RODERIC KNIGHT'S VIDEOTAPES

    On field research trips in 1970 and 1982 I took a Super 8 film camera with me to supplement my audio recordings.  Although I worked  alone and without expensive equipment, I was able to film many events of interest.  The 1970 films were made in The Gambia with a silent camera, but I recorded the sound with a Nagra III monaural open-reel tape recorder.   The 1982 films were made in India and Africa with a sync-sound Super 8 camera.  At the time of filming, I did not envision the commercial release of these films; I made them for use in the classroom and for research purposes.  The advent of digital editing has enabled me to bring the footage into presentable form, and since the content is of historical and musicological interest, I am now pleased to be able to present them to a wider public.  

Mande Music and Dance
now on DVD:


           
             To order for $29, click the picture.

 (For a library order, please go to the bottom of the Lyrichord page for the performance rights edition.)

This DVD contains eighteen scenes filmed originally on Super 8 movie film in 1970 and 1982. They were released on VHS in the 1990s by Original Music as Music of the Mande, Parts I, II, and III.

For the DVD edition the accompanying booklet has been rewritten and expanded to include all song texts and translations in PDF format on a separate disc.  All of the scenes from Music of the Mande videotapes Parts I, II, and III are included and have been carefully re-edited and brought into sync wherever possible. See detailed contents below.

If you bought the VHS tapes, please upgrade your collection with this new edition.

Part I. Music for the Warriors, Hunters, and Ordinary People (15 min.)
SYNC achieved for Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6.

1. The bolon, four-string harp of the warriors -- 2:35
2. The simbingo, six-string hunter's harp -- 2:25
3. The ndang, a Bambara multi-necked lute -- 1:25
4. Mortar pounding--three pestels in one mortar-- 4:00
5. The ji dundungo, water drum played by women -- 1:45
6. The Siko drums -- 3:00

Part II. Professional Music: Mandinka jaliyaa with the kora (47 min.)
SYNC achieved for Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, 7.

1. The president of Sierra Leone visits Gambia -- 2:30
2. Bai Konteh, kora, with son Dembo Konte -- 1:45
3. A kullio or child-naming, with kora and singers -- 6:00
4. Jali Mori Suso of Ziguinchor, Senegal and his 25-string kora --3:00
5. Steps in building a kora, with music by Amadu Bansang Jobarteh --17:30 6. Two koras: Jali Nyama Suso and Suntu Suso -- 5:00
7. A jali ensemble--two koras, balafon, singers -- 9:00

Part III.  Tantango drumming.  This part consists of five scenes featuring the  Mandinka drum ensemble of sabaro and two kutiro drums in a variety of settings, with different drum troupes  (34:25 min.)

For the DVD release, sync has been achieved for a segment of No. 1 (Seruba). The other scenes have been re-edited and brought into near-sync whenever possible.

1. Lenjengo/Seruba, recreational drumming -- 7:30
2. Nyaka Julo, drumming for rice planting -- 4:30
3. Dimba Tulungo, young mothers' dance -- 9:00
4. Nyoboringo, team wrestling match -- 9:00
5. Kankurango, masked dance -- 4:25



       To order for $29, click the picture.

(For a library order, please go to the bottom of the Lyrichord page for the performance rights edition.)
Village and Town Music of India and Nepal    
Lyrichord LYRDV-2003

This package includes one 67 minute DVD and one data CD of notes, maps and photos in PDF format, plus two supplemental audio tracks.

The forested hills and valleys of the eastern Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh, India attracted Rudyard Kipling a century ago, and more recently, Roderic C. Knight, professor of ethnomusicology at Oberlin College.  The footage was originally made with a Super 8 sync-sound film camera during field research in 1982.  There are twelve scenes, encompassing a variety of musical performances and activities of daily life.  

Accompanying the DVD is a CD-ROM with a 36-page booklet that may be viewed on screen or printed, documenting each event with maps, photographs, information on the cultural and historical setting, song texts and translations, and detailed musical transcriptions for two of the performances (see I-1 and II-4 below). Also included are over fifty supplementary color photographs with captions, suitable for classroom presentation.

