Suriname folk-lore

2. The Music of the Bush-negroes.

a. Tonal Range.

The songs are very diverse in their tonal structure, something which becomes evident when the range of tone is considered. While it is true that the nature of the tonal structure of a song is not sufficiently designated by merely presenting the limits of its range of tone, yet this constitutes an important characteristic as a frame within which other traits are to be discerned. In addition to very narrow intervals (comprising only a third or a fourth), there

Fig. 2. Range between the lowest tone and the initial note. (Amount of descent in melodic line.)

are some songs with ranges of over one and a half octaves.² Songs of large range predominate; 40% have tones within the limits of a

2 See Fig. 1.

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Fig. 3. Range between the highest tone and the initial note. (Amount of rise in melodic line.)

third to a seventh, while 60% have ranges between an octave and a thirteeenth. The major sixth is the range of greatest frequency of the individual intervals. The extremely rare occurrence of the minor sixth as setting limits to tonal spread is, on the other hand, to be noted. In songs of a wide range the major tenth, the major ninth, and the octave most often describe the limits. The small degree of consonance between the intervals is evidently the reason why we find only a small number of songs having a range of a major seventh and minor ninth, and none at all with a range of an augmented fourth.

b. Melodic Movement.

The majority of Suriname Bush-songs have a descending melodic progression. This being the case, it is not strange to find, for example, that songs where the lowest note is more than a sixth below the beginning tone, are much more frequent (29%) than those where the highest note is more than a sixth above its opening tone, (9%).¹ The fact that upward skips of such magnitude occur at all - those of a fifth or of a sixth occur fairly frequently, - is what is noteworthy.²

Just as in a chord the root forms the foundation, so also in the course of a melody the ‘tonic’, i.e., the key-tone, toward which the melody aims and which almost always closes the song, is as a rule placed on a comparatively low, if not the lowest tonal-position. Although in an eighth of the songs the final tone is placed more

1 See Figs. 2 and 3.

2 See Fig. 3.

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than a fourth above the lowest tone, most frequently it is placed on the lowest tone, or a fourth, a major second, or a minor third above it.¹

Fig. 4. Location of the final tone of a song with relation to the lowest note.

Furthermore, the relation between the opening and closing notes of a song helps to characterise its melodic line. In most of the songs, the pitch of the opening note is above the pitch of the final one, and in these cases the fifth above the final tone is especially favored for the initial tone. Very frequently the opening and concluding tones are the same.²

1 See Fig. 4.

2 See Fig. 5.

c. Absence of Half-tones.

In the analyses of tonal structure, apart from the twenty scales of the penta-type which are necessarily half-toneless, we find only three scales which lack half-tones³. However, a great number of songs other than these three must, strictly speaking, be considered as also being without half-tones. First of all, there are those songs

3 See analyses of tonal structure, IIIe, VIa, and VII.

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Fig. 5. Location of the opening note in relation to the final tone.

which, though they contain intervals of a half-tone, do not show in their melodic flow any half-tonal steps;¹ secondly, songs in which the half-tone step only seldom occurs and is without significance for the melodic form.² Altogether, almost two-thirds of the songs (63%) are those which completely or almost completely lack half-tones.

1 Songs 22, 31, 39, 42, 45, 46, 53, 55, 60, 64, 79, 81, 85, 87, 91, 93, 96, 98, 99, 103, 109.

2 Songs, 16, 18, 19, 25, 27, 33, 34, 36-38, 40, 41, 43, 44, 51, 56, 63, 65, 67, 75, 82, 83, 90, 101, 106, 108, 112.

d. Intervals.

The conspicuously frequent employment of wide steps usually gives to the melodic line an erratic and ragged appearance. Almost all songs (91%) contain intervals of a fourth or more. The step of a fourth, whether ascending or descending, is especially favored (85%). The fifth is frequently found (45%), and is more often a descending step (31%) than an ascending one (20%). Occasionally

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we find still wider intervals, such as the minor sixth (9%), the major sixth (2%), and - almost always ascending - the octave (6%). On the other hand, recitatives, themselves a part of the song, sung on a continuous pitch,¹ are also found. Less extensive repetitions of a single tone occur with extraordinary frequency; in by far the greater proportion of the songs (70%) are found phrases in which four or more syllables are sung on the same note.

1 See, above all, songs 30 c d, 46 b d, 53a¹, 81a¹ e, 108, 109, 112c.

e. Combinations of Thirds.

