This dissertation focuses on the migrant performance genre isicathamiya, a genre which was popular amongst migrant workers in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in the nineteen thirties and forties. It explores contemporary isicathamiya and asks whether there have been paradigmatic shifts in its content in post-apartheid South African society. By way of introduction, the origins and development as well as some of the themes and features of isicathamiya are highlighted. Hereafter scholarly accounts of migrant performance genres are discussed in conjunction with the cultural re-orientation of migrants in urban centers. The introduction is intended to contextualise the genre by alluding to the politics and aesthetics of isicathamiya performances. Leading on from the introduction, the first chapter of this body of research is a reflection upon the characteristics of oral literature; from the point of view of a literary scholar, I also discuss the problems of interpretation I experienced in this study of mediated isicathamiya lyrics. I propose that isicathamiya performances and texts are elements of oral literature and begin to define them as such. My intention in chapter two is to explore how local performances have influenced global culture. I ask if oral literature from South Africa has contributed to the global market. I ask what Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the internationally acclaimed isicathamiya choir, has invested in "First World culture" and suggest that there is in existence a transcultural flow of energy between the "so-called centre" and "so-called periphery". In chapter three I suggest that the local and global are in a state of dialogue. I hope to establish a dialogue between local isicathamiya choirs and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. In essence, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has exported a musical form that has its foundations in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. This chapter takes readers back to the source of the genre. I take into consideration Veit Erimann's scholarly studies of isicathamiya in Nightsong: Performance, Power and Practice in South Africa. Focus falls upon the paradigm of rural/ urban migration in isicathamiya song and the importance of "home" in sustaining migrants in the city. The notion of "homeliness" as a trope in isicathamiya performances is discussed. By extension, in chapter four, I ask whether the notion of "home" emphasized by Veit Erlmann is of significance in contemporary isicathamiya performance. Consequently, I adopt a comparative approach and set out to identify the changes and continuities in contemporary isicathamiya performances in response to transformations within postapartheid society. I ask why isicathamiya is significant in post-apartheid South African society. What is its importance for personal and collective identity? What is being articulated within contemporary performances? Does isicathamiya provide a cultural space, a forum in which public debate (regarding leaders, policies and concerns) can be staged? Most importantly, is the thematic paradigm between the rural and urban world still visible in contemporary isicathamiya? Is contemporary isicathamiya still grounded on the notion of "homeliness", or have new thematic paradigms emerged in contemporary isicathamiya performances? I propose that South Africa in the present, is itself the site of multiple cultures and fragmented histories. The country and its people are searching for a new unitary meaning in the post-apartheid era. My argument is that isicathamiya texts are elements of postcolonial and post-apartheid literature. I suggest that language, through isicathamiya performance, can show a way back into reinterpreting the past and stitching together a different present. Isicathamiya texts give hints of journeys and point to identities, shared histories and cultural landscapes. Isicathamiya makes possible the sharing of knowledge and knowledge systems, and is an opportunity to hear un-erased histories and un-silenced voices. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

Thesis--Columbia University. / Without thesis statement.

