It’s so cool to see something from the African rich culture being well represented by those four beautiful singers! This felt very familiar to me because it brought many sound patterns and words/language that are intrinsic of chants/songs typical of two important Brazilian religions (i.e., Candomblé and Umbanda), both with roots in the traditional religions of West Africa (such as Yoruba) and with great impact in our popular music. Those sounds and ways of singing - commonly among group of women when doing some kind of handwork, household chores, etc - became very traditional within Brazilian culture, then, this felt like home to me... I thoroughly enjoyed this reaction and analysis, and I thank you and the Patreon who requested this video!
Close women's harmony seems to get less recognition than it deserves. The unresolved and dissonant phrases in this piece are so cool. If you're interested, VOCES8 has just released a video performance by the group's new 6-voice all-female choir, Lyyra. It's lovely. Highly recommend.
Thanks for introducing me to this group!! This one is basically just the combination of unison and chrunchy harmonies~ 😂Definitely a lot of unusual chord choices, but overall a great performance!! Thank you for your detailed break down!!
Oh my, that is extraordinary! The recording definitely feels natural and grounded. Looking for more of them. Thanks for bringing this piece to our attention.
THANK YOU so much for the detailed and insanely awesome analysis! This song has always been like a little musical puzzle to me because it just doesn't seem to do anything you expect it to. Starting with the sharp note at the beginning, that has always seemed like where this song jumps off of the expected. I think we all know she can hit that exact note in tune, to me that sharp note is a choice and what a choice. I love it, I can't explain why, but every time I listen to this I hear something I wasn't expecting. I appreciate this isn't for everyone (it's in a foreign language, the scrunch, the lack of structure) and I was worried folks might not like it, but it's one of those things that grows on you...I hope people found it interesting, different for sure. I'm writing down the transposition, I just noodle around on my piano and have never been able to pick out all the notes, in my defense, it's super weird! 😂Thanks again!!!
It was beautiful, thank you for requesting it and allowing us to see something most of us probably would have missed without SH wonderful page here. I have a request for him next month I feel the same way about, worried other folks might not like it because it’s so different but sometimes we just have to take chances, right? ❤
@@thisismetoday7423 I was just so curious, I couldn't work out the notes because it's all so close and I just couldn't pick it apart and I really wanted to know how they were doing that LOL! But the community here is awesome and I hope we all like finding new and interesting artists, I know I do. I'm sure I'll enjoy your request, and I'll keep an eye out for it 😊😊
I tend to not veer far from the expected (my favourite performers analyzed, yesss), and so has been my pattern with following your videos too, dear Sir. I am so glad I deviated from my usual behaviour and devoted my attention to this one. Well done S.H. Well done indeed. I shall have to step outside of my comfort once more I feel.
How beautiful this is. Thank you SH!! Great detailed reaction as usual. Those 4 women are indeed so relaxed and so talented that they almost do not care if anyone is watching. Singing just for the love of it. This style and beauty reminds me of the song of Nina Simone, who composed " Four Women", in 1966. My favorite song. I love it so much when sang by Four Fantastic Singers : Lisa Simone, Dianne Reeves, Lizz Wright and Angélique Kiddjo. " My Name is Peaches", meaning, "I really don't care what you think because I KNOW I'm beautiful". The 4 ladies here, from Cuba give me the exact same impression: they KNOW they are beautiful and that alone is beautiful to see. 😍Thank you!!
I'm glad you discussed the rhythm. I'm not an expert, just a practitioner but what I've been told is that the underlying rhythm of all of these chants is called "clave" which arose in Cuba and Brazil as the traditions there were being preserved. The chants are typically sung in a ceremony with drums in a call and response modality, a lead singer and a chorus. Clave can possibly be defined as a 6/8 rhythm, but with triple pulse, not a two pulse emphasis. And the pulses aren't exactly where a person trained in western music thinks they will be. There are also variations in clave theory such as "3/2" which arose out of secular music, especially in Cuba. I've been singing them for years and still don't quite understand clave. Being a musician trained in classical western music, the challenge of learning the African one is huge. Also, it's unlikely that you will hear these particular chants in Nigeria. They were developed in the slavery diaspora in a collaboration of different west African peoples, traditions and languages, but with similar beliefs. I love this performance. It's unusual and haunting to hear the songs a capella like this, mostly they will be sung with drums (especially a group of 3 double-headed drums called bata) or other percussive instruments like shekere. Thank you for your review.
