Nguni Vocal Polyphony

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Nguni Vocal Polyphony

Author(s): David RycroftSource: Journal of the International Folk Music Council, Vol. 19 (1967), pp. 88-103Published by: International Council for Traditional MusicStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/942193

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INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNALNTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNALII. Where common usage allows alternatives in non-final positions, suchalternatives may be used at the same time by differentsingers,giving rise to sporadicthree-part structures.12. The Gogo concept of music does not preclude simultaneous occurrences ofotherwise unrelated sounds made purposely to heighten dramatic tension, to animatea performance,to add to the texture of a piece of music or to provide signals. Soundssuch as those made by a dancer, or the sounds of aerophones played hereand there may be heard in the course of a performance. That is why it is importantthat our analytical approach be guided not only by what we hear but also by whatwe are able to observe, so that as far as possible we can interpret the multi-partorganization of Gogo music in terms of Gogo practice.

NGUNI VOCAL POLYPHONYDAVID RYCROFT

(School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London)THENguni Groupcomprisesprincipally the Zulu, Xhosa and Swazi-speakingpeoplesof South Eastern Africa whose languages and cultures are closely related. ThroughEuropean contact and conquest during the past century and a half, their way oflife has been considerably affected. Musically, many non-indigenous forms andfeatures have been adopted by certain sections of each community,1 but we shallhere be concerned only with what still survives of their truly indigenous music.For individual music-making, instruments of several varieties-particularlymusical bows-were formerly used by all Nguni peoples.2 But their communalmusic seems always to have been exclusively vocal, apart from the occasional useof ankle-rattles in dance-songs. Divided according to function-which is theirprimary criterion-the choral repertoireof each of these people ranges from seriousceremonial music and formal dance-songs for mixed male and female voices, tonumerous occupational and recreational forms which make up the differentiatedrepertoiresof the differentage-gradesof each sex. Rhythm isalways expressedthroughsimultaneous action, by the singers themselves. Depending on the type of item,this may take the form of gestures, postures, dance-steps or other organized bodymovements, or the wielding of real or symbolic weapons orimplements. Stamping,or equal-spaced hand-clapping may supply audible emphasis. These actions arenormally considered inseparable from the music: music and action are blended inthe production of a larger artistic whole. Beyond this, the combined musico-muscular performancemay itself in some cases be felt to be inseparable from thecontext of a particular ceremony-and the ceremony to be essentially related tosome social, seasonal or sacred event. Ideally, it seems that musical sound oughthere to be regarded as only one among many other constituents whose interactionallows the embodiment of more complex, higher forms of expression. Our presentattention, however, will be restricted to musical structure and texture alone.GENERAL FEATURES

Multi-part organization of voices is common in the traditional music of all theNguni peoples. In any choral song there are at least two voice-parts, singing

II. Where common usage allows alternatives in non-final positions, suchalternatives may be used at the same time by differentsingers,giving rise to sporadicthree-part structures.12. The Gogo concept of music does not preclude simultaneous occurrences ofotherwise unrelated sounds made purposely to heighten dramatic tension, to animatea performance,to add to the texture of a piece of music or to provide signals. Soundssuch as those made by a dancer, or the sounds of aerophones played hereand there may be heard in the course of a performance. That is why it is importantthat our analytical approach be guided not only by what we hear but also by whatwe are able to observe, so that as far as possible we can interpret the multi-partorganization of Gogo music in terms of Gogo practice.