A special characteristic of Bush-Negro music is the frequent combination of several intervals of thirds. Three types of combinations may be distinguished:

The pendular swing, as, for instance, the melodic figure a-c-a-c. Repetitions of the same tone can hardly be called tonal steps; thus, such a melodic configuration, as, for instance, the motif ‘c’ in song 11, must still be regarded as a linking together of thirds. Such pendular combinations of at least three sets of thirds (with or without repetitions of the same note) are to be found in a little less than half of the songs. The minor third is given conspicuous preference in this respect to the major third; 37% of the songs contain only minor third pendular combinations; 4% have only pendular combinations of the major third; while in 5% we find pendular combinations of major and minor thirds side by side. Song 30 is of special significance as illustrating the preference for the combination of minor thirds. The key-tone of the song is e. Yet, in the melodic pendulum figure of the motif a² it is not e but the minor third e♭ which is chosen for the third of c, the tone next in importance to the key-tone, although e♭, has no relation to the rest of the tonal structure.

Sequence of thirds moving in the same direction (as occurs in 53% of the songs). From the above discussion, it might be assumed that where two linked thirds are found to move in the same direction, minor thirds (for example, b-d-f) would predominate. However, such combinations of minor thirds are very rare, being found in only 5% of the songs, and always descending. In the main, minor and major thirds are found to be associated in these combinations. The reason for this would seem to lie clearly in the fact that two minor thirds combine into a tritone, an extremely dissonant interval, while a minor and major third, form a perfect fifth, which is highly consonant. Such sequences of thirds, which give the European the impression of broken major or minor triads, occur frequently in primitive music. In non-European music that is characterized by melodic line, it is by no means a question of chords which have been split into such intervals. Von Hornbostel has characterised these

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‘triads’ as steps of a fifth which are split by a middle tone. However, aside from these ‘filled-out fifths’ there are also triadic motifs of a different nature. In many cases, - especially in the Suriname songs, - the fifth is not the primary unit, but rather the minor third, which has been enlarged to a fifth by adding the sub-dominant of its upper tone, or the dominant of its lower tone. Such fifths derived from the enlargement of minor thirds are to be found, for example, in the music of the Papuans of New Guinea,¹ of Negroes of East and West Africa,² as well as of North and South American Indians.³ If a fourth be substituted for a fifth, then musical motifs such as those where, again, the minor third is the skeleton, will result.⁴ A characteristic example of the enlarged minor third, where the dominant of the lower tone is added, may be seen in song 77. The beginning of song 11 affords another example, where the minor third is enlarged into a fifth, in this case, however, through the addition of the sub-dominant of the upper tone.⁵

Of special significance for an understanding of the function of the minor third within ‘triadic’ tone configurations are the motifs d-b-g (g-b-d) in songs 3, 6, and 17, which are substituted for the minor thirds d-b (b-d) in analogous places. Motifs of the ‘major triadic’ type are more abundant (38%) than those of the minor (24%); descending ones more often found than ascending. In several songs (7%), a set of three thirds, and in exceptional cases even of four⁶ have been linked together, moving in the same direction; in such a case minor and major thirds alternate. In those instances where three thirds are found, the outer members each constitute a minor, the inner member a major, third.⁷ Evidently this structure is conditioned by the fact that what is present are two fifths, each composed of two thirds, the two sharing the central major third:

It is to be observed that ascending linked-thirds do not occur less frequently⁸ than descending ones.⁹

1 See illustration A, Appendix II

2 See illustrations B and C, Appendix II

3 See illustrations D and E, Appendix II

4 See illustration F, Appendix II Compare with this motif ‘g’ in song 11, or motif ‘a’ in song 103.

5 Cf. the first phrase in songs 5 and 96.

6 Cf. song 38.

7 For example, song 80.

8 E.g., song 24 c, first part of 40.

9 E.g., songs 30b c, 34 b.

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Interlocking thirds.¹ By this form we understand melodic figures such as these or That is to say, here we have steps of thirds moving in the same direction that are connected with one another by steps of seconds, going in the opposite way. Triple progressions of this kind occur but rarely and only in a descending direction;² usually it is only two steps of thirds which are connected, and as a rule they are descending thirds. An illustration for an ascending progression is motif ‘a’ in song 98. Most often, however, the complex consists of two steps of descending minor thirds.³ Occasionally a minor and a major third are connected,⁴ and in one instance⁵ two descending major thirds are so associated.

1 Terzverhakung. This occurs in 16% of the songs.

2 Songs 15 and 31 III c.

3 E.g., song 8, var. 2, 73, end of 89, 105 b.

4 E.g., songs 22, 31 I c.

5 Song 65, var. 1 b.

f. Combinations of Fourths.

