Term Papers on African Immersion Series

Term Paper Title	African Immersion Series
# of Words	677
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.71

African Immersion Series

Critique # 2

On the night of Saturday, March sixth, in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall, six men emerged on stage in tribal African robes and engaged the audience with music from the Fulani people of West Africa. The concert was the culminating event of the African Immersion series that took place on the Middlebury College campus during the month of February.

About 100 community members, including Middlebury students and faculty, enjoyed an hour of distinctive Fulani melodies, which derive from the nomadic cattle and goat herder tribe that occupies parts of Guinea, Senegal and Gambia. The flute, an instrument associated with these tribes, has been a part of their tribal traditions and entertainment for hundreds of years.

Because this tribe is credited with spreading Islam throughout West Africa, it is no surprise that the flute's light weight and simple construction made it a favorite traveling companion. The members of the Fula ensemble effortlessly performed a diversity of sounds on a solitary wooden flute.

Before the performers entered, their instruments rested on stage, and audience members were intrigued by the uniqueness of their form and appearance. The Kora, which faintly resembles a harp with a cylindrical neck and a large cow skin covering, was perhaps the most interesting instrument. The general shape is reminiscent of an overgrown guitar, but with an addition of 20 or so extra strings.

The Kora is a fairly modern instrument that sounds like a combination between a lute, harp and guitar. Because of the instrument's unique shape, the audience was unable to see the musician plucking on the strings. The musician simply sat behind the instrument motionless while a cascade of song flowed from the stage.

The other remarkable instrument was the Tambin, a classic wooden flute that combines typical flute sounds with human vocal interjections. The audience was in for quite surprise when one of the flutists began producing noises into his flute that sounded like a mixture ...

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