NGUNI VOCAL POLYPHONYDAVID RYCROFT

(School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London)THENguni Groupcomprisesprincipally the Zulu, Xhosa and Swazi-speakingpeoplesof South Eastern Africa whose languages and cultures are closely related. ThroughEuropean contact and conquest during the past century and a half, their way oflife has been considerably affected. Musically, many non-indigenous forms andfeatures have been adopted by certain sections of each community,1 but we shallhere be concerned only with what still survives of their truly indigenous music.For individual music-making, instruments of several varieties-particularlymusical bows-were formerly used by all Nguni peoples.2 But their communalmusic seems always to have been exclusively vocal, apart from the occasional useof ankle-rattles in dance-songs. Divided according to function-which is theirprimary criterion-the choral repertoireof each of these people ranges from seriousceremonial music and formal dance-songs for mixed male and female voices, tonumerous occupational and recreational forms which make up the differentiatedrepertoiresof the differentage-gradesof each sex. Rhythm isalways expressedthroughsimultaneous action, by the singers themselves. Depending on the type of item,this may take the form of gestures, postures, dance-steps or other organized bodymovements, or the wielding of real or symbolic weapons orimplements. Stamping,or equal-spaced hand-clapping may supply audible emphasis. These actions arenormally considered inseparable from the music: music and action are blended inthe production of a larger artistic whole. Beyond this, the combined musico-muscular performancemay itself in some cases be felt to be inseparable from thecontext of a particular ceremony-and the ceremony to be essentially related tosome social, seasonal or sacred event. Ideally, it seems that musical sound oughthere to be regarded as only one among many other constituents whose interactionallows the embodiment of more complex, higher forms of expression. Our presentattention, however, will be restricted to musical structure and texture alone.GENERAL FEATURES

Multi-part organization of voices is common in the traditional music of all theNguni peoples. In any choral song there are at least two voice-parts, singing

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BOT S W A N ASOUTH -WEST

AFRICA

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SOUTH*-. SO

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FIG. I. Distribution of the principal Nguni peoples (Zulu, Xhosa and


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INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNALnon-identical texts. The temporal relationship between these parts observes theprincipleof non-simultaneous ntry. In a few songs this is realized throughsimple 'calland (then) response' antiphony. But overlapping phrasesaremorecommon, andthistechnique gives rise to some fairly complex forms of polyphony. In music withmore than two parts, additional voices are either dependent or independent of thetwo main parts, in their temporal relationship, as will be demonstrated later. Butwe shall be dealing first with two-part songs. The majority of these suggestantiphony, with deliberate overlap, as their form. Basically, an initiatory or 'call'phrase, generally by solo voice and in a relatively higher pitch range, is balancedby a choral 'response,' in a lower pitch range. In most songs, a fixed sequence ofphrase-pairs-usually between two and seven pairs-makes up the single overallstrophe, and this is repeated ad infinitum-though variations may occur in theupper part, depending on the inventiveness of the soloist. Although, in each song,the length of its strophe remains fixed throughout, there is no standard length-even for items from the same category within a single repertoire. Among songsexamined so far, strophe length varies, between items, fromtwo to eighteen measures-either of duple, triple, hemiolic or additive metre. Although the strophe alwayscommenceswith at least one solo and one chorusphrase, this exact pairing of phrasesis not always maintained throughout the whole strophe. In some songs, one partcontains more phrases than the other, and may be more complex. Nevertheless,bothparts are always regarded as essential. An isolated singer, if asked to demon-strate a song, will usually not first complete one part and then the other, but willattempt to present the essentials of both parts, by jumping from one to the otherwhenever a new phrase-entry occurs.

StartI Solo

/ "\/ I/ \/ / Finish

i ChorusI I

,,~~~~~~~\ j i~~~//*\ \ / /N -.-- /

FIG. 2. Temporalrelationshipsof solo and chorusparts: Swaziantiphonalsimekezoong

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NGUNI VOCAL POLYPHONY 9'= 104(-116) Beginning.of strophe

Start^ ^

FIG. 3. Southern Zulu work-song

In most cases no definite sense of finality attaches to the completion of thestrophe. Immediate recommencement is obligatory, apparently in order to maintainthe balance between the parts. This can be represented by a circular diagram.Fig. 2 represents the temporal relationships of the two alternating voice-parts in asimple antiphonal song, without overlap. The two phrases rendered by the solovoice are indicated in the outer circle, and those of the chorus in the inner circle.The song is of the Swazi simekezocategory, sung by a bride and her attendants atthe end of the marriageceremony, lamenting the fact that she has left her father'shome for ever. The strophe is repeated an indefinite number of times with slighttextural and melodic variations in the solo part. But the melody and text of thechorus part remain constant and are reproducedexactly, each time, like an ostinato.This is generally the rule in all Nguni songs.When there is overlapping between the parts-and this is actually far morecommon than 'simple' antiphony-it usually happens that the initiatory 'call'phrase re-emergesabove the final phrase of the chorus so that the song appears tostart again before it has ended. It then becomes problematicalwhether the stropheshould be said to commence with the 'call' or, conversely, with the entry of thechorus-the 'call' serving only as an introductory signal. I held the latter viewwhen drawing the diagram for Fig. 3, but several alternative interpretations arepossible.