I apologize in advance for the length but this seems interesting. If anyone is interested, “a cappella” singing is perhaps one of the oldest musical forms. In Italy, on the island of Sardinia, it has been practiced for several thousand years in a form called “Canto a tenore” (in Sardinian “cantu a tenore”); is a genre of Sardinian choral singing and artistic expression, of original and indigenous origin, of the agro-pastoral world. In 2005, the “canto a tenore” was included by UNESCO among the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity and is therefore considered "Intangible Heritage of Humanity", given its uniqueness. The information on the origins of canto a tenore does not allow a precise dating but it is believed that it originated around 3000 years ago. It is believed that “canto a tenore” originated as the imitation of the voices of nature: “su bassu” imitates the bellowing of the ox, “sa contra” the bleating of the sheep and “sa mesu boche” the cry of the lamb, while the soloist “sa boche” impersonates the man himself, the one who managed to dominate nature. The "bassu" and the "contra" use "harmonic singing" (or diphonic) techniques. The quartet that makes up “Su Tenore” is made up of “su bassu” (the bass), “sa contra” (the contralto), “sa mesu boche” (half voice) and “sa boche” (the solo voice). The latter, singing the poem in the Sardinian language (the ancient language of the isle still spoken today), must mark the rhythm and tonality that the actual choir must follow harmoniously. “Su bassu” is the first guttural voice of the group: it is obtained by simultaneously vibrating the vocal cords and the false vocal cords. The skill of the singer ensures that the false strings are in tune exactly one octave below the note produced by the real vocal cords. “Sa contra” is the second guttural voice of the group: its sound is powerful and metallic, and joins “su bassu” on a fifth interval, forming the classic "guttural chord", a peculiarity that differentiates “Su Tenore” from other forms of polyphonic expression. “Sa contra” also uses false vocal cords, but unlike “Su Bassu”, the latter do not vibrate, but rather come closer to each other, giving the voice its characteristic sound rich in harmonics. “Sa mesu boche” finally acts as a "sweetening factor" towards the rough sound emitted by the “bassu-contra” duet; its lively melody has the task of completing the polyphony of the trio, making it more lively and above all more varied. The piece is usually a poem rhymed in Sardinian which is performed in various ways according to the metric on which it is set: the hendecasyllabic compositions (eleven syllables per line) are suitable for being sung in "sa seria" (also called boche of night) song which involves a calm and melancholy performance, while the poems with a reduced syllabic rhythm (seven-eight syllables per line) are generally sung in more cheerful and danceable variants. Thanks. Below is an example link: th-cam.com/video/1S6dimbO5hw/w-d-xo.html
My goodness! The more I learn, the less I know. This sounds mythical. Their unisson is so tight. Such a different song format, forget verses, choruses… the world is a big place, cultures so varied but singing is such a direct expression of the human soul. Thank you, again. 🤗
Since the Yoruba religion originated in West Africa the song comes from a different tonal tradition than European music. No piano has ever been tuned to African or Native American musical values. The talent of the group shines through.
Agreed. We do, however, need to be able to acknowledge that one pitch in one culture is the same as the same pitch in another culture - so we use note names such as "C" or "D#" when referring to them 🎹 We can kind of think of them as nicknames for the respective frequencies 😅
The imperfections in this were what made this feel right. For me, spiritual singing is most effective when it's raw and visceral, not polished and produced-sounding. This felt primal, and it worked for the eerie but mesmerizing harmonies. This may sound odd, but this gives me the same amazed discomfort that Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring does.
By the way the a capella group Kings Return has just uploaded their cover version of Stevie Wonders Sir Duke, it´s so joyful - maybe you can add it to your reaction and analysis list
The dissonace didn't detract from the beauty of the piece for me; I found it extraordinarily beautiful, surprising, and captivating. After the video, I immediately went to Sexto Sentido's channel to listen to it several times. I find it difficult to describe the particular beauty of this sound. As a song dedicated to Elleguá, perhaps some of the "crunchiness" could be heard as a representation of the varying paths we take in life - they are rarely what we expect and never perfect. (According to Wikipedia, in many countries, Cuba included, Elleguá is "the orisha of roads and paths" and encompasses "the varying paths and phases of fate and life.") This is coming from someone with no education in music OR the Yoruba religion. I sincerely apologize if anything I've written is incorrect or offensive. Please know that my comment comes from a place of unfortunate ignorance but never disrespect. I would be grateful for any replies that gave me insight and allowed me to try to correct my mistakes.
