Men/Boys Chowtal Singing & Jaal Playing Gol Mondays Nov 2017-Mar 2018 . Time: 6:45-8:30 pm
What are Gols? An inter-generational arts circle where families and community members of all ages learn through practice and storytelling, the traditional Indian-Caribbean vocal and instrumental music. Gols improve our skills and knowledge through mentoring by Elder Custodians and Masters Artists, and the Scholars who collaborated with them to formalize the first systematic research and documentation for the genres performed in gols that helps reclaim and preserve traditions belonging to exclusive male and female repertories, so grandfathers, fathers and sons, can join together in hands-on participation. These inter-generational arts circles give families and individuals a chance to learn and practice Chowtal (Phagwa, Spring, Planting), Ramayana (Diwali, Fall, Harvest). Most importantly, these workshops provide a space for family sharing and reconnecting to community.
Transnational Chowtal: Bhojpuri Folk Song from North By Dr. Peter Manuel, Ethnomusicologist
Professor Peter Manuel, Ethnomusicologist Interview on Let's Talk With Lakshmee. Hear the New York Interview
Professor Peter Manuel, Ethnomusicologist Interview on Let's Talk With Lakshmee. Hear the New York Interview
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To Purchase A Copy Contact The New York Youth Chowtal Gol
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About Chowtal: Aside from being the name of a "taal" or meter in Hindustani (language) classical music, Chowtal is a form of folksong of North India's Bhojpuri region, sung during the vernal Phagwa or Holi festival. In Chowtal, two rows of singers face each other (semi-circle), with a "dholak" drummer at one end, and sing lines of Hindi text antiphonally. While the melodies are relatively simple, the song undergoes various modulations of rhythm and tempo, alternating between subdued passages and exciting climaxes.
Chowtal is generally sung by enthusiasts for their own pleasure, rather than for an audience. "Chowtal" is in fact an umbrella term for the format, which comprises various sub-genres including Chowtal proper and Jhumar, Ulara, Lej, Baiswara, Dhamar, Rasiya, Kabir, Jogira, and others. Chowtal is performed today in various parts of the Bhojpuri region, but is in decline. During 1845-1917, Chowtal was one of the Bhojpuri folk music genres transmitted by indentured workers to the Caribbean (primarily Trinidad, Guyana, Jamaica and Suriname), and also the Fiji Islands. In these sites it has flourished vigorously--in spite of the decline of the Bhojpuri language in Trinidad and Guyana. It also flourished in secondary diaspora communities of Indo-Caribbeans in New York, Holland, and elsewhere, and of Indo-Fijians in Australia, the west coast of North America, and elsewhere. REFERENCE: Dr. Peter Manuel, Ethnomusicologist (2009). Transnational Chowtal: Bhojpuri Folksong from North India to the Caribbean, Fiji, and Beyond. Asian Music 40/2: 1-32 |