In die 1970’s (voor die ontwikkeling van gevorderde klanktegnologie) was Afrikaanssprekers gedwing om hulle self te vermaak. Volksliedjies en ander Afrikaanse liedjies is dikwels onbegeleid of met eenvoudige begeleiding gesing. In skole is kinders aan verpligte sangonderrig blootgestel en Afrikaanse kinderliedjies soos dié van Anna Rudolph is landwyd deur Afrikaanssprekers gesing. Vandag (2011) word hierdie liedjies baie selde gehoor, en sonder “backtracks”, mikrofone en klankversterkers vind feitlik geen kindersang meer plaas nie. Die doel van die studie is gemotiveer deur twee moontlike negatiewe gevolge van foutiewe aanvangsonderrig in ag te neem: die huidige (2011) positiewe resepsie van onaanvaarbaar geïntoneerde en swak gekomponeerde populêre liedere, en baie Afrikaanssprekers se skynbare onvermoë om te kan sing. Deur op die vertrekpunt van musiekonderrig en spesifiek die aanleer van Afrikaanse kinderliedjies soos dié van Anna Rudolph te fokus, is resepsie-aspekte van Afrikaanse kinderliedere uitgewys. Die literatuurstudie het die bestudering van Afrikaanssprekers se sangkultuur vanaf die 1970’s tot vandag (2011) en die resepsie van kinderliedere deur kinders behels. ’n Kwalitatiewe navorsingsontwerp is gebruik. Verskeie onderhoude is gevoer. 45 van Rudolph se kinderliedere is geëvalueer volgens erkende kriteria vir kinderliedere en ’n katalogus van die kultuurbydrae van Rudolph is saamgestel. Die uitvoer van ’n veldproef wat die samestelling van ’n nuwe Anna Rudolph-CD en -bladmusiek insluit, onderskei hierdie navorsing van enige vorige soortgelyke studie. Probleme ondervind tydens die studie sluit die finansiering van die produksie van die CD en die voortdurende bemarking en verkope daarvan in. Die saamstel van die katalogus van Anna Rudolph se kultuurbydrae het ’n uitgebreide soektog behels en is steeds onvolledig, aangesien Rudolph op versoek en soos wat geleenthede hulle voorgedoen het, onverpoos gekomponeer het en die komposisies dus nie almal gepubliseer is nie. Baie van die gepubliseerde komposisies se publikasiedatums kon ook nie opgespoor word nie. Die bevindinge waartoe geraak is, toon die vervanging van die Afrikaanse sangkultuur van die 1970’s met ’n elektroniese luisterkultuur (2011). Hierdie transformasie het oor ’n tydperk van 40 jaar plaasgevind. Daar bestaan reeds ’n hele geslag nuwe Afrikaanse ouers met klein kindertjies wat nie kan of wil sing nie. Dit bring mee dat die resepsie van baie Afrikaanse kinderliedere soos wat dit in musiekbundels verskyn kommerwekkend negatief is. Die evaluering van ’n seleksie van Anna Rudolph se kinderliedere het getoon dat die musiek van die 1970’s steeds vandag gebruik kan word, alhoewel sommige lirieke vernuwe moet word. Die verpakking van die liedjies in CD-formaat in plaas van musiekbundels is van deurslaggewende belang. Die navorsing met veral die suksesvolle uitvoering van die veldproef waartydens 1500 Anna Rudolph-musiekstelle (met opnames uit die 1970’s) verkoop is, bring die navorser by die volgende aanbeveling: Die hernude verwekking van ’n Afrikaanse sanglus moet nou dringend by klein kindertjies begin. Vir die strewe na hierdie doelwit moet daar deurlopend CD’s van Afrikaanse kinderliedjies vervaardig word wat gebaseer is op die volgende praktiese prosedure: <ul> <li> Die redigering van sekere Anna Rudolph-kinderliedjies asook dié van ander kinderliedkomponiste (van die 1970’s);</li> <li> Die krities-wetenskaplike evaluering (deur musiekkenners) van bestaande kinderliedere aan die hand van erkende kinderliedkriteria;</li> <li> Die implementering van ’n kinderpaneel om kinderliedere (wat voldoen aan die wetenskaplike kinderliedkriteria) te resepteer vir gebruik in skoolverband en by die ouerhuis;</li> <li> Die opneem van bogenoemde kinderliedjies op CD’s in ’n eietydse idioom en met gebruik van kindersangertjies en kinderkore as kunstenaars; en</li> <li> Die effektiewe verspreiding van sulke CD’s na Afrikaanse skole.</li></ul> ENGLISH : During the 1970s, before the development of advanced sound technology, Afrikaans speakers were compelled to entertain themselves. This included singing songs. Folk songs and other Afrikaans songs were often sung, either unaccompanied or with simple accompaniments. In schools children were exposed to compulsory tuition in singing, and children’s songs with Afrikaans texts, such as those by Anna Rudolph, were sung throughout the country. Currently (2011) these songs are seldom heard and almost no singing by children takes place without backtracks, microphones and sound amplifiers. The motivation for this study was the consideration of two results that could be regarded as negative due to incorrect initial instruction: the current (2011) positive reception of unacceptable intonation and badly-composed popular songs, and the apparent inability of many Afrikaans-speaking people to sing. By focussing on the starting point of music education, specifically the learning of Afrikaans children’s songs such as those written by Anna Rudolph, aspects of the reception of Afrikaans children’s songs were identified. The literature review covered studies of the singing habits of Afrikaans speakers from the 1970s until the present (2011) and the reception of children’s songs by children. A qualitative research design was used. Various interviews were conducted. 45 of Rudolph’s children’s songs were evaluated using recognised criteria for such songs and a catalogue of Rudolph’s cultural contribution was compiled. In the conducting of a field experiment a new CD of children’s songs by Anna Rudolph, plus sheet music, was produced, and this aspect sets the research apart from any previous, similar studies. Problems that were experienced during the study included the financing of the production of the CD as well as its ongoing marketing and sales. The compilation of the catalogue of Anna Rudolph’s cultural contribution required extensive research and it remains incomplete because Rudolph composed incessantly on request as well as for specific occasions. Consequently, not all the compositions were published. It was also not possible to ascertain the dates of publication of all the compositions. The conclusions reached indicate that the Afrikaans singing culture of the 1970s has been supplanted by an electronic listening culture (2011). This transformation has taken place over a period of 40 years. There is, therefore, a whole new generation of Afrikaans-speaking parents with young children who either cannot or will not sing. This results in a disturbingly negative reception of Afrikaans children’s songs that are published only as sheet music. The evaluation of a selection of Anna Rudolph’s children’s songs showed that this music from the 1970s can still be used today, although some lyrics would need to be updated. The packaging of the songs in a CD format instead of as sheet music would be of cardinal importance. The research gleaned from the successful conducting of the field experiment during which 1500 music sets of songs by Anna Rudolph (containing recordings made during the 1970s) were sold leads the researcher to the following recommendation: A new desire to sing in Afrikaans should be inculcated in young children as a matter of urgency. To attain this objective CDs of Afrikaans children’s songs should continually be produced, and these should be based on the following practical procedures: <ul> <li> The editing of selected Anna Rudolph children’s songs, and also those of other composers of children’s songs (from the 1970s);</li> <li> The critical and scientific evaluation of existing children’s songs (by music experts) according to recognised criteria for children’s songs;</li> <li> The formation of a reception panel of children to evaluate children’s songs (which satisfy the criteria for children’s songs) for use in schools and at home;</li> <li> The recording of such children’s songs on CDs in a contemporary idiom sung by children’s voices and children’s choirs; and</li> <li> The effective distribution of such CDs to Afrikaans schools.</li></ul> Additional information available on a CD, DVD stored at the Merensky Library on Level 3 Copyright / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Music / unrestricted

