|
Feo-Gasy
Feo-Gasy is a band from Madagascar that perform a traditional '' ba-gasy'' music of the Merina people of the rural central highlands around the capital city of Antananarivo. The band was founded in 1994 by superstar guitarist Erick Manana and featured until his 2001 death the iconic '' sodina'' player Rakoto Frah, the only Malagasy musician ever to be featured on the local currency. The group was originally composed of the acoustic guitarist and singer Erick Manana, the sodina player and singer Rakoto Frah, singer and guitarist Jean-Colbert Ranaivoarison ("Rakôly"), vocalists Famantsoa Rajaonarison ("Fafa") and François-Daniel Rabeanirainy ("Beny"), and ''valiha'' player Bariliva Rasoavatsara, who died in December 2012. Discography See also *Music of Madagascar The highly diverse and distinctive music of Madagascar has been shaped by the musical traditions of Southeast Asia, Africa, Oceania, Arabia, England, France and the United States over time as indigenous people, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erick Manana
Erick Manana is an acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter from Madagascar. He often performs in a duo or as a solo artist, singing in accompaniment to his acoustic guitar in the ''ba-gasy'' genre that gained prominence in the central highlands of Madagascar in the 1930s. He began to learn to play guitar and sing in the ba-gasy style from his grandfather at the age of five. In 1979 he left Madagascar to settle in France and currently lives in Bordeaux. His professional career as a musician began in 1982 as a member of Lolo sy ny Tariny. He recorded his first solo album in 1996. He was a member of the group Feo-Gasy alongside the celebrated sodina player Rakoto Frah, and together the group toured Europe several times, promoting the traditional music of the central highlands of Madagascar. He has worked on a variety of collaborative projects, recording singles and performing with established artists such as Regis Gizavo and Solorazaf, and young breakthrough stars like Aina Quash. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rakoto Frah
Philibert Rabezoza (1923 – 29 September 2001), better known by the name Rakoto Frah, was a flautist and composer of traditional music of the central highlands of Madagascar. Born in 1923 near the capital city of Antananarivo to a poor rural family, Rakoto Frah surmounted the challenges posed by his underprivileged origins to become the most acclaimed 20th century performer of the '' sodina'' flute, one of the oldest traditional instruments on the island. Through frequent international concerts and music festival performances, he promoted the music of the highlands of Madagascar and became one of the most famous Malagasy artists, both within Madagascar and on the world music scene. After gaining regional recognition for his sodina skills as a youth, Rakoto Frah rose to national fame in 1958 when he was selected by Malagasy President Philibert Tsiranana to perform on the sodina for the visiting French president Charles de Gaulle. This event launched his career as a professional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Of Madagascar
The highly diverse and distinctive music of Madagascar has been shaped by the musical traditions of Southeast Asia, Africa, Oceania, Arabia, England, France and the United States over time as indigenous people, immigrants, and colonists have made the island their home. Traditional instruments reflect these widespread origins: the and owe their existence to the introduction of the guitar by early Arab or European seafarers, the ubiquitous originated in mainland Africa and the —the bamboo tube zither considered the national instrument of Madagascar—directly evolved from an earlier form of zither carried with the first Austronesian settlers on their outrigger canoes. Malagasy music can be roughly divided into three categories: traditional, contemporary and popular music. Traditional musical styles vary by region and reflect local ethnographic history. For instance, in the Highlands, the and more subdued vocal styles are emblematic of the Merina, the predominantly Austron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa across the Mozambique Channel. At Madagascar is the world's List of island countries, second-largest island country, after Indonesia. The nation is home to around 30 million inhabitants and consists of the island of Geography of Madagascar, Madagascar (the List of islands by area, fourth-largest island in the world), along with numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 90 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of wildlife of Madagascar, its wildlife is endemic. Human settlement of Madagascar occurred during or befo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sodina
