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| Concert For Percussions |  | | Genre: | Drums | | Catalogue Number: | 198313 | | Availability: | Yes | | Price: | £10.99 |
| Format: | CD | | Release Date: | 0000-00-00 |
| Description: | The performers of Wofa are the uncontested champions of Wassakhoumba, the Soso name for an instrument made of small calabash discs of ever-decreasing diameters, strung onto a piece of curved wood. Shaken, the discs rattle together to produce a high-pitched sound that is used as initiation chant rhythm accompaniment in Basse-Côte, Guinea. Ancient Baga and Soso animist tradition has it that playing the Wassakhoumba purified the area reached by its sound. Uninitiated children and adolescents were forbidden to touch the sacred object-if they dared to, the discs would break! And if an uncircumcised child touched the Wassakhoumba, he would have to be circumcised without delay.
The final part of Wofa's performance is a mixture of ritual and creation.
The performers play the Wassakhoumba, using traditional dance material. The strident, airy sound of the instrument is linked to the ground by the deep soundof Dunun, the big drum, while the balafon's recitative floats in the air and Djambour, the drum, adds its own vigorous punctuation. The dancer-musicians give free rein to their spontaneity, to their joy, and to their remarkable dexterity.
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