Every once in a while I'll happen to meet someone at Caribbean
community
affair (in this case caribana's "King and Queen contest")
selling a product
and
I'll reach into my pocket and lend my support,
just because. It's a deeply
rewarding thing. In this case what I ended
up with is truly enriching.
"The roots of Calypso: A short passage into the world of Calypso" by
George .D Maharaj is an engaging book chock with details on calypso
history
and Calypsonians, and a 14 track CD of calypso songs to-boot.
This book is
for
sure a subject matter that the Caribbean mosaic as a
whole truly can identify with.
The following quoted material is a page from the book.
The Island of Trinidad and Tobago have become known
as the "land of calypso" because of its native music.
Calypso can be described as folk music of the
Afro-West
Indian...with Spanish and French influences...
The name 'Calypso' has nothing to do with the Greek
goddess.
The origins of the name is not clear, but there is a theory that it
have come from the African word "kai-so meaning "Bravo." In
some circles it is believed that it came from the French word
'carrousseaux'
which in Creole was changed to 'carisseaux and'
'calissaaux,' from these words
emerged the Anglicised forms,
Caliso and Calypso.
The earliest calypso instruments consisted of only
oil drums.
Later on lengths of bamboo bottles anD spoons were used as
percussion
instruments and eventually music was provided by
clarinet, flute, bass, cuatro, guitar and violin.
Calypso rhythms move in 2/4 and 4/4 time, and it's
structure is
strongly African. The calypsonian is a mouthpiece of the people,
expressing
popular feelings and opinions, suffering, hopes fares
etc...
The first recorded album ever to sell one million
copies is a
calypso album in 1956 by Harry Belafonte called "calypso."...
Visit the home page. See details on plans for a museum, and for further
review and purchase of this book at
: