Seleshe Damessae: Tesfaye CD Track Listing
Seleshe Damessae
Tesfaye
Seleshe Damessae, an extraordinary singer and musician from Ethiopia, offers a wonderful selection of compositions rendered in complex vocal stylings, and sung in Amharic, his native language. He accompanies himself on the krar, a 6-string lyre which dates back to the ancient civilizations of the Nile.\n\nLiner notes:\n\nAzmari Tradition\nIn Amharic, the language of Ethiopia, a musician is known by the name azmari (plural: azmariwoch). Strictly speaking, the word azmari refers to an itinerant professional poet-musician, not unlike the griots and troubadors of other African traditions. Azmaris are almost exclusively male, and they generally sing songs of passion, sensual love, hope and social commentary.\n\nBefore public education systems began in Ethiopia, schooling was largely controlled by the Ethiopian Church. In music training known as zema-bet, young boys were taught specific vocal styles as part of their training to become deacons or priests. Chuch schools taught the value of using words sparingly and poetically, for didactic purposes. Many of the drop-outs from these church schools would later become azmaris, and they went on to use their highly trained voices to achieve a variety of vocal effects in their secular songs.\n\nIn order to earn a living, azmaris travelled from one tej-bet (bar) to the next, working for gratuities. Only the best were asked to work the most lucrative affairs, such as weddings and large parties. Often, they lived a nomadic life, travelling from village to village in search of work. Some were employed to accompany noblemen on long trips by horseback or mule, helping to alleviate the boredom of the journey.\n\nSam-enna-warq, ("gold from wax") refers to the two layers of meaning expressed in Amharic poetry. The external meaning of the words is easily seen (much like a wax mold), while their true value is found by looking more deeply into the poetic significance of the works (the gold ornament contained within the mold). A skillful azmari will incorporate sam-enna-warq into the lyrics of his songs, even when composing them spontaneously. These songs may deal with love, particularly sensual love, or may broach sensitive topics such as village scandals, corruption among the nobility or church officials, the abuse of power, etc.\n\nMusical Instruments\nAn important instrument of azmaris is the masinko, a spike fiddle covered with goatskin, and containing a diamond-shaped sound box. The other instrument used is the krar, a five or six string lyre with a rectangular or box-shaped resonator and ten strings.\n\nAccording to legend, God made the first begena, and gave it to David to accompany his psalms of praise and adoration. As a result, the devil in his jealousy constructed his own version of the begena, and called it krar. He gave it to man to exalt the carnal desires and to bewitch and seduce. The krar has since been known as "the devil's instrument."\n\nThe Krar\nThe krar consists of a wooden yoke supported by two arms attached to a soundbox. The soundbox is usually a metal bowl with sound holes, and is covered with goatskin. The word krar means "stringed" in Amharic. The five or six strings of the krar were traditionally made out of gut, but today nylon is commonly used.\n\nPlaying techniques include plucking or strumming (muting). To pluck, melody lines are struck with one hand while the other plays two tonic strings an octave apart in drone fashion. A common technique is to pluck the same notes that are being sung, or to do so shortly after singing them.\n\nStrumming is the more traditional manner of playing. One hand presses lightly on the strings while the other strums all the strings near the bridge. Both plucking and strumming techniques are used on this recording.\n\nThe krar is generally tuned to one of four scales:\nTizita: C-C octave-Ab-G-Eb-Db\nBa'ati: A-A octave-G-E-D-C\nAmbassal: G-G octave-Eb-D-C-Ab\nAnchihoy: D-D octave-B*-G*-G-E\n(* = slightly sharpened)\n\nLabel:\nMusic of the World\nPO. Box 3620\nChapel Hill, NC 27515-3620\nUSA
This misc cd contains 9 tracks and runs 44min 5sec.
Freedb: 700a5309
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: Music
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: music songs tracks misc
- Seleshe Damessae - Anche-Lej (You, Girl) (06:52)
This is a love song. It begins softly, with the krar plucking out a melody while the voice drifts with longing sighs. Often the krar plays pitches in unison with the voice. Varying vocal techniques are used to express the strong emotion of this song. - Seleshe Damessae - Ere Belew (05:59)
This song depicts the story of a hero at war. Seleshe uses his voice expressively in this song to display feelings of bravery, pride, and sadness. The krar is plucked in this example, often in unison with the sung melody, and there are recurring flourishe - Seleshe Damessae - My Homeland (01:36)
This short selection is an unaccompanied vocal improvisation. Seleshe uses vocal dynamics and spaces or rests in the melody to express his message. - Seleshe Damessae - Chey Belew (05:17)
This is a song denouncing the Italian Imperialist invasion of Ethiopia. In this selection, the use of muting and strumming techniques are demonstrated. The musician strums almost continuously in order to sustain the resonances of the pitches, but in certa - Seleshe Damessae - Tesfaye: A Future Hope (03:56)
In this selection, Seleshe sings "I've lost my hope. I'm still waiting for another chance. I guess I'll just keep on trying." The drar accompaniment in this selection consists of sparse plucking, and it beautifully complements the gentle quality of the vo - Seleshe Damessae - Gerf (03:16)
This instrumental piece is dramatically rhythmic and features both plucking and muting techniques. Seleshe demonstrates his technical proficiency on the krar, and the high level of vituosity that it is possible to attain on this instrument. He plucks the - Seleshe Damessae - Endiawes (05:29)
A wandering troubador was taken in by a beautiful woman, and they fell in love. Because of his nomadic nature, he eventually had to leave, and when he did, he left his krar with the woman. In his absence, she played it relentlessly until one day he finall - Seleshe Damessae - Tewogne (04:34)
This song expresses strong emotions through varying vocal techniques. He begins with a cry, which leads into a wistful melodic line. In one section, Seleshe sings in a low register, then moves to a very high register creating significant tension and emoti - Seleshe Damessae - Ezea Mander (That Village) (07:00)
In this selection Seleshe sings, "There are always shadows here. Let me go to another place where the sun will always shine." The krar plucks in a traditional manner here, often playing the notes of the melody, embellishing them expressively and adding qu