NGUNI VOCAL POLYPHONY 9I


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INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNALWORK SONGS FROM SOUTHERN NATAL

Fig. 3 refers to a Zulu work-song in which the solo 'starting' phrase, shown atthe left of the outer circle, heralds the entry of the chorus, at the top of the innercircle. The second solo phrase, entering at 'three o'clock' and overlapping thechorus, heralds the impending physical down-beat, marked 'X,' when pick-axesare swung down together into the ground, followed by the delayed entry of thefinal chorus phrase. (As has been discussed in an earlier paper, it is notable in allZulu work-songs of this kind, that vocal sound momentarily ceases-due to glottalclosure-at the actual moment of maximum exertion. It is, in fact, a physiologicalnecessity.)3 Repetition of the first solo phrase, to rally the chorus voices for theirnext combined entry, coincides with the finalis of the previous choral phrase, sothat the 'head and tail' of the song-like those of the archetypal snake-are inter-locked, and it becomes circular and endless. When it was recorded, this song wasbeing sung by a team of Zulus while they were digging a trench across one of themain streets of the city of Durban. The tempo increased slightly during perform-ance, but the average time for the completion of the strophe was about eightseconds. The meaning of the words (unheededby their white supervisor)was:

"Hey you, Majola!Give an account of yourself!Hey you, Majola!What have you been saying about us to the white men?"Despite the amount of overlap, occurrence of actual chording between the twovoice-parts is minimal. Only the twelfth, and the octave appear as simultaneouslysounding intervals. This song is typical of Southern Natal Zulu-speaking tribes,neighbours of the Xhosa, rather than those of Zululand itself. Work-songs of thiskind are basically adaptations of tribal items, often with more topical words.VARIATIONS

When the musico-muscular cycle of operations is in 'full swing,' the soloist-ifhe is musically inventive-sometimes departs from his fixed 'call' phrases andimprovises variations or 'descants' above the chorus. As well as changes in textand melody, the start and end-points of phrases are moved, in relation to theiroriginal position in the strophe. Of course, this idea is not exclusively Nguni, butwidespread in Africa. I have referred to it as 'phrase shift' in an earlier paper,dealing with some items from Katanga.4Fig. 4 refers to anotherversion of the previouswork-song, "We, Majola,"in whichthe 'call' phrase is not fixed, but varied. It was performedby another team workingfurther down the street. The solo part needs to be represented by a spiral in thiscase, not a fixed circle. It has only been possible here to show the different degreesof 'phrase shift,' without the melody. Anticipatory overlap by the solo phrases,particularly the second one in the strophe, was increased by stretching the first noteback, to commence earlier. By the twelfth 'round' (shown nearest the centre) thetwo solo phrases merge into a single long one-though the start of phrase 2 can beidentified as emerging, two measures early, from the end of phrase I.DOUBLE-ENDED OVERLAP

Even within songs in the same repertoire, overlapping varies in its extent. Inthe previous example, overlap could be called 'single-ended' (apart from 'round

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NGUNI VOCAL POLYPHONY 93Chorus= 20(-132) entry

l" *-'"-. *..

Solostart

'b~,x '.... 'z' ***...... .... *.

PickaxesstrikeFIG. 4. Southern Zulu work-song: solo variations

twelve'): it was mainly the beginningof the solo which overlapped the end of thechorus, rather than the reverse. (N.B. In the diagrams, the head of an arrowdenotes the end, not the start of a phrase.) In many Zulu songs, however, theoverlap is 'double-ended.' Solo phrases begin at about the middle of one chorusphrase, and end and restart midway through the next one, so that the phrases arecompletely interlinked.Fig. 5 refers to a song froman old Zulu folk-tale. In the performanceI witnessed,the song began with the chorus entry (shown at the top of the inner circle) and thesolo voice entered midway through the second chorus phrase (as indicated). Thedotted line represents a variant of the first solo phrase. Strophe duration is sixseconds, and each segment denotes one measure of 8 metre (varyingwith ). Figuresin the diagram indicate chording intervals at various points. The fact that unisonoccurs at each chorus entry may be significant. This happens in some other songs,but not in all. Fig. 5a shows a fuller transcription of this item. Much of the textcomprises non-lexical onomatopoeic syllables. The sound "jh" (like that occurringcentrally in "measure") is frequently found in songs, but does not occur at all inspoken Zulu.