PART I. VILLAGE MUSIC OF MADHYA PRADESH 30:30
Filmed in Dindori District and Jabalpur

1. The Pardhan bana, a three-string fiddle
2. The Gogia Pardhan bin-baja, a strummed harp
3. Gond Stilt Dance and “Kabadi” game by school boys
4. Gond and Pardhan at work on farms and roads
5. The Ahir algoza, a bamboo fingerhole trumpet

PART II. TOWN MUSIC OF NORTH INDIA AND NEPAL 37:00
Filmed in Nagpur, Raipur, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Chandigarh, and Kathmandu

1. Daily Work Scenes: carting, threshing, pottery making
2. Itinerant Musicians sing “Matti ke Putle”
3. A Sikh Celebration of Baisakhi: singers with harmonium, tabla, tumbi,
    sarangi, and tudd
4. A Sikh Wedding: the street parade, the welcoming
5. A Gaine Singer of Nepal with sarinda
W Afr DVD cover photo

             To order for $29, click the picture.

(For a library order, please go to the bottom of the Lyrichord page for the performance rights edition.)
             Music of West Africa:  The Mandinka and their Neigbors
                                       Lyrichord LYRDV-2005

           Filmed in The Gambia, Guinea, and Mali in 1970 and 1987
               by Roderic Knight with two scenes by David Gamble

This is a collection of films made with a Super 8 movie camera. The Gambian scenes were made in 1970 with a silent camera, the sound recorded on a Nagra III tape recorder.  The scenes from Guinea and Mali  (nos. 5 and 6), were made with a sound-sync Super 8 camera.   Digital technology, expertly implemented by Elio Trabal, Oberlin College class of 2004, has enabled the release of these glimpses of late twentieth-century musical activities.  There are ten scenes, two contributed by renowned Gambian expert David Gamble.  The total duration is 33 minutes.

1.   A Mandinka kullio (child-naming) at the Gambian State House           
2.   A Fula ensemble of flute, rattle, & calabash                       
3.   Musicians and the Gambian president at political rallies               
4.   The Balanta xylophone                               
5.   Manyo debero (bride's hair braiding) with xylophones, Guinea           
6.   The tama hourglass drum, Serahuli style, in Bamako, Mali            
7.   Mandinka women hoeing and singing.  Filmed by David Gamble.       
8.   Jola men plowing and singing.  Filmed by David Gamble.           
9.   The Jola kumpo, a "whirling haystack" masked dance                
10. The Jola bugaarabo, a drum dance for celebratory occasions

Accompanying the DVD is a CD-ROM with a 24-page booklet that may be viewed on screen or printed, documenting each event with maps, photographs, information on the cultural and historical setting,  technical notes, and song texts and translations, and two song transcriptions.  Also included are 59 supplementary color photographs with captions, suitable for classroom presentation.


   


This is a VHS tape.  It may be purchased directly from me for $20, or $14 for students.  Payment may be made by Paypal to rknight@oberlin.edu, or mail a check to Roderic Knight, 89 Pyle Rd., Oberlin, OH 44074.  DVD edition forthcoming.
Jali Nyama Suso, Kora Player of The Gambia  (20 minutes)

 This film was made at the University of Washington in 1972, at the end of a one-year residency by Jali Nyama Suso, a renowned player and teacher of the 21-string Mandinka harp called the kora. He died in 1991. The film was made in a studio under the direction of Dr. Robert Garfias with two 16mm sync-sound cameras.  The scenes alternate between full-figure shots and closeups of the hands. Although the sound is not high fidelity, the performances are exemplary of Nyama Suso's energetic style. An 8-page booklet provides background information and a synopsis of the song contents. The songs performed are as follows:
1. Alla l'a Ke (Allah's Deed)
2. Jula Faso (Merchant's Tune)
3. Yundumunko (Man from Yundum)
4. Masane Sise (Masanneh Sisay)


This is a VHS tape.  It may be purchased directly from me for $20, or $14 for students.  Payment may be made by Paypal to rknight@oberlin.edu, or mail a check to Roderic Knight, 89 Pyle Rd., Oberlin, OH 44074. DVD edition forthcoming.

Baiga Dances   (40 minutes) 

This VHS video includes seven scenes filmed in Madhya Pradesh, India in 1982 with a sync-sound Super 8 movie camera. The Baiga people live in the forests of the Maikala Hills near Amarkantak, the source of the Narmada River. The young people of the village perform songs and dances at weddings, festivals, and in good-natured competition between villages. A 24-page booklet provides extensive background information, examples of song texts, and notations of some of the drum rhythms.

Scenes in Silpidi Village -- 1:45

Excerpts of Weddings
    1. Wedding at Ramepur -- 5:15
    2. Wedding at Silpidi -- 3:45

Baiga Dances
    1. Karma (general entertainment) -- 8:50
    2. Jarpat (general entertainment) -- 3:10
    3. Rina (women's dance) -- 2:45
    4. Seila (men's dance) -- 8:45
    5. Baar (mixer dance) -- 5:45