I love your interpretation, the dissonance might be all of life's crossed and varied paths and the end, the resonance and resolution might be finding your "right" path in life. I have no idea if that's the intent of the Ellegua's song, but I'd like to think it is 🥰
@@karajoy581 I'm happy that you thought my comment made sense, and even happier that you liked it! ☺ Thank you SO MUCH for requesting this beautiful piece. I doubt I'd ever have heard it otherwise; now I can listen to over and over again. 🌞
@@zuzu_cerulean I'm SO glad you liked it!! I was worried that it was a little too much and that folks might not care for it. I can't say why but I can't get this song out of my head, and it seems like one to share. ☺
The opening souds like it has elements of plain song and a little bit like Gregorian chant . I think it was nice but a bit strange with all the weird scrunchy chords. ❤R/A🎼
They remind me a bit of Saje - th-cam.com/users/s%C3%A4jevoices. Not entirely sure why except the obvious that they are both groups of 4 female singers. All Saje's songs are good. Their collaboration with Jacob Collier always sucks me in - I am amazed Saje and JC recorded their parts completely separately. JC put his take down and then Saje embellished with their parts, Their first offering, Desert Song got a Grammy nomination and is definitely worth listening to as well.
okay... you want "acapella like you've never seen before"? Try "The Mission" by Van Canto. I promise THIS is something you've never seen before. And, surely, please do a blind reaction :D.
@@karajoy581 yes, it's mesmerizing because it's about beauty and music. To see the 4 ladies so relaxed, so aware of who they are and how beautiful and free they are gives an extra touch to the entire performance.
Check out this very different acapella style next 🌴th-cam.com/video/hhsa5ltmjy4/w-d-xo.html
It’s so cool to see something from the African rich culture being well represented by those four beautiful singers! This felt very familiar to me because it brought many sound patterns and words/language that are intrinsic of chants/songs typical of two important Brazilian religions (i.e., Candomblé and Umbanda), both with roots in the traditional religions of West Africa (such as Yoruba) and with great impact in our popular music. Those sounds and ways of singing - commonly among group of women when doing some kind of handwork, household chores, etc - became very traditional within Brazilian culture, then, this felt like home to me... I thoroughly enjoyed this reaction and analysis, and I thank you and the Patreon who requested this video!
Close women's harmony seems to get less recognition than it deserves. The unresolved and dissonant phrases in this piece are so cool. If you're interested, VOCES8 has just released a video performance by the group's new 6-voice all-female choir, Lyyra. It's lovely. Highly recommend.
Thanks for introducing me to this group!! This one is basically just the combination of unison and chrunchy harmonies~ 😂Definitely a lot of unusual chord choices, but overall a great performance!! Thank you for your detailed break down!!
Oh my, that is extraordinary! The recording definitely feels natural and grounded. Looking for more of them.
Thanks for bringing this piece to our attention.
THANK YOU so much for the detailed and insanely awesome analysis! This song has always been like a little musical puzzle to me because it just doesn't seem to do anything you expect it to. Starting with the sharp note at the beginning, that has always seemed like where this song jumps off of the expected. I think we all know she can hit that exact note in tune, to me that sharp note is a choice and what a choice. I love it, I can't explain why, but every time I listen to this I hear something I wasn't expecting. I appreciate this isn't for everyone (it's in a foreign language, the scrunch, the lack of structure) and I was worried folks might not like it, but it's one of those things that grows on you...I hope people found it interesting, different for sure.
I'm writing down the transposition, I just noodle around on my piano and have never been able to pick out all the notes, in my defense, it's super weird! 😂Thanks again!!!
It was beautiful, thank you for requesting it and allowing us to see something most of us probably would have missed without SH wonderful page here. I have a request for him next month I feel the same way about, worried other folks might not like it because it’s so different but sometimes we just have to take chances, right? ❤
@@thisismetoday7423 I was just so curious, I couldn't work out the notes because it's all so close and I just couldn't pick it apart and I really wanted to know how they were doing that LOL! But the community here is awesome and I hope we all like finding new and interesting artists, I know I do. I'm sure I'll enjoy your request, and I'll keep an eye out for it 😊😊
Oh my goodness! That was so surprising and unique. Crazy tight harmonies! Good scrunchy filth! Really enjoyed your analysis.
