage, rituals and practices of the country and it's people right back to the earliest documented visit led by a German research team back in 1910. The ancient songs focus heavily on community-led vocal polyphonies, often intertwined with ritualistic context, such as the welcoming home of a loved one, or pieced sung to raise spirits before battle, although also representing their animistic beliefs and forming a musical bridge between the natural and supernatural world. Tracing the historical arc of this little-known Oceanic nation, recordings are captured from the time of the independence movement of 1920's and during also the 1918 flu epidemic that ravaged the country and wiped out over 20% of its population - spine-chillingly relevant and somewhat precedent during the 2020 COVID lockdown but also beautiful to see how traditional cultures rely on their musical backbone in times of crisis. Crucial recordings in terms of cultural and historical preservation in an increasingly homogenised, globalised, mono-culture world. (Vinyl NM - Sleeve VG+, fully intact some light edge ware).
Tracklist
A1 Standing-Dance Song (1910) 1:08
A2 Standing-Dance Song (1967) 1:05
A3 War Song (1910) 1:02
A4 War Song (1940) 1:00
A5 Ula Dance Song (1910) 0:55
A6 Song Of The 1918 Epidemic (1966) 4:17
A7 Song Of The 1918 Epidemic (1968) 5:17
A8 Song Of The Spirit Te'e (1969) 1:36
B1 Song In Honour Of A Marriage (1967) 4:29
B2 Song Of The Mau Rebellion (1940) 8:18
B3 Song Of Political Lament (1940) 3:09
B4 Song Of Praise 5:05
