related works
Time of NDEMBU : for cello and piano / Anna Mikhailova
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Cello and keyboard instrument
Scoring:
vc pf
Sonate : voor cello en piano, 1948 / Sas Bunge
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Cello and keyboard instrument
Scoring:
vc pf
Sonate facile : pour violoncelle et piano, 1950 / Hugo Godron
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Cello and keyboard instrument
Scoring:
vc pf
Heroic Elegy : for violoncello and piano / Nimrod Borenstein
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Cello and keyboard instrument
Scoring:
vc pf
composition
Time of NDEMBU : for cello and piano / Anna Mikhailova
Other authors:
Mikhailova, Anna
(Composer)
Description:
NDEMBU is a race of Bantu from Central Africa. The practice of collective rituals and bringing back the balance to the community creates the core system of their presence. Ritual is the base for all kind of communications in the Ndembu world. The Ndembu term for ritual is the same as the word for ‘drum’. Participating in the ritual and sharing collectively the experience of it, creates the immune system for the whole group.
The sonic structure of Time of NDEMBU is based on Mukanda, the Ndembu ritual for the circumcision of boys. The ritual performed for the group of boys involves black, white and red colors from three different types of tree, which along with other symbols, construct the particular state for the boys as they enter adulthood. Their journey from boy to manhood is accompanied in the music by specific modal transformations. The texture of symbols & subjects creates a reservoir of information.
This ritual has a characteristic drumbeat and word relationships, which found its place in the cello part and in its relation with the piano. This is the universe; this is the world of NDEMBU. The title image for ‘Time of ‘NDEMBU’ is made by Lena Nogami.
Anna Mikhailova