Synopses & Reviews
Carnival Music in Trinidad is one of several case-study volumes that can be used along with
Thinking Musically, the core book in the
Global Music Series.
Thinking Musically incorporates music from many diverse cultures and establishes the framework for exploring the practice of music around the world. It sets the stage for an array of case-study volumes, each of which focuses on a single area of the world. Each case study uses the contemporary musical situation as a point of departure, covering historical information and traditions as they relate to the present. Visit www.oup.com/us/globalmusic for a list of case studies in the
Global Music Series. The website also includes instructional materials to accompany each study.
Home to the most elaborate Carnival celebration in the Caribbean, Trinidad is the birthplace of the steelband and a hub for calypso and soca, musical genres that have been influential throughout the world. Collectively, these and other performance genres constitute the dynamic event of Carnival, which for more than a century has been an occasion for an intense exchange of ideas about society, culture, and tradition in Trinidad.
Carnival Music in Trinidad examines the history and aesthetics of calypso, steelband, soca, and other genres, relating musical structure, lyrics, sound, and style to the major roles they play in Trinidadian culture. It also analyzes how the instruments, sounds, and lyrics of Carnival music provide a sense of national and ethnic identity. Author Shannon Dudley describes calypso's traditional role as a voice for the common people, acknowledging the tensions between this history and calypso's ties to modern commercial music markets. He also presents the story of the steelband--an art form born in the most downtrodden neighborhoods of Port of Spain--as both a parable of the nation's struggles and successes and as a continuous process of musical exploration. Written in a lively style accessible to both students and general readers, Carnival Music in Trinidad features vivid eyewitness accounts and illustrations of performances. The book is packaged with a 40-minute CD containing examples of the music discussed in the text.
Review
Shannon Dudley clearly grasps an essential point of calypso and Carnival in this fine little book, and that is that through tradition the people of Trinidad - at least Carnival devotees- are continuously asserting and reformulating their individual and social identities by signing, playing, and acting out masquerades. This compact handbook is good for students who want to begin the arcane journey into Trinidadian Carnival music. --Donald R. Hill, State University of New York
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-110), discography (p. 110-112), and index.
Synopsis
Carnival Music in Trinidad is one of several case-study volumes that can be used along with Thinking Musically, the core book in the Global Music Series. Thinking Musically incorporates music from many diverse cultures and establishes the framework for exploring the practice of music around the world. It sets the stage for an array of case-study volumes, each of which focuses on a single area of the world. Each case study uses the contemporary musical situation as a point of departure, covering historical information and traditions as they relate to the present. Visit www.oup.com/us/globalmusic for a list of case studies in the Global Music Series. The website also includes instructional materials to accompany each study.
Home to the most elaborate Carnival celebration in the Caribbean, Trinidad is the birthplace of the steelband and a hub for calypso and soca, musical genres that have been influential throughout the world. Collectively, these and other performance genres constitute the dynamic event of Carnival, which for more than a century has been an occasion for an intense exchange of ideas about society, culture, and tradition in Trinidad.
Carnival Music in Trinidad examines the history and aesthetics of calypso, steelband, soca, and other genres, relating musical structure, lyrics, sound, and style to the major roles they play in Trinidadian culture. It also analyzes how the instruments, sounds, and lyrics of Carnival music provide a sense of national and ethnic identity. Author Shannon Dudley describes calypso's traditional role as a voice for the common people, acknowledging the tensions between this history and calypso's ties to modern commercial music markets. He also presents the story of the steelband--an art form born in the most downtrodden neighborhoods of Port of Spain--as both a parable of the nation's struggles and successes and as a continuous process of musical exploration. Written in a lively style accessible to both students and general readers, Carnival Music in Trinidad features vivid eyewitness accounts and illustrations of performances. The book is packaged with a 40-minute CD containing examples of the music discussed in the text.
Table of Contents
ForewordPreface
CD Track List
1. Carnival and Society
Carnival
Trinidadian Society
Trinidadian Carnival in the Nineteenth Century
Music
2. The Man of Words
From Chantwell to Calypsonian
The Lord Kitchener
The Mighty Sparrow
The Mighty Chalkdust
David Rudder
Singing Sandra
3. Calypso in the Tent and on the Road
The Tent
The Road
Instrumentation
Form
Rhythmic Feel
Phrasing
Breaks
4. The National Instrument
Origins
Changing Perceptions
The Instrument
The Ensemble
The Music
Form
Texture
Rhythm
5. Steelband Repertoire
Music for the Road
Fêtes
Music Festival
The Bomb
Panorama
Framing Tradition
6. Bacchanal Time
Soca
Rapso
Ragga Soca
Chutney Soca
Defining Musical Genres
Conclusion
Glossary
Resources
Index