| CIMBOA – MUSIC TRADITION AT RISK is a programme
of workshops with young musicians, seminars with ethnomusicologists
and performances. The project is designed to preserve the musical tradition
of the cimboa, a musical instrument from Cape Verde, and help pass
it on to the younger generations. The project is to be produced by
PangeiArt, a transnational non-profit cultural association working
in the area of culture and development mainly in the ACP countries,
and the Pentagrama music school at Praia. Other partner organisations
in Praia, Mindelo and Rotterdam may also participate. |
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| CAPE VERDIAN INSTRUMENTS - Musical instruments are
an integral part of the cultural manifestations of
the life of Cape Verdian communities. They play an important role in
family and
social celebrations. In the popular festivals held in each island, in
tribute to the patron saints, drums beat to exhaustion and string
instruments are widely used, such as the guitar, the viola, the cavaquinho
and
the violin. Drums and other percussion instruments are also quite popular. |
| MUSICAL STYLES AND RHYTHMS - Cape Verde has a variety
of musical styles. One of the most popular is the foot-stomping funana,
a dance beat popular in Praia and all over the islands. Morna, the
most popular songform, is slow, moody and usually in a minor key. Coladeira
is a fast-moving, happy and sensual style of dance music. The world’s
best-known musician from Cape Verde is Cesaria Evora, the 'barefoot
diva', who sings in the traditional Cabo styles. |
| DISCOGRAPHY - |
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The
main idea of the project is to invite Mr. Mano Mendi, probably the only
cimboa maker in the country, to direct a series of workshops with students
and musicians. The workshops would be mainly designed at building new
instruments with a good level of quality and autenticity, but also at
allowing to learn its playing technics and at giving a good overview
of the repertoir still existing for this instrument. Playing sessions
would also be recorded with the students and with Mano Mendi through
PangeiArt’s 24 track digital mobil studio. The resulting music
would be edited and mastered on cd and an arquive with the masters would
be kept by the school, Pentagrama.
The
Cimboa is a very special instrument because in Cape Verde there is nothing
like it. It is a bowed instrument that probably comes from the mussulmane
part of the continent and it's sound and music resemble partly to an
arabic or middle-eastern sound. It is made from the branch of tree that
constitutes the arm. At one end of the arm there is a calabash covered
with goat skin that works as the sound box. A single string made of
horse hair joins the top end of the arm and the calabash at the bottom,
passing through a bridge that sits on the goat skin of the calabash.
Fingers press the string without contact to the arm while a bow with
a similar string produces sound by friction in the same way as a violin
is played.