NDTC Singers in concert
"'Ethnomedicine Songs is just a 'stocious' name for the good old Jamaican medicine or remedy songs", insists a client leaving Little Theatre after an NDTC performance at the Little Theatre, in the current Season of Dance.
The remedy songs look at the traditional medicinal herbs now being given some legitimacy, what with the upsurge in alternative medicine and herbal cures and the growing flexibility of some members of the medical community. The final song Man Piaba even states the various methods of preparation of these humble plants and the ubiquitous wine of the land rum.
These songs form one suite of the three suites of songs presented this Season by the NDTC Singers. They are Remedy Songs and a Caribbean Suite.
In the case of the Dancing Tunes, integrated song and dance is a natural part of so many of the traditional observances, socio-religious practices and recreational activities of present day Jamaica and more so of the past.
Some of the songs are from the Walter Jekyll collection such as Jamaica Song and Story and have been updated and arranged by musical director Marjorie Whylie. These songs represent many traditions and may be considered wandering melodies, as they turn up in several parishes as a part of widely varied activities benta, dinki mini, mento, polka, and in Anancy stories.
The songs of the Caribbean from Haiti, Trinidad, Tobago, Belize, Grenada, sung in appropriate Creole language of each territory, express emotions of the human condition familiar to Jamaican audiences, who respond with appreciation, whether they be in French or English derivatives.
Although very often couched in humour, traditional songs of Jamaica and the region take an often searing look at relationships between the sexes, transportation woes and admonish or poke fun at those who do not conform to the norms of the community. Analysis of the lyrics show that generations of creators and performers have passed their verdict, honed and pruned the language so that what remains is clever, succinct and appropriate to the situational drama of the themes.
Wonderful examples of this can be found in Ronbella O, Bahlimbo and Everytime A Pass.
The Season runs until August 20, at the Little Theatre.
