Last week we looked at how music from Europe such as Gregorian chants and Hungarian music had traces of classical Carnatic ragas. This week let’s look at music from African countries such as Algeria, Egypt and Mali.
The music of Algeria today is the confluence of many threads including those of Bedouin origin, Andalusian music with its confluence of the Ottoman Empire and Europe, and the mysticism of poets such as Rumi. Bedouin music revolves around the theme of spirituality with strong influences of Rumi, the well known Muslim poet. Andalusian music, a form of Arabic music owes much of its origins to the regional poets and the Ottoman years. Rai, a blend of different musical styles of the region, is a relatively new genre where the songs express political discontent and highlights social issues such as inequality and poverty.
Here is one Algerian tune that carries the melodic strains of raga Madhyamavati.
Stringed instruments such as harps and clarinets and percussions instruments such as cymbals have been in evidence thanks to archeological findings in Egypt. Egyptian music is closely tied in to the culture prevalent and often reflects the issues pertaining to Egyptian society. Listen to this ancient Egyptian meditation music based on raga Mayamalavagowla.
Afrobeat music which developed in the 90s is an amalgam of music from Ghana and Nigeria. The music is more rhythm-based and ragas are harder to trace
Here is a quirky tune from Mali which sounds like raga Brindavani. The video is funny yet poignant at the same time.
