Sea Of Tranquility



The Web Source for Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal & Jazz-Fusion
  Search   in       
Main Menu




Various Artists: Rwanda '94

Westerners know Africa as the 'dark continent'. Africans think of it as the 'forgotten continent', and they do so with a thousand good reasons. This CD illustrates just one of those reasons: After the holocaust of WW-II, America said "never again". We certainly forgot that commitment - genocide happened again in 1994, and we did not stop it. It's probably a safe bet that fewer than 10% of us in the western world even know where Rwanda is, let alone what happened there a decade ago.

The most densely populated country in Africa, the Republic Of Rwanda is a landlocked nation in central Africa, about the size of Maryland. It gained independence from Belgium's UN trusteeship in 1962, and there has been tribal strife ever since. This led to a civil war that started in 1990, and culminated in the genocide of the Tutsi (15% of the population) and the massacre of the moderate Hutu opposition (Hutus comprise 84% of the population), in April 1994. The genocide resulted in almost one million deaths, or every eighth person in the country. And despite our promises after the holocaust, we Westerners did not stop it. Oh – we all gave Rwanda an enormous amount of help afterwards, and the country is now in a cycle of democratic elections and is in a relative state of peace, but the genocide did happen, and at the time there wasn't an American F-16, a Russian MIG, an English Harrier, or a French Mirage to be seen. Just the ineffective talking heads in the UN.

This mixed-media 270-page book with a double-CD is subtitled An Attempt At Symbolic Reparation To The Dead, For Use By The Living (Une Tentative De Reparation Symbolique Envers Les Morts. A L´Usage Des Vivants). It is based on the play Rwanda 94 by Belgian theater group Groupov, and is an interesting collaboration of Europeans and Rwandans. Groupov's marathon 5-hour play has been condensed into two CDs of prose – you would be hard-pressed to call it music – played to the accompaniment of a chamber orchestra. Very progressive, very 'world-music' oriented, somewhat avant garde and minimalist in its musical approach. But don't expect to hear rock – it just isn't that sort of CD.

There are long spoken passages in clearly enunciated French – which is one of the two official languages of Rwanda. The narrative provides a sensitive overview of the build-up to the genocide, the events of 4/1994, and the emotions and the heartbreak and the turmoil that followed. You can follow the English translation of the narrative in the excellent book. The spoken section is accompanied by brief insertions of a caterwauling violin, deep cellos, elegant pianos, a small female choir, and various ethnic instruments. There are passages performed by ethnic Rwandans in their own language (a Swahili derivative), and the insistent, unfalteringly perfect rhythm played on central-African drums. There are choral sections in which the musicianship that comes so naturally to tribal Africans delivers traditional songs with chilling effect. Disc 1 offers a better mix of Euro and Tribal sounds than disc 2, and includes a fun little French Jazz piece to change the pace.

Make no mistake – you have to work hard with this album. It requires commitment, time, a reading of the English verse, and perhaps even a bit of independent research. But if you can stand the theatric, performance art approach, it delivers in spades. Distribution discussions for this book/CD are underway with international organizations like Amnesty International, UNESCO, and Médecins sans Frontières. If those channels can get the CD into the hands of more than just the few who already know its story, then the efforts of Groupov will have been validated. They're a day late and a dollar short, but give them their due – this is the only artistic attempt ever to explore those tragic events.

Important Note:

I have never expressed a political opinion on these august pages, and I will not do so again. But I was raised in Africa, and I know the forgotten continent. Feel free to argue with me if you have lived there.
Track Listing:
Disc 1
1 Prelude 1 (Prelude 1) (5:27)
2. Mutunge/Choeur Des Morts (Chorus Of The Dead) (6:10)
3. La Litanie Des Questions (The Litany Of Questions) (32:13)
4. Prelude 2 (Prelude 2) (4:40)
5. Naho Se Bene Wacu? (9:31)
6. Voulez-Vous Chanter Avec Moi? (Would You Like To Sing Along) (7:37)
7. La Veillee (The Vigil) (Partie 1) (3:15)

Disc 2
1. La Veillee (The Vigil) (Partie 2) (8:32)
2. Wagiyehe Mana Y'rwanda (6:29)
3. A Travers Nous L'humanite (Through Us,Humanity) (1:49)
4. Prologue (3:43)
5. L'exode Vers Bisesero (The Exodus Towards Bisesero) (4:45)
6. La Resistance (The Resistance) (11:24)
7. L'implacable Massacre (The Relentless Massacre) (8:14)
8. L'agonie (The Agony) (8:58)
9. Les Soldat Francais (The French Soldiers) (4:51)
10. Epilogue (8:08)

Added: December 15th 2004
Reviewer: Duncan Glenday
Score:
Related Link: Carbon 7's Web Site
Hits: 2532
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend Send to a Friend ]

  

[ Back to the Reviews Index | Post Comment ]



© 2004 Sea Of Tranquility
For information regarding where to send CD promos and advertising, please see our FAQ page.
If you have questions or comments, please Contact Us.
Please see our Policies Page for Site Usage, Privacy, and Copyright Policies.

All logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. The comments are property of their posters, all other content © Sea of Tranquility

SoT is Hosted by SpeedSoft.com