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Music of Antigua and Barbuda

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical genres, styles,
eras and events

   Antigua and Barbuda is a Caribbean nation in the Lesser Antilles island
   chain. The country is a second home for many of the pan-Caribbean
   genres of popular music, and has produced stars in calypso, soca,
   steeldrum, zouk and reggae. Of these, steeldrum and calypso are the
   most integral parts of modern Antiguan popular music; both styles are
   imported from the music of Trinidad and Tobago.

   The population of Antigua and Barbuda is mostly descended from West
   Africans brought to the Caribbean as slaves. Thus, the music of Antigua
   and Barbuda is largely African in character, and has only felt a
   limited influence from European styles.

   Little to no musical research has been undertaken on Antigua and
   Barbuda. As a result, much knowledge on the topic derives from novels,
   essays and other secondary sources.

History

   Documented music in Antigua and Barbuda began only with the discovery
   of Antigua, then populated by Arawak and Caribs, by Christopher
   Columbus in 1493. The islands' early music, however, remains little
   studied. In the 1780s, documentation exists for African workers
   participating in outdoor dances accompanied by the banjar (later
   bangoe, perhaps related to the banjo) and toombah (later tum tum), a
   drum decorated with shell and tin jingles. By the 1840s, sophisticated
   subscription balls were common, held biweekly with European-derived
   quadrilles accompanied by fiddle, tambourine and triangle.

   Colonial era churches and missionary activity displaced and disrupted
   the music of African slaves, who adopted elements of European-derived
   religious music. The brass bands of the Salvation Army are an important
   example. In the mid- to late 19th century, a number of Portuguese
   indentured workers came to Antigua, bringing with them their styles of
   music. When most of the Portuguese left in the 1880s, Lebanese music
   was brought to the island by immigrants from that country.

Folk music

   During the period of French colonial rule, African slaves were
   prohibited from celebrating in Carnival; they continued to do so,
   secretly, at home. There, an Afro-Caribbean style of percussion, dance
   and song called benna developed. Later, Antiguan and Barbudan folk
   music became more dominated by Trinidadian calypso and steelpan.

   Most forms of modern Antiguan and Barbudan music are not indigenous to
   the islands, and were imported from France, the United Kingdom, United
   States, Jamaica and Trinidad. Colonial dance styles like the highland
   fling and the quadrille remain popular in Africanized form. The loss of
   Antiguan traditions can be ascribed to the lack of a French colonial
   past (French islands of the Lesser Antilles retain much African-derived
   music and dance), the influence of the powerful Codrington family, a
   relatively unified African ethnic identity, the lack of African
   immigration after the peak of slavery importation, the British military
   presence at Shirley Heights and a modern history of unstable economy
   and government.

Old Time Christmas Festival

   The Old Time Christmas Festival was a culturally significant
   celebration, replaced in 1957 by a Trinidadian-inspired Carnival. The
   Antiguan Christmas Festival included several elements that have been
   adopted into the modern Carnival.

   Christmas Festival traditions include both music and dance, especially
   related to masquerades and iron bands. The highland fling is a common
   Christmas Festival dance, also played in the modern Carnival, performed
   by people wearing Scottish kilts, masks made of wire and bearing whips
   of cowhide. Dancers wearing banana leaves and animal horns took part in
   the John Bull, while carolers paraded with long poles covered in
   lanterns, called carol trees, singing with accompaniment by the
   concertina. Stilt dancers in robes, called the Moko Jumbie, Jumpa-Ben
   or Long Ghosts, were also common, and were accompanied by kettle and
   bass drums, fife, triangle (cling-a-ching) and the boompipe, made from
   a plumbing joint one meter long.

Benna

   Benna (or bennah) is an uptempo Antiguan folk song that was introduced
   following the prohibition of slavery. Songs usually focused on
   scandalous and bawdy rumors and gossip, and were in a call-and-response
   form with a leader and an audience. Benna's popularity and similarity
   to calypso helped make the island receptive to that genre's
   introduction. The modern performer Short Shirt has attempted to revive
   the benna in modern years, with his 1977 album Harambee an influential
   work that began updating benna with social and political awareness.