MAAS / Centre for African Studies / This study explored the adaptability of indigenous African marriage songs to piano. Music education has always been biased towards Western music content to the exclusion of local musical traditions. A vast amount of musical repertoire within indigenous African societies exists. Formal music education, however, seems oblivious of this resource despite some educators decrying the dearth of materials. There is a need for music curriculum which is located within an African context and which includes indigenous African musical practices. Such need is also expressed in the new Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document. This study explored the feasibility of building a repertoire of indigenous songs for classroom purposes. A number of songs, were collected, transcribed, analysed then placed in various levels of difficulty. These were then matched with the requisite proficiency levels congruent to other graded piano regimes commonly used in the school system. The assumption is that the adaptation and arrangement of indigenous marriage songs will help to bring indigenous African musical practices into modern music education space. Furthermore, it is envisaged that the philosophical understanding and the knowledge attendant to music practices yielding these songs and the context in which they are performed will form the basis for further advancement.

No description available.

Cross – cultural composition has been defined as the creation of a cultural synthesis of the old and new, traditional and foreign into philosophical, artistic, stylistic and aesthetic product that communicates to various audiences. The study adopted a mode of creativity / dynamic approach through the synthesis of traditional Samia marriage music and Western compositional techniques and approaches. To ground the study in the rich cultural traditions of the Samia people of Funyula Division in Western Province of Kenya, an anthropological documentation formed an important part of the study. The study adopted Absolute Formalism theory by Reimer (1989) based on component relationships in which different parts like harmony, melody, and text rhythm relate to one another to create unity. The study also incorporated Aesthetic Functionalism theory by Akuno (1997) on social functions in which; the contextual meaning of the composition was based. The study used the Accommodation theory on Convergence, Giles and Smith (Giles & St Clair, 1979) to unify the analogous aspects in the two stated theories. In the study, descriptive and creative designs were used to cater for the music and social context. In the descriptive phase, Samia marriage folk songs were collected from traditional performers, who were also, interviewed using a questionnaire. Purposeful and snowball sampling techniques were used to select twenty folk songs. They were recorded, transcribed and analysed for dominant traditional musical features and compositional promise. In the creative phase, lyrics were identified and reorganised, the prevalent features isolated and used. The result was a compositional inspiration on which the Marriage Suite was based. The ultimate product of the study was an artistic model framework that could guide the creation of art music using Kenyan traditional music idioms; accomplished through the Marriage Suite. To safeguard contextual and music fidelity, member checking was consistently maintained during data collection and creative phase. Rhythmic and melodic accuracy of the transcribed songs was ascertained by play backs using FINALE music notation. Social identity in the composition was taken into account through use of Samia music characteristics that included intervals, solo-responsorial aspects, overlapping entries, parallelism and common rhythmic patterns. / Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / D. Litt et Phil. (Musicology)

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Music / Master / Master of Philosophy

