A Comparative Study of the Social Function of African Algaita and Chinese Suona
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A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF AFRICAN ALGAITA AND CHINESE SUONA A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts By Shasha Zhu May, 2018 ii Thesis written by Shasha Zhu B. A., Tianjin Conservatory of Music, 2007 M. A., Tianjin Conservatory of Music, 2010 M. A., Kent State University, 2018 Approved by Kazadi wa Mukuna, Ph.D., Advisor, Master Thesis Committee Theodore Albrecht, Ph.D., Member, Master Thesis Committee Richard Devore, Ph.D., Member, Master Thesis Committee iii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................. v ACKONWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 II. THE GENESIS OF DOUBLE-REED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ........................... 19 III. THE ETYMOLOGY OF “ALGAITA” AND “SUONA” ........................................... 40 IV. THE MORPHOLOGICAL STRUCTURES OF THE AFRICAN ALGAITA AND THE CHINESE SUONA ............................................................................................................... 45 V. RELIGIOUS IMPACTS ON AFRICAN ALGAITA MUSIC AND CHINESE SUONA MUSIC .................................................................................................................................. 57 VI. SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE AFRICAN ALGAITA AND THE CHINESE SUONA ............................................................................................................................................... 78 VII. NEW DEVELOPMENT TRENDS OF THE AFRICAN ALGAITA AND CHINESE SUONA ............................................................................................................................... 155 VIII. REFLECTIONS ON THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF ALGAITA AND SUONA MUSIC ................................................................................................................................ 233 IX. CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................... 241 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................... 243 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. The Royal Elamite orchestra. ...................................................................................................... 20 Figure 2. Harp, lute, and double-reed pipe ................................................................................................. 22 Figure 3. and 4. Greek red-figure drinking cup .......................................................................................... 23 Figure 5. Portrait of Ziryab ......................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 6. Silk Road trade routes .................................................................................................................. 33 Figure 7. Traditional Algaita ....................................................................................................................... 46 Figure 8. Chinese Red Sandalwood Suona ................................................................................................. 49 Figure 9. Telescopic view of brass mouthpipe ........................................................................................... 50 Figure 10. Telescopic view of brass mouthpipe ......................................................................................... 51 Figure 11. and 12. Added-keys Suona and traditional Suona ..................................................................... 52 Figure 13. Multi-functional Suona .............................................................................................................. 53 Figure 14. Hausa traditional Algaita music ................................................................................................ 85 Figure 15. Gange Brass Band ................................................................................................................... 158 Figure 16. Gange Brass Band ................................................................................................................... 159 Figure 17. Hausa traditional song “Malleeri” performed on Algaita. ....................................................... 164 Figure 18. “West African Music in the Music of Art Blakey, Yusef Lateef, and Randy Weston” .......... 164 Figure 19. The African-American Epic Suite of Yusef Lateef. ................................................................ 166 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Suona Pitches and Instrument Keys (Holes) Corresponding to Chinese Characters, Scales, and Western Scales. ................................................................ 149 Table 2. Beats, Downbeat, and Upbeat of Chinese Notation ......................................... 150 vi ACKONWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help given to me by all of my teachers and family. I am lucky to have all of your kindness in my life. I want to thank to my advisor, Dr. Kazadi wa Mukuna, for his fatherly strictness in our academic discussions as well as his support for my research. Without his continual guidance, advice, instruction, and encouragement, my thesis would not have been completed like this. I would like to thank to my committees, Dr. Albrecht and Dr. Devore, for their patience and always being available to answer my questions. I would like to thank members of the Ethnomusicology Division at Kent State University: Dr. Andrew Shahriari, Dr. Priwan Nanongkham, Dr. Eve McPherson, Dr. Anthony Donofrio, Dr. Summin Yoon, Dr. Jennifer Johnstone, and Dr. Janine Tiffe, for sharing their expertise and knowledge with me. I would like to thank to my friends, Jennifer Griffith and Jeanne Adair Hansen, for their help in editing countless papers and giving their suggestions. I would like to thank the head of the Performing Arts Library Joe Clark and his staff for their help during my research. Thanks my family for their love and support. 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem and Scope This thesis will compare two double-reed instruments, the Algaita from West Africa and the Suona from China, to determine the genesis of double-reed instruments and consider the physical resemblance between the Algaita and the Suona. The analysis of social and religious functions fulfilled by each instrument in its cultural area will assist in understanding how they were adapted and assimilated into the cultural fabric of their ethnic backgrounds. This comparative study examines a variety of aspects that include morphological structures, arguing that the Algaita and the Suona share the same origin, but that their structural divergence occurred according to the historical, geographic, and cultural context of the areas in which they exist. Background The African Algaita and the Chinese Suona are double-reed aerophones with a similar morphology, composed of three sections. The mouthpiece of each is made from tied together reed and inserted through the center hole of a pirouette1 and attached to the body of the instrument. During performance, the player inserts the mouthpiece in his mouth, presses his lips against the pirouette and blows air through it. The cylindrical-shaped body of both the Algaita and the Suona is made of soft wood, ending with a trumpet-like bell that constitutes the third portion of the 1 Pirouette: The origin of this word from the French mid-17th century, literally a ‘spinning top.’ The word used here describes the component of Algaita that links the double-reed to the body of Algaita, because the model of this component of Algaita resembles a ballerina wearing a tutu, spinning on one foot like spinning top. This component can also be described as disk. 2 instrument. There are, however, subtle differences between the two instruments. The body of the Algaita is slightly longer and has four holes in the front and one thumbhole in the back, whereas the Suona has only seven holes, six located in the front and one in the back. According to the existing literature, the name of Algaita is derived from the Arabic words al-gaita, gaita, gáitha, saika, or raita, which denote a type of oboe. The Suona received its name from the Persian word sūrnāy, which means “flute or pipe,” one played during a banquet or feast. Debate about the genesis of Algaita has often been clouded with speculations and arguments. Conclusions by scholars on this topic can be grouped into several categories. The first of these conclusions is found during the first half of the tenth century. For example, the tenth-century philosopher and writer, Al Farabi, asserted that the Arabs in Spain played an oboe with seven fingerholes in front and one thumbhole in back, which they called a saika or azahika. This instrument is identical to the gaitas of modern Spain and Africa, where the name saika is still used. The Simonnet’s Mozarabic