Performers: King's College Choir
Culture of Origin: Estonia
Instrumentation: SATB a capella choir with solo female drone
While this could obviously be argued that it is not considered world music, I beg to differ. The composer, Arvo Part, is from Estonia. After reading the Campbell this week, I was immediately drawn to a piece from my past, this Magnificat by Part. One of the suggestions that Campbell offers is to do an activity with a drone. I personally feel that the soprano solo that comes in and out of the composition is a drone in itself. At the elementary level this would be a listening activity. I would draw the attention to the drone sound of the soprano. I think this would be a nice segue into creating our own vocal drones within the class. Obviously using a simple tune and something that the students are familiar with.
This is such a hauntingly beautiful piece. I'm curious as to why you may question the idea of this not being a part of "world music". It certainly is very much a part of world music. I'm not sure that I would consider the soprano line to be a vocal drone in this particular case. I don't think it fits the definition of a vocal drone. However, creative aspects for this piece at the High School level could include adding a true vocal drone or even an instrumental drone that is unique to the culture of Estonia. Have them discuss why this piece does not contain a true vocal drone and have them decide on how to create one to add too, not distract from, the beauty of the piece. Or, does is really need one? It is free meter, so perhaps they could create free meter instrumental accompaniments, or get creative with technology and see if they, as a chorus, can re-create an "Eric Whitacre" internet version of this piece from home using their computer microphones, cameras and YouTube. Then work on editing in small groups at school for a final "showing" during the choral concert. At any rate, it certainly belongs in the "world music" classification since it exists in the world for our use and enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteHi Prea! It could be argued that the example you provided could not be considered world music, but I think it showcases your ideas and points taken from the text perfectly. I have never heard this piece before- it is beautiful! Campbell has some valid points and great examples in re-creating music, and doing an activity with a drone is a wonderful one, especially if you are interested in re-creating this exercise with your students. I would recommend researching/talking to other colleagues to see who has done something like this before to get an idea on how to incorporate this into a lesson/i your teaching. I'd be interested to see how your students would respond to this- best of luck!
ReplyDeleteI, too, wonder why you would not consider this world music. I suppose we need to dissect what "world music" is to you (and anyone else in this class, for that matter). All musics are musics of the world (hence the Western European art music examples included in our text and in the quizzes), yet we often connect only musics outside of the WEAM tradition. Why (or why not) might the world music distinction be important and/or useful?
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