Until the evening of Friday, September 24 at the Community Centre I had never heard or seen a kora. This large, stringed instrument has its origins in West Africa, where it is used extensively. From a resonator fashioned from a gourd split in half rises a long neck, to which twenty-two strings are attached. The resultant sound is a cross between a harp and lute. On this occasion the kora was backed by Sound Archive, an electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit. If on paper this sounds a surprising combination, in concert it worked brilliantly. Kadialy Kouyaté is a virtuoso, not just as instrumentalist and singer but also as a teacher at the School of Oriental and African studies in London.
Michael Prince, the man responsible for the non-classical music programming of the Rye Arts Festival, explained that he had first invited Kadialy to Rye in 2006, in those days paired with Paraguayan harpist Kike Pedersen. Kouyaté, he elaborated, is part of the Senegalese griot tradition of hereditary musicianship. The griot might be described as a bard – a champion of an oral tradition going back hundreds of years.
Each song was based on an ostinato – a repeated musical idea/bass line – and ebbed and flowed in a mesmerising way. The link between Kadialy and his fellow-musicians was a delight to observe: their shared smiles suggested a mutual appreciation of both how the song was taking musical shape and of each other’s skill. Although the language was unfamiliar, Kouyaté explained the basis of each piece: royalty, the importance of family, ancestry, youth, and good wishes to all, for example. For the duration of the concert we were transported from Rye to a very different place and were briefly part of centuries of tradition: it was a magical evening.
Image Credits: Kt bruce .
Great piece by Martin and thrilled that he was introduced to new music and a new instrument by Rye Arts Festival!
Just like to point up that while Mike Prince fronts up the non-classical music he is in fact one of ‘The Gang of Four’ – a collective of enthusiasts that jointly organises this exciting strand of the Festival!