Notes employed in the folk-tale song correspond with those of the 'commonpentatonic' scale. But this is only one of several used by the Nguni. The score ofa three-tone Zulu song, using two conjunct fourths, and a major second to completethe octave, appearsin a previous paper.5 But some other songs, equally old, employhexa scales. The example represented in Fig. 6 employs a hexa scale with twosemitone-intervals. The song is known as 'King Shaka's Royal Dance-Song' and

NGUNI VOCAL POLYPHONY 93


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94 INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNALChorusstart

/ 3

solo \ / /sta rt .

FIG. 5. Temporal relationships of solo and chorus parts:song from a Zulu folk-tale

Chorusentry\

FIG. 5a. Song from a Zulu folk-tale

-= 216

94 INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNAL


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NGUNI VOCAL POLYPHONY 95it is said to date from the early nineteenth century. Temporal phrase-relationshipsare almost exactly the same as in the previous item. Another point of similaritywas the fact that the performance began, not with the variable solo part, but withthe fixed chorus ostinato. The soloist joined in with a few notes of the second chorusphrase before jumping across to her solo entry. The fact that these two, and anumber of other old Zulu songs, tend to start with the fixed chorus part-also notedby Kirby in I9266-should possibly be taken as a hint that not all Nguni musicderives directly from 'simple' antiphony. Furthermore, the relative completenessof the chorus part by itself, in these and many other songs-with very little breakbetween the chorus phrases-suggests that the solo parts have possibly been addedlater, originally as improvized descants. This point will be pursued later.

die- len',= 88Chorus

1.4

4o,vaentry / \

-a/ alFIG.6. "IngomakaShaka":King Shaka'sRoyal dance-song(Zulu)

Chordingbetween voices is more frequent in these songs than in examples likethe work-song of Fig. 3, which seem more clearly antiphony-derived. Intervalsbetween simultaneously sounded notes in the dance-song of Fig. 6 are: fourths(42 per cent.), fifths (33 per cent.), octaves (Io per cent.), major sixths (Io per cent.),and major third (5 per cent.).7 Implied 'harmonic roots' are as follows: principalroot: C (39 per cent); subsidiaries: F (34 per cent.), E (I5 per cent.), G (5 per cent.).Theoretical justification for deducing the 'harmonicroots' of two-note chords on thebasis of their differential tones has been propounded by Hindemith and recentlyapplied analytically by List.8 It is this method that has been followed here-inpreference to that of Kolinski, which does not seem applicable.9 The question ofroot progressionwill be resumed at a later point.THREE-PART SONGS

In considering Nguni songs with more than two voice-parts it appears thatextra parts, beyond the basic two, may be added in either of two ways. Additional



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INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNALvoices may either be dependent or independent of the main parts, in their temporalrelationship, and this is closely correlated with the nature of their text. In the firstcase, when the extra part shares the text of one of the main parts, it moves 'in step'with it and can be considered a dependent, or sub-part. Songs with this kind oforganizationoccurthroughout Nguni territory-though possibly less so in Zululand-and there are local variations in the strictness of parallel pitch movement. It isnotable here that greater complexity of texture is obtained, through added chording,but that the basic twofold temporal contrast principle remains intact.In the second case, however, the number of parts which provide temporalcontrastis increased beyond two. The extra part or parts are more independent. Theybear new lines of text, different from those of either of the main parts, and theyenter separately, introducing a third, or even fourth level of offset temporal contrast-or concurrent 'phrase shift.' This type of multi-part organization is less commonthan the first variety, but there are some interesting Zulu examples. We shallconsider one of these first, before returning to the commonervariety.INCREASEDTEMPORAL ONTRAST