Cross – cultural composition has been defined as the creation of a cultural synthesis of the old and new, traditional and foreign into philosophical, artistic, stylistic and aesthetic product that communicates to various audiences. The study adopted a mode of creativity / dynamic approach through the synthesis of traditional Samia marriage music and Western compositional techniques and approaches. To ground the study in the rich cultural traditions of the Samia people of Funyula Division in Western Province of Kenya, an anthropological documentation formed an important part of the study. The study adopted Absolute Formalism theory by Reimer (1989) based on component relationships in which different parts like harmony, melody, and text rhythm relate to one another to create unity. The study also incorporated Aesthetic Functionalism theory by Akuno (1997) on social functions in which; the contextual meaning of the composition was based. The study used the Accommodation theory on Convergence, Giles and Smith (Giles & St Clair, 1979) to unify the analogous aspects in the two stated theories. In the study, descriptive and creative designs were used to cater for the music and social context. In the descriptive phase, Samia marriage folk songs were collected from traditional performers, who were also, interviewed using a questionnaire. Purposeful and snowball sampling techniques were used to select twenty folk songs. They were recorded, transcribed and analysed for dominant traditional musical features and compositional promise. In the creative phase, lyrics were identified and reorganised, the prevalent features isolated and used. The result was a compositional inspiration on which the Marriage Suite was based. The ultimate product of the study was an artistic model framework that could guide the creation of art music using Kenyan traditional music idioms; accomplished through the Marriage Suite. To safeguard contextual and music fidelity, member checking was consistently maintained during data collection and creative phase. Rhythmic and melodic accuracy of the transcribed songs was ascertained by play backs using FINALE music notation. Social identity in the composition was taken into account through use of Samia music characteristics that included intervals, solo-responsorial aspects, overlapping entries, parallelism and common rhythmic patterns. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / D. Litt et Phil. (Musicology)

An examination of the utilization of folk song elements in the wind band music of Australian composer David Stanhope, represented in two movements ("Lovely Joan" and "Rufford Park Poachers") from his Folk Songs for Band. Sets 1 and 2. Included is an historical overview of English folk music, emphasizing the theoretical properties of the English folk song and the events surrounding the modern renaissance of British folk music. Background information related to the musical development of Vaughan Williams, Grainger, and Stanhope is provided, noting the influence of the folk idiom in their compositional styles and Grainger's influence on the music of David Stanhope. An historical account of the two folk songs examines the events and compositional procedures related to the inclusion of "Lovely Joan" in Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Greensleeves. and Grainger's use of "Rufford Park Poachers" in Lincolnshire Posv. Emphasis is placed on the subsequent compositional treatment of the folk elements in Stanhope's wind band compositions. A detailed analysis of Stanhope's compositional style includes structural, harmonic, melodic, and historical considerations, while specifically illuminating his contemporary and innovative approaches to scoring and instrumentation.

Black choral music composers in South Africa, inspired by the few opportunities available to them until recent times, have nonetheless attempted to establish, perhaps subconsciously, some choral tradition and, in doing so, incorporate African musical elements in their works. My research traces the foundations and historical development of choral music as an art amongst Vhavenda, and the contributions made thereto by a number of past and present Venda composers that this researcher could manage to identify and trace, to the music of the people. The selected composers are Stephen Maimela Dzivhani, Matthew Ramboho Nemakhavhani, Derrick Victor Nephawe, Joseph Khorommbi Nonge, Israel Thinawanga Ramabannda and Fhatuwani Hamilton Sumbana. Through the application of multiple methodological lenses, the study sets out to analyse, describe, and interpret Venda choral music. Of particular interest is the exploration of the extent to which the ”formal” education that was brought by the Berlin Missionaries influenced Venda choral musicians, particularly the selected Venda choral music composers. Also crucial to this research is the exploration and identification of elements peculiar to indigenous Venda traditional music in the works of these composers. The question is whether it was possible for these composers to realize and utilize their potentials fully in their attempt to evoke traditional Venda music with their works, given the very limiting Western tonic sol-fa notational system they were solely working with. The project also briefly traces the place of Venda choral music within the South African music context and its role within the search for cultural identity. The research has found that the majority of Venda choral music written so far has generally not been capable of evoking indigenous Venda traditional music. Whilst these composers choose themes that are akin to their culture, social settings, legend and general communal life, the majority of the music they set to these themes does not sound African (Venda in particular) in terms of the rhythms and melodies. The majority of the compositions under scrutiny have inappropriate settings of Venda words into the melodies employed. This can be attributed to the limitations imposed by the tonic sol-fa notational system, which was the only system they were taught in the missionary schools established around Venda and which, itself, was flawed as well as the general lack of adequate music education on the part of the composers themselves. Despite these limitations and the very few opportunities available to them, Venda choral music composers nonetheless managed to lay a foundation for choral music as an art amongst their people (Vhavenda). / Art history, Visual Ars and Musicology / D. Mus