In the Harris Theater’s reimagining of Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha,” the West African kora take center stage.
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TRANSCRIPT
I mean, the thing about Scott, he's really bringing in different genres together at that time.
And it feels like this reimagining was about bringing in these different instrumentations and fuzing, something that many people haven't seen.
Many people haven't seen African instrumentation on an opera stage and in conversation with classical pieces.
♪♪ Like sounds from the afterlife or something.
It's so it's so beautiful.
What is this instrument?
I've never seen it.
This instrument is the kora, the 21 stringed West African harp-lute from Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, Mali.
This region of West Africa, traditionally played by griots who were not just musicians, but were also the chronicles of the history and also carry the genealogy of the people from that region.
So this is really central to the culture of that region.
It's very central.
This instrument also the balafon, which is an African marimba, and also the ngoni which is a five string West African lute.
So this was not originally a part of Joplin's “Treemonisha,” but in the re-imagining of the opera, it's been it's been integrated into the opera.
We wanted to represent that African history and the connection between ragtime and the music that people brought to this country.
And so the kora is just such an incredibly versatile instrument and it's so beautiful.
You know, it can sound like a West African instrument.
It can sound like an American harp.
It can sound like a harpsichord.
So it's multipurpose, really, and how we use it here.
And we've reimagined these Joplin themes with these improvising instruments, with West African instruments.
So this is based on the opening theme of the opera.
♪♪ ♪♪ And you'll hear that theme come back, but in quite a different way.
♪♪