Comments

Hey Terez--

I really enjoyed reading your description. I hadn't thought of it before, but I think you're absolutely right about the drums=earth and violin=sky. Some of the violin I like best is the violin that takes you outside into the darkness and mingles you with all the elements. A lot of the old Scandanavian folk music does that (the stuff in the wierd modal keys with wierd meandering rhythms).

Speaking of writing about Africa, you have, no doubt, read Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible, about which she said it took her about twenty years to develop the skills she needed to tell the story she had been burning to tell about Africa since she was a very young woman.

But your entry here has made get out some of my old African CDs and put them on....

do you play any jazz? Hey, what a cool response, Theresa! And tell me - which African CDs do you have? (And I feel better hearing about Barbara Kingsolver taking so long to write about her experiences in Africa - it truly is a very challenging subject to write about.)

Scott - I don't play/listen to much jazz (although it's my husband's favorite kind of music), but my appreciation for blues has gone way up since I got hooked on African music. (Except no drums - bummer!) There's a Putumayo Presents CD called "Mali to Memphis" that incorporates the two, and I just love it. Love all those Putumayo collections for World and African music. Great stuff.

Enjoy your analogy of the drums and of violin, two years ago I was married at the Little Church at Van Reenan's pass over the Northern Drakensburg (in South Africa) - we had a solo violinist play us into the church and agree with your sentiments that the strains of the violin summon a spirit within a person that transcends and lifts. The violin seems so much at the opposite end of the spectrum to drums that I had never thought to compare - thanks for the new perspective! > The violin seems so much at the opposite end of the spectrum to drums that I had never thought to compare.

Isn't that so true?! In honesty, I'd never thought to compare them until this past month, feeling so caught up in both places/worlds. But they are decidedly two ends of a spectrum. And both pretty cool instruments. If I could only listen to two instruments for the rest of my life, these would be it. (Except I'd miss hearing the piano!)

Thanks for the comments, Roderick.