Bang a Gong

One of my favorite museums in Joburg, the Origins Centre at Wit University, presented an Ancient Music concert last night to conclude their two week Rock Gong Workshop.

It was an celebration of South African and indeed world indigenous music. Pipes made of horn and kelp, rock gongs, hunting bows and calabashes were all used by the ensemble to make music while they danced and paraded around the hall.

display of early instruments

Rock gongs are surely one of the earliest instruments if not the earliest. And music is most likely the accidental byproduct of early man's banging while sculpting rock into tools and art and noting that striking rock with rock creates rhythm and tone. Music became an integral part of early man's attempt to communicate with the spiritual world. It still is. The nuns at St. Michael's and Queen of Peace always told us "when you sing, you pray twice!"

The workshop and ensemble leader was Pedro Espi-Sanchis. Born and raised in Spain and France, Pedro came to South Africa at the age of nineteen as a professional musician. His specialty is African music and his instrument is the harmonic flute, the Lekodilo.











While primarily an educator (at the University of Cape Town among other places) and musician, he became well-known in South African as "Pedro the Music Man" in children's television in the 90's. I could see it too. My first thought when I saw him play and lead the ensemble is that he reminded the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Madosini playing the Mhube

The highlight of the evening though had to be the performances by Madosini. Latozi Mpahleni, or Madosini as she is called, was born in Libode, a village in Mpondoland in the Eastern Cape. She sang and played a number of her songs whose lyrics were poems about her life growing up in her village and human nature. Her instruments were the Xhosa bows (as in bow and arrow) and the Uhadi, a calabash-resonated bow which she played with the calabash held against her bare skin like a lover! Her description, not mine.

She also played an Isitolotolo (Jaw's harp) and a Mhube. The Mhube is a mouth-resonated bow which she played both by drawing a straight bow across the string while at the same time using the stringed bow as a flute. In another time and place, Mandosini could have been Dinah Washington or Billie Holiday.  Listening to her sing, it was not hard to hear where jazz originated. 

The concert was also an opportunity for the Origins Centre Director to give us an update on the expansion the museum is currently undergoing. Great things are happening at the Origins Centre. Check it out!