Search - Aicha Mint Chighaly :: Griote De Mauritanie

With an astounding voice and a griote's passion, Aïcha mint Chighaly performs music of Moorish Mauritania called arzawan. This complex and ornamented art music, developed in the 18th century, offers praise to God and humanity, telling historical and moral stories as well as social tales for entertainment, much as other griot music in West Africa. Aïcha mint Chighaly plays the ardin, a harp used exclusively by women, made of a gourd sounding board covered with sheepskin, with metallic rattles that vibrate as the instrument is played. She is accompanied by a tidinit, a fretless lute, and a "kettle drum" called tbal. Simply recorded, with no pretense of popularizing the music, this is a recording that emphasizes the songs themselves, performed by a formidable singer and her family of musicians. --Louis Gibson