Candomblé

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Candomblé

Postby Tone » Mon May 24, 2010 11:47 pm

Hello my fellow congueros,

following a request form niallgregory seconded by windhorse, I will try to start a thread about the music of Candomblé.

Now, I am quite daunted by the task, it would require several books which I might get around to write someday, who knows?
There are so many angles, from the religion and general history, to the nitty gritty of the different drum parts and variations.

I would just like to say for those who are not familiar with it at all, that the candomblé drumming is just as complex, varied and difficult as the bata but much less known internationally. Even though it is used in a religion very closely related to Santeria, and the songs can be strikingly similar, the drumming is very different. In both cases its aim is to induce the transe which is the sign of the orixa being incorporated in the person. The ceremony itself is also very different to Santeria.

It takes place in a dedicated place called a terreiro, the ceremony is much more organised and choreographed than the Santeria, involving many different acts, costumes , entrances, dances, phases,... a lot of those are controlled by the drums, so you really need to know what you are doing, not just play away. There are moments for that also though.
The drums are on a little stage made of concrete or bricks, the drums are planted in holes in the ground and the bottom of the stage acts as a resonance chamber, the sound comes out from the drums and vents at the bottom of the stage. It can get very loud!

So after this brief introduction I will answer niallgregory's question which was to know how it was to play in the Candomblé.

Well of course it is fantastic, you really get to apply all you have learned in the right context in a very intense environnement. The intensity of the playing is quite something else. Whether you think it is the orixas driving the energy or the interaction between the participants and the drummers themselves.
One of the first times I played Angola, I realised that I had totally under-estimated the power of the rhythms. They really took a completely new life before me. Suddenly all sorts of melodies and interplays between the drums seemed to appear, it all made sense! To get the right level of energy you need to play the rhythms with very good technique to get the proper sounds of the usually pretty lousy atabaques, and you need to play with extreme accuracy for the very fast drum parts to bounce of each others. It was a very strong experience.
Playing in the Candomblé can also be, especially at first, a nerve racking experience as you don't want to ruin the ceremony and look like a very stupid gringo who can't keep it together. In reality people have been very open minded and supportive and I have messed up a few times. I am just getting better at hiding it. Some songs can last for 20 minutes of extremely intense, fast and repetitive support parts which can be really hard to keep going. In Ketu the support parts on the sticks are extremely fast and repetitive with the constant use of the repiniquade ( half way between a double flams and quick triplets)which is very physically and mentally demanding. It has a very specific technique and requires a lot of practise.

Soloing on the Rum is a very elating experience and requires tremendous knowledge and technique. I played it for the first time on Saturday for a half hour, keeping it simple on Ijexa at around 5 in the morning. That same night I witnessed my teacher Dofono playing the most astounding song I have yet seen. It reminded me of some very intense Iya in the santeria in Cuba.
The ceremony had started for about an hour with the home team on the drums. They had been warming everybody up with 5 minutes songs of different orixas. Then comes Dofono who played the most intense and energetic Rum for about 20 minutes of a roller coaster of a tune. He got almost all the dancers entranced and 5 or 6 people of the audience who had to be taken in a and dressed up. I wasn't playing then and I really felt it very strongly I thought I was going to go my self. I took a complete novice friend along and she also felt very queasy. It was astounding, the power of this man, or the power the orixas lend him. I had never thing anything like it.

And that my friends can only happen in the Candomblé!

I hope this will trigger your interest and curiosity. Feel free to ask questions. I hope people more knowledgable than me will contribute too. David Penalosa might share some of his great knowledge if we are lucky.

Axé! (which you could loosely translate as may the force be wit you)
tone
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Re: Candomblé

Postby niallgregory » Tue May 25, 2010 8:58 pm

Thanks for that tone . I have studied the rhythms of candomble for many years but have not yet had the pleasure of witnessing a ceremony or evn better playing at one .I have freinds in the uk that have though and they shared a very similar experience to you . I have performed the rhythms for many hours with friends in practice rooms etc and will vouch for how intense they are , i can only imagine what playing in a ceremony is like . I have lots of questions i will ask in time .Have to go and have a drum after reading your post tone .cheers :D
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Re: Candomblé

Postby Tone » Sat May 29, 2010 6:06 pm

I knew it wasn't going to be a very popular subject, but when even the people who requested it drop off...you know it is not for this place for it!

I can't blame you either, the Cuban percussion is already such a huge body of knowledge that most people don't have the time to explore other things, especially if they are not in fashion. I pretty much stopped playing and studying the Cuban side of things as my brain can only deal with so much.

All the best to you all.
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