Fig. 7 representsthe temporal part-relationshipsin a light-hearted Zulu song forthree voices and Ugubhumusical bow. The bow supplies an ostinato comprisingtwo measures of 3 + 2 + 3 metre, shown in the innermost circle of the diagram,starting at the top. In my recording, Princess Constance Magogo plays this, andtakes the first vocal phrase (shown in the outer circle, starting at 'four o'clock'):"I shall go wandering, mother, but where will my quest take me?" Her son, ChiefGatsha Buthelezi, takes the second voice entry (nearthe top): "We choose beautifullovers; we choose the handsome ones!"; and her young grandchildrenthen take overthe Voice I part. After these first two voice parts are well established, PrincessMagogo occasionally adds the third part, which has two variant texts: "The girl Iwould love is the one that cuts preliminariesshort!"; and "Take her, boy, she isescaping!"As may be seen from Fig. 8, which refers to the same song, the Ugubhubowsupplies two fundamentals, C and D[, a semitone apart. But besides the funda-mental tones, certain harmonics-particularly the third partials, G and Ab, andfourth partials (C and Db again)-are selectively resonated by moving the calabashresonator closer to or further from the breast of the player. Vocal notes consist ofthese four, and their octaves-always sung above the relevant root on the bow-plus Eb which, although not directly related to the bow's notes, is sung above theC fundamental. It is clear that a system of dual tonality, based upon the two'roots' supplied by the bow, is used in this and all other Ugubhubow songs.10 Theirtonal organization could be called 'bi-radical.' In this particular song, C serves asprincipal root (70 per cent.) and D, as subsidiary (30 per cent.). In some othersongs this order is reversed, with the higher note as principal root.MUSICAL BOW INFLUENCE

The Ugubhu, a large, unbraced gourd-bow, sounded by striking with a grass-stalk, is today almost extinct, Princess Magogo being the only remaining playerknown. Another type of bow, called Umakhweyana,s still used for song accompani-ment to a small extent by the Zulu and Swazi. This instrument, which has adivided string, was reputedly borrowed from the Tonga, of Mogambique, in thenineteenth century. It is played in such a way as to yield three fundamentals, and

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1. ?m8 voice3 (Descant)II: :Itbb e t _ | & I JilVoice 1 [ --- I

Voice 2 (Chorus) |: :Ugubhu musical bow-'

'7^FfIa,f; h hIT -1'

FIGS.7 and 8. Zulu part-song with ugubhu musical bowselective resonation of partials takes place as on the Ugubhu. Songs sung with it aregenerally tri-radical in tonal organization."

To return to choral music, bi-radical or tri-radical tonality is observable inmuch, if not all Nguni items, and it seems likely that bow-playing may at leasthave encouragedthe development of this principle. Some Zulu choral songs, thoughalways sung unaccompanied, are in fact reputed to have been composed by one oranother ancestor "to the accompaniment of his Ugubhubow." An ostinatoplayedon the bow can to some extent fulfil the role of a fixed vocal choral part, above

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INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNALwhich a soloist is inspired to extemporize, and close parallels can be noted betweenthe voice-to-bow relationships in bow-songs, and voice-part interrelations in manychoral songs.PARALLELISMND TEXTUREENRICHMENT

