"Dried millet breaking," sung by the bard at the end of one episode of this Woi epic of the Kpelle people of Liberia, represents a formula that breaks the flow of events and introduces the epic's complex temporal scaffolding. Examining the singing, narration, dramatic performance, instrumental accompaniment, and timing of the Woi epic, Ruth M. Stone reveals that the Kpelle show time flux through changing timbres, motion, and spatial metaphors in ways fundamentally different from those of much Western art music. In this illuminating study Stone moves beyond typical genre studies of African music to shed light on broader questions of music's relationship to areas of culture often ignored.
- ISBN10 0253318181
- ISBN13 9780253318183
- Publish Date 22 October 1988
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Indiana University Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 170
- Language English