Includes bibliographical references (pages 579-593) and index. "Filmography" : pages 595-596.
Contents:
Preface -- Introduction -- Part A. Components of the Mbira System -- Collecting ideas in an improvisation-based tradition : A longitudinal approach -- The mbira repertory : Central concepts -- Representing mbira music in notation -- 'Sounds Ringing in My Head' : Mbira parts' designs -- Hand dance : Keyboard polyphony and polyrhythmic templates -- In the shadows of the imagination : Harmonic motion -- Composed variations -- Variation techniques -- The fluidity of perception in performance -- The interlocking aesthetic : Kushaura-kutsinhira combinations -- Part B. A Biography of Knowledge : The Cultivation of Cosmas Magaya's Personal Style -- The acquisition of repertory, and its associations -- The path from re-creation to invention -- Musical arrangements : The systemization of aural preferences -- Musical influences : Incorporation and modification of others' styles -- Part C. The Application of Knowledge in Performances -- Improvisation and the individual mbira player -- Narrative tours of the Magayas' individual kushaura and kutsinhira Nhemamusasa performances -- Narrative tour of Kunaka's solo Nhimutimu performance -- Comparative analysis of individual players' Nhemamusasa and Nhimutimu performances -- Improvisation and kushaura-kutsinhira interplay -- Narrative tours of the Magayas' kushaura-kutsinhira interplay in Nhemamusasa performances -- Comparative analysis of collective resources and creative processes in Nhemamusasa performances -- Social-musical relations in improvisation : Performing at a bira -- Conclusion -- Part D. Music Texts -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- References -- Filmography / TV programs / Videography -- Index.
Summary:
Growing out of the collaborative research of an American ethnomusicologist and Zimbabwean musician, Paul F. Berliner's 'The Art of Mbira' documents the repertory for a keyboard instrument known generally as mbira. At the heart of this work lies the analysis of the improvisatory processes that propel mbira music's magnificent creativity. In this book, Berliner provides insight into the communities of study, performance, and worship that surround mbira. He chronicles how master player Cosmas Magaya and his associates have developed their repertory and practices over more than four decades, shaped by musical interaction, social and political dynamics in Zimbabwe, and the global economy of the music industry. At once a detailed exposition of the music's forms and practices, it is also an indispensable historical and cultural guide to mbira in a changing world.Together with Berliner and Magaya's compendium of mbira compositions, 'Mbira's Restless Dance', 'The Art of Mbira' breaks new ground in the depth and specificity of its exploration of an African musical tradition, and in the entwining of the authors' collaborative voices. It is a testament to the powerful relationship between music and social life - and the rewards of lifelong musical study, performance, and friendship. -- Back cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.