   By the beginning of the 20th century, it had become a method of folk
   communication, disseminating news and reports from across the island.
   In the 1940s and 50s, an improvisational benna singer named John
   "Quarkoo" Thomas sang up-to-date stories on legal scandals, and the
   sexual affairs of the upper-class. He was eventually imprisoned because
   of the lyrics to "Cocoatea", which was about the daughter of a
   respected citizen, and her secret pregnancy while in a convent.

Popular music

   In other popular genres of music Antigua is best known for oldest and
   most successful soca band the Burning Flames, who have claimed the road
   march title for many years, most recently 2005. Another well-known
   Antiguan musician was Patrick "Johnny" Gomes, who worked for, among
   many others, the calypso giant Mighty Sparrow. The most famous
   indigenous musician in Antigua and Barbuda may be Oscar Mason, whose
   son, O'Neill is also a noted trombonist. The Antigua Community Players
   have been active for more than 52 years, performing a variety of
   musical productions in many styles, including the Antiguan folk song,
   benna.

   Other famous indigenous musicians from Antigua/Barbuda are jazz
   recording artists Roland Prince (guitarist), Courtney Winter
   (saxophonist) and Wendell Richardson, a former guitarist of Osibisa.
   Country recording artists Billy Rose and Wayne Daniel were also born on
   the island of Antigua. Additionally, Basil Hill, owner of King Midas
   Records in New York built a large international nightclub called the
   Atmosphere in 1978, creating a direct outlet for Antigua and Barbudan
   singers and bands. Elements of non-Antiguan and Barbudan music have
   continued to be imported to the islands in the latter 20th century,
   including the electronic gospel music of the American Baptist church,
   and the Afro-Jamaican drumming of Rastafarian music.

Carnival

   See full article: Antigua Carnival

   The Antiguan Carnival is a celebration of music and dance held annually
   from the end of July to the first Tuesday in August. The most important
   day is that of the j'ouvert (or juvé), in which brass and steel bands
   perform for much of the island's population. Barbuda's Carnival in
   June, and is known as Caribana. The Antiguan and Barbudan Carnivals
   replaced the Old Time Christmas Festival in 1957, with hopes of
   inspiring tourism in Antigua and Barbuda. Some elements of the
   Christmas Festival remain in the modern Carnival celebrations, which
   are otherwise largely based on the Trinidadian Carnival. The author
   Frank Manning has argued that this change, from indigenous traditions
   to tourist-oriented elements, has reduced Antiguans to "positions as
   service personnel and 'mimic men', robbing the culture of its natural
   integrity and cultural history"

Steelpan

   The steelpan comes in many different forms, and put together is called
   a steel orchestra. Steel bands traditionally are made up of old pieces
   of metal example old irons, tire rims, steel pipes etc. Antigua's steel
   orchestras and iron bands can be found in churches and in many
   villages, and have been popular since their introduction. Every
   Carnival there is a competition to dub the best band of the island.
   Antigua's largest and oldest steel orchestra that still competes is the
   Hell's Gate steel orchestra. The Brute Force Steel Band was the first
   Antiguan steelpan band to record an album.

Calypso

   Calypso was invented in Trinidad, and was used by the poor as a
   platform for social and political commentary, using complex metaphors
   and folkloric references to obscure their meaning to outsiders. Later,
   beginning in the 1960s, a popularized kind of calypso was developed for
   use in tourist hotels.

   The first hotel calypsonians were Black Shirt, Skeetch and Dadian, who
   were accompanied by a string ensemble of two guitars and a bass guitar
   (created out of an oil drum). The Antigua Carnival, and the Antiguan
   Calypso King competition, began in 1957; the King that year was Styler.
   This era also saw a growth in patriotic calypsos, focused on an
   emerging sense of victorious nationalism in the wake of growing
   autonomy.

   By the middle of the 1960s, two rival calypsonians dominated the
   Antiguan scene, Zemaki and Lord Canary. Their conflict was perpetuated
   as the King Short Shirt and Swallow rivalry during the 1970s and 1980s.
   In the middle of the 1980s, the Burning Flames emerged, winning the
   road march with "Styley Tight" in 1985. They achieved pan-Caribbean
   acclaim.

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