It's been about a month since my last posting. Between teaching full time and holding down Raffe Reeds (my private reed making business), my private studio and my goal: Research- I have had little time to write. After submitting the paperwork for a grant, my computer video card died and needed repair, creating a cacophony of adjustment; updating software, buying a much needed iPad, and scanner. Sidenote: My goal is to scan my documents so I can read on-the-go and continue to research. A must for anyone also trying to hold onto orchestral gigs.
My mother would tease me that the last paragraph sounds like an excuse train. This would be followed by “wooh-wooh” noises. Enough!
While listening to podcasts this summer, I became entranced by the religions and the music that accompanied the podcasts. My preconceived notions of Vodou, Islam, China, and more were all destroyed. The sounds were based in faith, calling gods, and reaching past the ego. I realized, I needed to know more. I listened to recordings. I inter-library loaned, accessed google books, and watched every movie I could find. I was hungry, driven, and in love.
Let me just say, I have only ever felt this way about one other thing- playing bassoon. So there was a certain amount of shock, disbelief and excitement. AND- fear. What would this mean about bassoon? I have since come to realize that I still need bassoon. And being a true libra, it is all about balance.
My goal is to flip Ethnomusicology on its head. Currently, ethnomusicology studies the people of a region and the sounds they create. Rarely is there a discussion of ethos behind the music, the cultural cross currents, or the blending of religions and sound. It lacks the human element of merging cultures. The subsequent blending; people falling in love with people of different cultures, people traveling abroad and not going home, or what happens when missionaries go home.
I took my four greatest interests African Vodou in the Americas, Islam in Africa and Mystic Sufism, Hinduism in the Americas and Christianity in China and wrote a proposal for further research, lesson plans for a future class, and made a movie. The grant requires a performance (a sermon, artwork, etc). I realized a recording of my playing bassoon would not fit the need- so I made a movie.
It is my first multi-media amalgamation, I hope you enjoy! My intention is the video will start a dialogue. Music tracks and credit will soon be posted.