A Sodina is a woodwind instrument commonly played in Malagasy music and a member of the aerophone family of instruments. Similar in structure and sound to a flute, the sodina is usually made out of bamboo, lightwood, plastic, or reed and varies in size depending upon the region it is being played in. Sodinas indigenous to Madagascar are often found to have anywhere from three to six equidistant openings. Sodinas can be played solo or in a group of instruments, in which case it is accompanied by many flutes and a large drum. Ethnomusicology researches point the origins of the Sodina in Southeast Asia Islands (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines) where one can still find today its bamboo form, known in Malay as ''suling''. Rakoto Frah is considered the greatest sodina player of the 20th century. A number of contemporary performers keep this musical tradition alive, most notably including Rakoto Frah Zanany (Rakoto Frah Junior), a group of sodina players composed of Rakoto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valiha
The valiha is a tube zither from Madagascar made from a species of local bamboo; it is considered the " national instrument" of Madagascar. The term is also used to describe a number of related zithers of differing shapes and materials. The instrument has been held in high regard among the Malagasy particularly in the Merina rule over the island that having long fingernails ideal for plucking its strings were marks "distinguishing the aristocracy from the labourers". Aside from recreational music, the valiha is also used for ritual music to summon spirits. Construction Historically the instrument was made of the bamboo ''Valiha diffusa'', but in the modern day "bamboo species with longer internodes" are used. The bamboo poles used for building the valiha are chosen between diameters of 5 to 10 cm and preferably cut within a length of 35 to 180 cm. The valiha generally has 21-24 strings. Historically these were formed of strips of the bamboo body, prised up and r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merina People
The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, or Hova) are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar.Merina people Ethnic Groups of Madagascar Encyclopædia Britannica They are the "highlander" Malagasy ethnic group of the African island and one of the country's eighteen official ethnic groups. Their origins are mixed, predominantly with |
Antananarivo
Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "Antananarivo-Capital"), is the capital of Analamanga region. The city sits at above sea level in the center of the island, the highest national capital by elevation among the island countries. It has been the country's largest population center since at least the 18th century. The presidency, National Assembly, Senate and Supreme Court are located there, as are 21 diplomatic missions and the headquarters of many national and international businesses and NGOs. It has more universities, nightclubs, art venues, and medical services than any city on the island. Several national and local sports teams, including the championship-winning national rugby team, the Makis are based here. Antananarivo was historically the capital of the Merina peop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malagasy People
The Malagasy (french: Malgache) are an Austronesian-speaking African ethnic group native to the island country of Madagascar. Traditionally, the population have been divided by subgroups (tribes or ethnicities). Examples include "Highlander" (ethnically Austronesian/Malay-Indonesian with less Bantu ancestry) groups such as the Merina and Betsileo of the central highlands around Antananarivo, Alaotra ''(Ambatondrazaka)'' and Fianarantsoa, and the "coastal dwellers" (ethnically Bantu with less Austronesian ancestry) with tribes like the Sakalava, Bara, Vezo, Betsimisaraka, Mahafaly, etc. The Merina are also further divided into two subgroups. The “Merina A” are the Hova and Andriana, and have an average of 30–40% Bantu ancestry. The second subgroup is the “Merina B”, the Andevo, who have an average of 40-50% Bantu ancestry. They make up less than 1/3 of Merina society. The Malagasy population was 2,242,000 in the first census in 1900. Their population experienced a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ariary
The ariary (currency sign, sign: Ar; ISO 4217 code MGA) is the currency of Madagascar. It is notionally subdivided into 5 ''iraimbilanja'' and is one of only two non-decimal currencies currently circulating (the other is the ''Mauritanian ouguiya''). The names ariary and iraimbilanja derive from the pre-colonial currency, with ariary (from the Spanish word "Spanish colonial real, real") being the name for a silver dollar. Iraimbilanja means literally "one iron weight" and was the name of an old coin worth of an ariary. However, as of 2021 the unit is effectively obsolete, since one iraimbilanja is worth less than US$0.005 and the coins have fallen into disuse. History The ariary was introduced in 1961. It was equal to 5 Malagasy francs. Coins and banknotes were issued denominated in both francs and ariary, with the sub-unit of the ariary, the ''iraimbilanja'', worth of an ariary and therefore equal to the franc. The ariary replaced the franc as the official currency of Madagasca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
