In the Labyrinth

Putting Together My Father's Research With The Photos: West Africa 1963-64

Balafon performance in the streets of Conakry, Guinea. ©1963 Emile Snyder

 

Among the unique documents that have floated my way over the years was a manilla folder full of gorgeous black and white photographs my father took in the Ivory Coast, which was developed there, and some of them might have also been taken in Senegal, Mali, or Guinea. Among my mother's papers that I received after her death was a carefully cached collection of letters that my parents had written to each other from the fall of 1963 to the spring of 1964 when they were both abroad on Ford and Fulbright grants-- my father to numerous countries in West Africa and my mother to India, Bhutan, and Sikkim.

The letters are fascinating and cringe-worthy in places. One third love letters (with some surprising revelations about their sex life I could have survived never knowing about), one-third about money (there was never enough, and often arriving late, allowing for some desperate nail-biting), and one-third talking about the research and the separate lives they were having on their different continents.

As I read through the research parts of my Dad's letters, I learned a lot about these photographs--especially that he had done many field recordings of musicians, griots, and small village brass bands. He had made friends with prominent African writers at the very start of their careers as authors in 1963, such as Leopold Senghor, President of Senegal, and other writers and poets turned diplomats -- who also gave him music tapes and recordings (especially to the radio stations eager to get their music out to the West as well as Africa.). He sent around 25 videos back to the States with his friend Robert Garfias, an ethnomusicologist Robert Garfias, who then returned them to the Ethnomusicology Archives at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

I went looking for the tapes in the archives -- as this was the first I knew they had been adequately given to someone. I was so excited to find them listed here and here. So I will send scans of all the photos (plus more of the notes I discovered in his letters) to the archive there -- delighted that future students will have a chance to see these images and connect them to the music on the tapes. In many ways, the best part of finding all these papers is sharing the great features of their careers with others- to share those moments in history when they saw something, heard something, or wrote something that still matters.

All the photos can be found here -- or by clicking the "West African Musicians" link in the left-hand sidebar. And all images are ©1963 Emile Snyder -- please email me at the blog to request permission to use these photos.

Left Me With a Dark Turn of Mind

I love Gillian Welch's album "The Harrow and the Harvest" -- but it is this song that gives me the chills. Not sure what it is I love best -- perhaps it's the way the young woman transforms a haunted past into a reclaimed realm. The night becomes beautiful and evocative, the bones in the river, the moonlight on the trees, the nightbirds singing. She is content to be "blessed wth a dark turn of mind," rather than the girls "bright as the morning." 

 

A Sad Farewell To Jean Redpath

I was so very sad to learn that Scottish folksinger Jean Redpath has died, August 21, 2014 -- here in Arizona at a hospice. She was easily the most powerful voice of my childhood -- and her album "Skippin' Barfit Through the Heather" with its achingly beautiful traditional Scottish songs, and her gorgeous voice, slow and unhurried, mostly accapella completely captivated me. I think I wore down the grooves on the record, playing and replaying songs that I still sing today when I am tasked at work, driving, or just on my own. Here are two of my favorite songs from the first album: 

"Rue" -- the cautionary song of man's feckless love.

 

"Skippin' Barfit Through the Heather" -- the title song of her first album and so embedded in my ear that I sing it often to myself, half under my breath but always imagining that brief, poignant encounter on the hills between the nobleman and the country girl. 

 

It is so worth getting her other albums again -- for her renditions of the child ballads and traditional Scottish songs are the best -- just that amazing voice. This album (Skippin' Barfit Through the Heather" doesn't seem to be available any more, but Amazon does carry "The Song of the Seals" which simply gorgeous, along with "Frae My Aine Countrie" --also fabulous.

Los Zebras!

Here's my favorite band t-shirt from Los Zebras, a Milwaukee Norteño duo, which you can buy at CafePress. One can get it in a variety of colors (though note American Apparel can run on the small side) along with other cool items, like the tote bag which is also awesome. You hear a great radio interview with Los Zebras here -- click on the mp3 file.

Kora, Calabash, and Drum: West African Musicians, Photographs circa 1964

My father Emile Snyder was a professor of African Literature and Languages, specializing in contemporary African Literature written in French and English. He taught at a number of universities, including the University of Wisconsin - Madison, the University of Dar- es Salaam, Tanzania, and Indiana University. In 1964 when he was just embarking on a career change from 17th century French literature to African Literature, he received a fullbright to do research on African contemporary literature in West Africa. While he was there he met and interviewed many emerging African authors and had a chance to visit quite a bit of the west coast -- thriteen countries in all. I have decided to post an amazing series of photos he took of a huge festival/procession in a small village that brought together a wide range of musicians and griots (itinerant praise poets.) You can see the entire collection in an album in the right-hand sidebar column. Read and view more photographs >>>