We at Luminari love music of all kinds: folk, symphony, hip hop, jazz, blues, country, marches, gospel, rock and roll—we enjoy all of it.
Because our mission is to broaden minds
and promote innovation, we think it’s important—and fun—to open our minds to
the possibilities of the world beyond our own doorstep. And what better way to do that than to learn
about the music of other lands.
Starting in this edition of Lumos, we will
be offering regular features about the unique and unusual (and sometimes
downright strange) instruments we’ve never heard. And since we can’t really
understand an instrument until we’ve heard it being played, we’ll offer links
to sites where you can hear and see a performance.
We’ll step off into our musical venture with
the story of the valiha, the national
instrument of Madagascar.
Does it strike anyone else as interesting
that this instrument is made from bicycle parts?
***
At first glance, the man looks like he’s
holding a bassoon. The valiha is a long, thick tube the player holds
vertically.
 |
| Valiha |
But look again and you see there’s no
mouthpiece. The valiha is not a wind instrument, but a kind of zither. The sound comes from plucking and stroking
the strings.
The valiha is ancient, and long considered
the national instrument of Madagascar. For centuries, the valiha was played
solely for ritual performances, and only by men. In recent decades, the valiha
has entered the realm of popular music, and women now play it.
The valiha is a long tube, usually made of
bamboo or a light wood. There are 21 to 24 strings, which in modern times have
been fashioned from bicycle brake cords. When the cables no longer stop your
bike, they move on to their next lives in the arts.
For centuries, the valiha was played to
summon kind spirits to the Madagascar island. Now, the valiha is played for
equally life-affirming reasons—to make lovely music.
Listen for yourself:
***
Luminari Coordinator, Beth Dolinar brings her talents and experience as a writer, Emmy-award producer, public speaker and deadline driven multi-tasker to our team. She writes a popular column for the Washington "Observer-Reporter." She is a contributing producer of documentary length programming for WQED-TV on a wide range of topics and currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Robert Morris University. Beth has a son and a daughter. She is an avid yoga devotee, cyclist and reader. Beth says she types like lightning but reads slowly -- because she likes a really good sentence.
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