Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago (Continued)
In Trinidad and Tobago, as on other islands of the Caribbean, the roots of carnival lay in both Africa and France. Originally the preserve of the planters' class who modeled their festivities on Parisian styles, and despite attempts to prevent Africans from participating, carnival, through a combination of historical circumstances, was taken over by the masses.
By the 1960s, as the country became independent, and the middle class was able to assert its cultural identity, carnival became linked with calypso and steel band, known as "pan" among the common people. One of the most elaborate festivals in the Caribbean (please see the color plates), Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is a year long affair that begins with the opening of the "calypso tents" in December, and culminates in the three day bacchanal preceding Ash Wednesday.It is proverbially accepted that preparations for the next year's carnival begin on Ash Wednesday. The tents are venues where new compositions are played every night as a prelude to the main event that includes a series of song competitions. The three major contests are the "road march," the "calypso king," and the "calypso monarch." Most notable is the road march, the calypso composition that is played most often by all the bands during the carnival parade. Most road march compositions are simple melodies with few words, easy to remember catchy rhythms, and traditional harmonic progressions that make it easy to dance to by large numbers of street revelers. In the late 1970s, one of the most popular road march songs was "La la" with only those vocables as lyrics. Usually in AB form, carnival songs are often in the minor or pentatonic keys, though many are found in major keys as well. Early calypsonians took European historical or high sounding names like "King Radio," "Growling Tiger," "Lord Beginner," "William the Conqueror," "Attila the Hun," "Lord Executioner," or "The Roaring Lion." Among the hundred of composers in the genre, two of the greatest musicians are The Mighty Sparrow and Lord Kitchener.
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"The Mighty Sparrow - Philip My Dear"
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"Bee's Melody"
Steel Drums
Besides the Africans drums and European musical instruments, the steel drum, an invention of Trinidad and Tobago, is central to carnival. Made from an emptied 55 gallon oil barrel, cut in different sizes with the head hammered out to produce various pitches, the instrument was developed in the 1940s culminating in a full fledged apotheosis in the 1960s. They are usually played in a four part chorus called tenor, guitar, cello, and bass, corresponding to the traditional European parts of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass.
The names of its early promoters such as Ellie Manette, Winston "Spree" Simon, and Neville Jules are immortalized in famous calypsos. The steel drum that produces a sweet silver metallic sound is played all over the world, and constitutes the medium par excellence at carnival time.
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"Steel Drum"
The carnival provides a space to express social commentaries and socio-political views. The calypso, and later the "soca" or soul calypso (also spelled "sokah" by Lord Shorty, its creator), the main music at that time, covers topics from gossip, risqué songs, to political dissent, and this make the calypsonian one of the most valuable treasures of the island. He/she is a trend setter, a critique, and an exponent of everyday life and concerns
Finally, due to regional cross fertilization and an effort to stay fresh, calypsonians, like Lord Shorty produced the new sound in the 1970s which became "soca." During the past two decades, soca has evolved to become a pan Caribbean music, popular around the world. An analysis of the style, with its heavy bass and syncopated drumming, shows its connections to the Kongo-Angola form that spawned most of the dance-hall musics of the region.
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"Soca: Voices From The Ghetto"
The choreography of the Rumba is highly pantomimed and improvisational and is characterized by the movement known as Vacunao, which is a pelvic movement or erotic symbolism. This movement is directly derived from the fertility dance or Congolese origin known as Yuka.