In the songs we have examined so far, the voice-parts have been relativelyindependent in text, melody, and temporal relationship. We must now return toconsider the large body of three-part songs, mentioned earlier, in which two of theparts move 'in step.' This practice seems more prevalent among the Swazi andXhosa than the Zulu. As was stated previously, it appears to be the case that,whenever an additional voice-part shares the text of one of the two main parts, italways moves 'in step' with that part. Where note-for-note part-singing is appliedto a single line of text in this way, the likelihood of tonal parallelismis very great,as previously noted by Kirby,l2 owing to the influence of the speech-tones of thewords-since these people use so-called tone-languages, in which the direction ofpitch movement has semantic significance.Figs. 9 and ga refer to a performance, by male voices, of a wedding song of theHlubi-one of the Xhosa-speaking tribes-in which 'pentatonic parallelism' occursextensively. In the first chorus phrase, the voices move in parallel, maintaining adistance of two steps of the pentatonic scale-that is: separated by fourths, with anoccasional intrusive major third. In the last phrase, the soloist takes the same lineof text as the (unison)chorus,and moves in parallelwith it at three degreesdistance-entailing fifths, and an occasional minor sixth. Root progression is also apparentin this music, with F as principal, and G as subsidiary root. In this connection itis perhaps notable that, in their musical bow playing, the Xhosa appear to favour awhole-tone interval between the fundamentals, rather than the Zulu semitone.l3Although the Swazi no longer play their classic Ligubhubow-their counterpartof the Zulu Ugubhu-Kirby, in I934, noted semitone tuning.l4 This interval is justas prevalent in Swazi choral music as among the Zulu, and it provides the mainbasis of root progression. In a 'Royal Duty Song' or Yemmemo,sung by Swaziwomen, which is represented in Fig. o1, the note D serves as principal root, andC# as subsidiary. The combinedfinalis of both voice-parts (an infrequent pheno-menon) does not, however, employ either of these roots: it occurs as a unison onF$. Absence of chording seems to serve as a cadential feature in several otherSwazi songs too, though not in all. The scale, observable in the Yemmemo,isbasically hemitonic penta, which may be represented as F$ D C$ A G$ F: D C$-the highest F# being variable with Ft. In view of the frequent chordal contrastof two tonalities-that of D-F#-A, as against C$-G$-it seems very likely thatthese notes may derive from bow harmonics above D and C#.Rather than employing the Zulu threefold temporal contrast principle in theirthree-part choral songs, the Swazi retain a twofold temporal contrast. But thetexture is enriched by dividing the chorus part. In its simplest form, this involvesparallelismsomewhat like that of the previous Xhosa example. But some extremelyelaborate chording occurs in certain of their ceremonial songs. In their Sibhimbianthem, sung by Swazi princes and princesses-which is represented in Figs. IIand I2-the voices of the multi-part chorus move 'in step,' while the female soloist'sphrases are offset in the usual way. The circle in Fig. II represents only onerendering of the strophe: unlike previous songs we have been considering, therepetitions, not only of the solo part, but also of the chorus,are never quite identical-so that a continuous spiral representation for all the parts would be necessary.

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NGUNI VOCAL POLYPHONY

/

*/"

J = 138(- 152) Solostart

Chorusentry ?

FIGS. 9 & ga. Hlubi (Xhosa) wedding song,"Wo, luphelile, mntakabawo!" (Alas! it has ended, O child of our father)

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INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNALJ=56Solo1yF1iz, - r,pi?Io hhhI f . nChorus Se-ti - ma - - - - ne ti-ya- genuka tingwa-ba-ba-ne -'T4 ,J IJJ

E-ma-genwan'! s'tima - ne ti-ya - genuka tingwa-ba-ba-n -

" - , f I rTi - ntfo - mbi te Go - - - li ti-la -p I ; i f i j J I ' i r ' 1 r fTi- ntfo - mbi - - Ti- la - - I' ema-l l p f -11:\1: tTrt,I' emaenwan se-ti -ma - - - ne tiya - genuka tingwa-ba-ba-ne - !,".# i


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NGUNI VOCAL POLYPHONY I0I

Solo Chorusstart entry

/ 0

FIG. II. Temporal relationships of solo and chorus parts: Swazi Sibhimbi anthem

To apply Western terms for a 'short-hand' description, chording could be said toconsist of complete or incomplete triads, mainly based on the two roots, F and E.A point not mentioned before, concerningall Nguni choral songs, is the tendencyfor the overall pitch to become progressively sharper. Sometimes, after manyrepetitions of a strophe, the pitch may be found to have risenby as much as a fourth.CONCLUSIONS

In considering samples from the full range of Nguni choral music, the principleof 'non-simultaneousentry' by two or more voice-parts appears to be fundamental.This may be realized through 'simple' antiphony, or through overlapping solo andchorus phrases-possibly arising out of antiphony-or through 'offset' parts whichare relatively complete in themselves-possibly derived from improvizationabovea basically monophonic strophe, or the ostinatoprovided by a musical bow.In the majority of cases a twofold temporal contrast is maintained. Among theXhosa and Swazi this persists even in their three- or four-part songs, since extravoices share an existing line of text and move 'in step,' often in tonal parallel. Incertain old Zulu songs, however, temporal contrast is increased beyond twofold,through separate entry of all parts.