I tend to not veer far from the expected (my favourite performers analyzed, yesss), and so has been my pattern with following your videos too, dear Sir. I am so glad I deviated from my usual behaviour and devoted my attention to this one. Well done S.H. Well done indeed. I shall have to step outside of my comfort once more I feel.
How beautiful this is. Thank you SH!! Great detailed reaction as usual. Those 4 women are indeed so relaxed and so talented that they almost do not care if anyone is watching. Singing just for the love of it. This style and beauty reminds me of the song of Nina Simone, who composed " Four Women", in 1966. My favorite song. I love it so much when sang by Four Fantastic Singers : Lisa Simone, Dianne Reeves, Lizz Wright and Angélique Kiddjo. " My Name is Peaches", meaning, "I really don't care what you think because I KNOW I'm beautiful". The 4 ladies here, from Cuba give me the exact same impression: they KNOW they are beautiful and that alone is beautiful to see. 😍Thank you!!
Thank you, Kara! I really enjoyed this. Only yesterday I was thinking that we need an all-girl acapella group r/a, and here it is.
I'm glad you discussed the rhythm. I'm not an expert, just a practitioner but what I've been told is that the underlying rhythm of all of these chants is called "clave" which arose in Cuba and Brazil as the traditions there were being preserved. The chants are typically sung in a ceremony with drums in a call and response modality, a lead singer and a chorus. Clave can possibly be defined as a 6/8 rhythm, but with triple pulse, not a two pulse emphasis. And the pulses aren't exactly where a person trained in western music thinks they will be. There are also variations in clave theory such as "3/2" which arose out of secular music, especially in Cuba. I've been singing them for years and still don't quite understand clave. Being a musician trained in classical western music, the challenge of learning the African one is huge. Also, it's unlikely that you will hear these particular chants in Nigeria. They were developed in the slavery diaspora in a collaboration of different west African peoples, traditions and languages, but with similar beliefs. I love this performance. It's unusual and haunting to hear the songs a capella like this, mostly they will be sung with drums (especially a group of 3 double-headed drums called bata) or other percussive instruments like shekere. Thank you for your review.
Thanks for the information
I apologize in advance for the length but this seems interesting. If anyone is interested, “a cappella” singing is perhaps one of the oldest musical forms. In Italy, on the island of Sardinia, it has been practiced for several thousand years in a form called “Canto a tenore” (in Sardinian “cantu a tenore”); is a genre of Sardinian choral singing and artistic expression, of original and indigenous origin, of the agro-pastoral world. In 2005, the “canto a tenore” was included by UNESCO among the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity and is therefore considered "Intangible Heritage of Humanity", given its uniqueness. The information on the origins of canto a tenore does not allow a precise dating but it is believed that it originated around 3000 years ago. It is believed that “canto a tenore” originated as the imitation of the voices of nature: “su bassu” imitates the bellowing of the ox, “sa contra” the bleating of the sheep and “sa mesu boche” the cry of the lamb, while the soloist “sa boche” impersonates the man himself, the one who managed to dominate nature. The "bassu" and the "contra" use "harmonic singing" (or diphonic) techniques. The quartet that makes up “Su Tenore” is made up of “su bassu” (the bass), “sa contra” (the contralto), “sa mesu boche” (half voice) and “sa boche” (the solo voice).
The latter, singing the poem in the Sardinian language (the ancient language of the isle still spoken today), must mark the rhythm and tonality that the actual choir must follow harmoniously.
“Su bassu” is the first guttural voice of the group: it is obtained by simultaneously vibrating the vocal cords and the false vocal cords. The skill of the singer ensures that the false strings are in tune exactly one octave below the note produced by the real vocal cords.
“Sa contra” is the second guttural voice of the group: its sound is powerful and metallic, and joins “su bassu” on a fifth interval, forming the classic "guttural chord", a peculiarity that differentiates “Su Tenore” from other forms of polyphonic expression. “Sa contra” also uses false vocal cords, but unlike “Su Bassu”, the latter do not vibrate, but rather come closer to each other, giving the voice its characteristic sound rich in harmonics.
“Sa mesu boche” finally acts as a "sweetening factor" towards the rough sound emitted by the “bassu-contra” duet; its lively melody has the task of completing the polyphony of the trio, making it more lively and above all more varied.
