There is no movement without rhythm.
Think about that for a moment. Is it true?
Certainly rhythm can spark movement, but the other way around?
Perhaps it’s true but we are unaware of it. As a musician I often find myself tapping out
rhythms to all sorts of things: dripping water faucets, the click of heels on a
pavement, the driving monotony of an engine, the ticking of a clock (if you
still have a ticking clock!). Rhythm has
long fascinated me, and my very muscles and bones and the beat of my blood
respond to its playful groupings, its shifting accents, its irresistible propulsion
toward movement. And because of that, I
love African and African American music, which is why Master Chorus Eastside is
in rehearsal right now for our upcoming Out
of Africa concert in May. It’s an
infectious mix of African choral music and the styles that grew from the
melding of African and European music in the Americas, styles which are unique
in the world.
Slavery was a terrible, dehumanizing institution, both
for the enslaved peoples and for those who enslaved others. But because of it we have spirituals, jazz,
blues, gospel, ragtime, samba, tango; they are the vigorous children of the
enforced marriage of African rhythm and European harmony and melody, and they
are a part of the American psyche. I
once attempted a slow-jazzy Gershwin prelude in my piano lessons. It was just a little too difficult for me but
it was so much fun to play; felt as natural as breathing. My Russian piano teacher commented that, as
Americans, it was “in our blood.” Made
me think! MCE is exploring some of those
styles in our concert, and we are having a ball delving into our musical roots.
As you move through your day, pay attention to the rhythm
of your movements. As you bend down and up,
as you walk, talk, blink, move your hands, turn your head, as people and objects move around you, is there rhythm to be discovered?
This is the stuff of music!
Dr. Linda Gingrich
Artistic director and conductor
Master Chorus Eastside
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