NGUNI VOCAL POLYPHONY IOI


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INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC JOURNAL

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Owing to the 'circular' form of the music, and the importance attached torecommencementrather than finality, there are in most cases no 'collective cadences'of the Western type. Unison, after chording, may possibly have 'cadential signifi-cance' in certain items but, beyond this, no functional hierarchy of discord andconcord seems consistently operative. The artistic intention would seem to be thatof maintaining an ever-changing balance between all the musical constituents-through temporal, chordal and root contrast, in addition to other features of theirrelationship.Contrastive tonality is widespread It is frequently based on bi-radical ortri-radical root progression, and this practice may possibly owe its origin-or atleast its encouragement-to a particular instrumental technique: that of producingclose-interval fundamentals on a musical bow, and deliberately selecting certainharmonics by manipulation of the resonator.NOTESi. Rycroft, David, "African Music in Johannesburg: African and Non-African Features,"Journal of the IFMC, Vol. IX, I959, pp. 25-30.2. Kirby, Percival R., The Musical Instruments of the Native Races of South Africa, Oxford,I934.3. Rycroft, David, "Stylistic Evidence in Nguni Song," Essays in Music and History inAfrica and Asia (ed. K. P. Wachsmann), London, Royal Anthropological Institute, I967.4. Id., "The Guitar Improvizations of Mwenda Jean Bosco," Part I, African Music, Vol. 2,No. 4, I96I, pp. 83-84; and Part 2, op. cit., Vol. 3, No. I, I962, pp. 88-89.5. Ibid., I959, p. 26.6. Kirby, P. R., "Old-time Chants of the Mpumuza Chiefs," Bantu Studies, Vol. I, I923-26,pp. 23-34.7. Marius Schneider cites roughly the same intervals for some 'Zulu' examples in his

Geschichte der Mehrstimmigkeit (Berlin, I934, pp. 87-88, and Appendix, p. 36). The itemscannot be regarded as representative of truly indigenous Zulu music, however, and Schneiderhimself suggests Western influence in five out of the seven. He provides no information as towhere they were obtained and, from the scores, none of them seems to bear much resemblanceto any Zulu music I have encountered in the field. There is a more recognizably Zulu examplein the same writer's later publication, "Dtber die Verbreitung afrikanische Chorformen"(Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie, Vol. 69, 1937, p. 84), though it contains features of semi-traditional'town' music. However, he comments only on the continuous ostinato nature of the chorus,and this fortunately does happen to be fairly common feature in pure Zulu music too.8. Hindemith, Paul, The Craft of Musical Composition, Vol. I, New York, 1945, pp. 57 ff;List, George, "Transcription of a Hukwe Song with Musical Bow," Ethnomusicology, Vol. 8,No. 3, I964, pp. 258 and 263.9. Kolinski, M., "Consonance and Dissonance," Ethnomusicology, Vol. 6, No. 2, I962,pp. 66-74.o1. Blacking has previously drawn attention to 'root progression' among the Venda,another Southern African people, of the Northern Transvaal-though not in connection withbow songs. (John Blacking, "Problems of Pitch, Pattern and Harmony ...," African Music,Vol. 2, No. 2, 1959, p. 23.)11. Rycroft, D., I967.I2. Kirby, P. R., I923-26.I3. Rycroft, D., "Friction Chordophones in South-Eastern Africa," Galpin Society Journal,Vol. 19, I966, pp. 91-92.I4. Kirby, P. R., I934, p. I99.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSMy sincere thanks are due to Princess Constance Magogo kaDinuzulu and to Chief GatshaButhelezi, of Mahlabathini, Zululand, for their generosity and patience in teaching me most ofwhat I know about Zulu music, and to Prince Masitsela of Swaziland for assisting me in Swazimusical research.

NGUNI VOCAL POLYPHONY Io3

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Nguni Vocal Polyphony