Healing Tree: Best of Stella Chiweshe

Amazon.com
Stella Rambisai Chiweshe Nekati is a woman warrior who defied the traditional gender roles of her native Zimbabwe by learning to play the mbira, a thumb piano whose ritual connection to the ancestral spirits dates back to the 15th century. More than two decades of international recording and concert performances have earned Chiweshe the title "Queen of Mbira," a distinction which led to this "best of" compilation, her first CD on a stateside label. Split between lulling unplugged tracks (for dual mbiras, vocals, and percussion) and lively worldbeat pieces (with that curious Afro-pop mix of upbeat rhythm, buoyant melody, and trenchant lyrics), the disc proffers multi-leveled music for enthusiasts of both contemporary and folkloric song forms. Cyclical motifs combine earthy singing and translucent instrumental syncopation to create a hypnotic sound of power and ancientness. --Sam Prestianni

Tracks:

Come And See
A Patch
Answer
That One
The Liberation Struggle Of Zimbabwe
Dande
Spirit Come Back
Vana Vangu
Hide-And-Seek
Surface Water In A Vlei
With War
Four Crosses

Amazon.com

Stella Rambisai Chiweshe Nekati is a woman warrior who defied the traditional gender roles of her native Zimbabwe by learning to play the mbira, a thumb piano whose ritual connection to the ancestral spirits dates back to the 15th century. More than two decades of international recording and concert performances have earned Chiweshe the title "Queen of Mbira," a distinction which led to this "best of" compilation, her first CD on a stateside label. Split between lulling unplugged tracks (for dual mbiras, vocals, and percussion) and lively worldbeat pieces (with that curious Afro-pop mix of upbeat rhythm, buoyant melody, and trenchant lyrics), the disc proffers multi-leveled music for enthusiasts of both contemporary and folkloric song forms. Cyclical motifs combine earthy singing and translucent instrumental syncopation to create a hypnotic sound of power and ancientness. --Sam Prestianni

Customer Reviews:

Lotsa healing going on.......2002-03-20

There's whole lot of healing going on these days, it seems. Hmmm...let's see; two women put out Mbira CD's and both have healing in the title. What is with this healing blather? Why is it that women feel the need to intrude into and sully a fine traditional music that is rightly the province of men. Is this all just a sad attempt to tap the earthmuffin new-age market? Is it one of those I-am-womyn-goddess-healer sort of things?

Music of the Spirit from Zimbabwe.......2002-02-26

Mbira, also known as the Calimba, is a musical instrument native to the region around Zimbabwe. It consists of strings in a box like case that are plucked by the thimbs and forefinger. It has a zither-like quality, but is a little more ethereal and refined.

Traditional Zimbabwean religion consists of a form of ancestor worship not dissimilar from that of some regions of the orient. The mbira is used in spiritual rituals in which the attendees can become possessed by and receive messages from their ancestors. The mbira is said to draw the spirits of departed loved ones through the spirits of the attendees.

The mbira has historically and culturally been the strict domain of men. Stella Chiweshe, however, was the first great female mbira master to break this tradition. She is a world famous artist and has appeared in the U.S. on tour most recently this year. Her own deep spirituality comes through in her playing, and it is difficult not to get carried away when listening to this album.

Rock Music:

Rock Music

rock music

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