The great ethnologist Simha Arom was sent to the Central African Republic to set up a military band in 1963. He was fascinated by the local traditional music and devoted his life to recognising it. These « Chants et Danses de la Forêt Centre-Africaine » (Songs and Dances of the Central African Forest) are the first recording made in 1967 by the director of research at the CNRS (91 years old today…). His research into the polyphonies and polyrhythms of the Aka Pygmies revolutionised our understanding of Central African music. Using an innovative recording technique that he developed himself, he was able to break down these complex musical structures and demonstrate their mathematical sophistication. The light shed here validates that definitively « nothing is created, nothing is lost, everything is transformed ». Rhythmic loops, harmonies, motifs and song-and-response structures can be found in traditional Caribbean music, and could without exception be sampled in the contemporary music derived from it. These historical recordings, made in the field with rudimentary equipment, have documented unique vocal and instrumental traditions, including banda linda xylophones and banda gbambiya trumpets. On this subject, I suggest (re-)reading Gino Sitson’s recent book « Santiman et lokans dans le Gwoka », which includes a particularly enlightening historical section.
Musiques Africaines – Chants et danses de la forêt centre-africaine, 1967
