“Mariama”, a programme with African music. Music from Madagascar, part I.
In this episode of Mariama, we go on a musical journey to Madagascar. Madagascar is a poor but paradisaical island, known for its flora and fauna. It also has a lot to offer in the way of music. The original inhabitants came from Malaysia and Polynesia. The land has been occupied by Africans, Arabs and Europeans who all brought their own musical cultures and instruments with them. The Polynesian culture can still be heard in the multi-part song of the Merina, a people living in the highlands. An example of this is Feo-Gasy, a group that sings in the Ba-gasy style, dramatic music that is mainly about friendship and mutual helpfulness in a style that emphasizes every word. In this programme you can hear instruments like the valiha, a tube-shaped citer made of bamboo with 21 strings, and the marovani, a citer that looks like a suitcase with strings on either side. Looking at famous guitar player D’Gary, you can see how he plays his guitar as a marovani. Furthermore you can hear virtuoso accordion player Regis Givazo as well as the Njava Vetse group, consisting of five siblings, members of the Antemoro tribe of the southeast coast of Madagascar, whose repertoire is based mainly on music that is played during ceremonies in southwest Madagascar.
On 3 November, Mariama will feature the second part of Music from Madagascar.