The piece is usually a poem rhymed in Sardinian which is performed in various ways according to the metric on which it is set: the hendecasyllabic compositions (eleven syllables per line) are suitable for being sung in "sa seria" (also called boche of night) song which involves a calm and melancholy performance, while the poems with a reduced syllabic rhythm (seven-eight syllables per line) are generally sung in more cheerful and danceable variants. Thanks. Below is an example link:
th-cam.com/video/1S6dimbO5hw/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the comment!
Wow, that is extraordinary I can´t imagine how much concentration you need to sing your part with the dissonant sound. I love this intensity
My goodness! The more I learn, the less I know. This sounds mythical. Their unisson is so tight. Such a different song format, forget verses, choruses… the world is a big place, cultures so varied but singing is such a direct expression of the human soul. Thank you, again. 🤗
Since the Yoruba religion originated in West Africa the song comes from a different tonal tradition than European music. No piano has ever been tuned to African or Native American musical values. The talent of the group shines through.
Agreed. We do, however, need to be able to acknowledge that one pitch in one culture is the same as the same pitch in another culture - so we use note names such as "C" or "D#" when referring to them 🎹 We can kind of think of them as nicknames for the respective frequencies 😅
Beautiful! ❤
The imperfections in this were what made this feel right. For me, spiritual singing is most effective when it's raw and visceral, not polished and produced-sounding. This felt primal, and it worked for the eerie but mesmerizing harmonies. This may sound odd, but this gives me the same amazed discomfort that Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring does.
Hermoso 👏👏👏👏❤
By the way the a capella group Kings Return has just uploaded their cover version of Stevie Wonders Sir Duke, it´s so joyful - maybe you can add it to your reaction and analysis list
I really enjoyed this. ❤
The dissonace didn't detract from the beauty of the piece for me; I found it extraordinarily beautiful, surprising, and captivating. After the video, I immediately went to Sexto Sentido's channel to listen to it several times. I find it difficult to describe the particular beauty of this sound.
As a song dedicated to Elleguá, perhaps some of the "crunchiness" could be heard as a representation of the varying paths we take in life - they are rarely what we expect and never perfect. (According to Wikipedia, in many countries, Cuba included, Elleguá is "the orisha of roads and paths" and encompasses "the varying paths and phases of fate and life.")
This is coming from someone with no education in music OR the Yoruba religion. I sincerely apologize if anything I've written is incorrect or offensive. Please know that my comment comes from a place of unfortunate ignorance but never disrespect. I would be grateful for any replies that gave me insight and allowed me to try to correct my mistakes.
I love your interpretation, the dissonance might be all of life's crossed and varied paths and the end, the resonance and resolution might be finding your "right" path in life. I have no idea if that's the intent of the Ellegua's song, but I'd like to think it is 🥰
@@karajoy581 I'm happy that you thought my comment made sense, and even happier that you liked it! ☺ Thank you SO MUCH for requesting this beautiful piece. I doubt I'd ever have heard it otherwise; now I can listen to over and over again. 🌞
@@zuzu_cerulean I'm SO glad you liked it!! I was worried that it was a little too much and that folks might not care for it. I can't say why but I can't get this song out of my head, and it seems like one to share. ☺
The opening souds like it has elements of plain song and a little bit like Gregorian chant . I think it was nice but a bit strange with all the weird scrunchy chords.
❤R/A🎼
They remind me a bit of Saje - th-cam.com/users/s%C3%A4jevoices. Not entirely sure why except the obvious that they are both groups of 4 female singers. All Saje's songs are good. Their collaboration with Jacob Collier always sucks me in - I am amazed Saje and JC recorded their parts completely separately. JC put his take down and then Saje embellished with their parts, Their first offering, Desert Song got a Grammy nomination and is definitely worth listening to as well.
okay... you want "acapella like you've never seen before"? Try "The Mission" by Van Canto. I promise THIS is something you've never seen before. And, surely, please do a blind reaction :D.
Technically cool, interesting sounding, but otherwise too scrunchy - I call that cacophonic - for me. 😗
It's definitely a bit out there I totally agree...and the scrunch is super intense, but for some reason it just memorizes me 😀
@@karajoy581 yes, it's mesmerizing because it's about beauty and music. To see the 4 ladies so relaxed, so aware of who they are and how beautiful and free they are gives an extra touch to the entire performance.