Nyabole: Music Of The Hamar

• Track Listing

Nyabole - Singing on the Way to the Dancing Ground "Look here, the customs of our fathers keep us warm." The men of the Hamar, a south Ethiopian people, still tell of the great deeds of their ancestors, from whom they have inherited their heroic will and strong personality. The music of the Hamar is varied: the word painting of the mouth bow, the sound of the flute, the interplay of voice and lyre stand alongside running songs, leaping dances, and war songs. The recordings were made between 1970 and 1976 by the field researcher and ethnologist Ivo Strecker and - after having been published on LP in 1977 - were awarded the annual German Record Critics' Award, in 1981. This edition not only presents a general introduction to the music of the Hamar, but it also provides us with the social, psychological and historical contexts of the music in the sense of an ethnography of communication and performance. Events that take place at the periphery of a musical performance may be important to help one understand it. This is why an edition of the present kind is only possible with the help of experiences such as those which Ivo Strecker was able to accumulate during his long periods of intensive field research as a participant and observer among the Hamar. This CD set includes a very extensive and richly illustrated booklet.