BBC Musical Legacy of the Slave Trade

Subject: BBC Musical Legacy of the Slave Trade
From: Matthew Edwards
Date: 24 Jul 07 - 08:27 AM

Hidden in the depths of the BBC World Service archives is an excellent series of three radio programmes looking at the ways in which music from Africa has developed and influenced many musical genres. The programmes can be heard by clicking on the audio buttons here:- The Musical Legacy of Slavery, but the sound quality is better if you listen on Real Player. The programmes are introduced by Rita Ray and contain some wonderful examples from Sierra Leone, Caracas and the United States. I particularly liked the quote from Taj Mahal wondering "What was it about a plucked string that really just scraped across my soul?"

The other pages on the BBC World Service site on Abolition are also well worth exploring, as are the pages on the main BBC site commemorating the Bicentenary of Abolition.

Subject: RE: BBC Musical Legacy of the Slave Trade
From: Azizi
Date: 24 Jul 07 - 08:46 AM

Thanks for letting us know about that resource, Matthew Edwards.

It sounds interesting!

Subject: RE: BBC Musical Legacy of the Slave Trade
From: fretless
Date: 24 Jul 07 - 08:53 AM

Thank you Matthew. That looks like a great site. On the same topic, but written more than a century earlier, Slave Songs of the United States, written in 1867.

Subject: RE: BBC Musical Legacy of the Slave Trade
From: Folkiedave
Date: 24 Jul 07 - 08:55 AM

Thanks for that Matt and (remarkably) there is a programme currently on Radio 4 about WOMAD!!

Dave

Subject: RE: BBC Musical Legacy of the Slave Trade
From: GUEST,Uncle Boko
Date: 24 Jul 07 - 09:09 AM

It may be that this recording is kept at the National Sound Archive, where it used to be possible to listen to recordings. Perhaps it still is.

Subject: RE: BBC Musical Legacy of the Slave Trade
From: Blowzabella
Date: 24 Jul 07 - 09:39 AM

There's also this link this one here
to info about a programme, which Genevieve Tudor, of BBC Radio Shropshire, did with New Scorpion Band and Tas Embiato on the Sound the Jubilee programme. Once you get there, there's a clickable link at the top right hand side to listen to it too.