Intervals consisting of fourths are also very frequently found in combination (in 38% of the songs). Steps which move in opposite directions predominate, and form either the melodic figure ⁶ or .⁷ These two figures may be taken to constitute a pendular figure composed of fourths ;⁸ an extension of this (in the last section of song 5) through an offbeat from the fourth, makes a pendular motif of four members, thus: The employment of a sequence of fourths moving in the same direction (mostly descending) is found in 6% of the songs.⁹ An example of an ascending sequence of fourths is found in song 4. Just as here the figure represents the nucleus of the larger figure so in song 82 (the measure before the last), is the starting motif for the extension , and in song 28 (the line before the last), is the nucleus of the extended figure

Interlocking fourths occur in 11% of the songs. As a rule it is here a question of two descending steps of fourths which, connected

6 14%; e.g., songs, 9, 64, the end of 86.

7 9%; e.g., songs 74, 89, 107.

8 Songs 3, 27b a², 45c, 101.

9 E.g., song 83d.

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Plate XX. Town-Negro Apinti drum.

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Plate XXI. Town-Negro Podya drum.

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by an ascending minor third, create the figure ,¹ or, connected by an ascending major second, create the figure .² 46c¹d gives us a characteristic example of this. Here the minor third pendular motif e-g-e-g links into one melodic phrase the descending set of fourths d-a-e and the interlocked set g-d.. e-b. Song 20 (if we overlook the ornamental sixteenth note) contains in the last line the three-fold broken progression of fourths , which may be considered as a fusion of the two fundamental figures d-a..c-g, and c-g..a-e.

1 E.g., songs 32 II c, 76c, and 104a¹.

2 E.g., 26c, 44, and 106c.

g. The Penta-types of Modal Structures.

Among the songs of the penta-type, number 47, with its narrow range and its limited number of tones, has the most primitive tonal structure. It is note worthy that here, contrary to what is found in most other songs, no single tone stands out as the tonic; rather the melodic line oscillates between b and a. The variant in which g is replaced by a shows that we are really dealing here with a structure based on two tones. Song 74 also has a pendular composition; in this instance, however, the minor third and not the major second constitutes the nucleus, while fourths and fifths appear in the function of structural intervals. Through the employment of the sub-dominants of both tones of the nucleus and the fourth above the lower tone of the nucleus, the tonal range becomes enlarged into an octave and the number of steps is increased to five. In the penta-do songs,³ with one exception, the g above or below the tonic c represents the melodic ‘dominant’. However, other fourths and fifths also acquire structural significance; for example, in songs 4, 57, and 84, the steps c, g, d, and a are interlocked by intervals of a fourth and a fifth.⁴ Just as in the penta-do modes⁵ so also in the penta-sol⁶ forms the step of a fourth c-g stands out as the basic structural interval. However, the melodic center is no longer on the higher but on the lower of the two tones which compose the interval. The penta-re mode⁷ is related with especial closeness to the penta-do mode. It is not a, the fifth above the key-tone which is the ‘dominant’. Rather, side by side with the fourths above and below the tonic (g-d; d-a), the fifth c-g - as in the penta-do mode⁸ -

3 See analyses of structures Nos. 1 a-h.

4 Analyses of structure Ie, f, h.

5 Analyses of structure Nos. If, g.

6 Analyses of structure Nos. I i-l.

7 Analyses of structure Nos. I m-q.

8 Cf., for example, the penta-do songs 1 and 4 with the penta-re songs 2 and 5.

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Fig. 6. Distribution of modal types in Bush and Town music.

comes to the fore as a structural interval, occasionally extended into an octave by the fourth g-c. The primitive pendular structure which forms the basis of song 47, may possibly be looked upon as representing the common nucleus of the penta-do and the penta-re modes. Song 35, also has essentially a pendulum-structure based on a second in which, however, the greater weight seems to rest on the higher tone. If the emphasis be shifted to the lower tone, the penta-re mode then becomes a penta-do mode. Of the two examples of the penta-la¹ mode, song 78 much resembles the structure of the penta-do song 77.² In both cases, the fifth e-a is the interval within which the song is composed, while c, the key-tone of 77, becomes the initial tone of song 78. The next two tones, d and g, function as leading tones of the fifth e-a. In the other penta-la song³ also, the fifth e-a is the principal structural interval; it is the concluding link in the three-fold chain of fourths and fifths, g-d-a-e.

1 See analyses of structure Nos. I r, s.

2 Analysis No. Ia.

3 Analysis No. I s.

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h. The Hexa-types of Modal Structures.

In most cases the songs of hexa modal structure may be reduced to the penta types: thus, for example, the pendular structure based on a second shown in analysis III p is an extension of the penta-structure I t; in the case of other songs in the hexa modes, on the other hand, we do not find any analogous structure in the penta-type. In the hexa-do structures composed of six tones,¹ g, the fourth below the key-tone, has always the function of the dominant and is the lowest tone of the melody as well. Besides the fourth g-c, the fifth g-d is the outstanding structural interval. The range of the songs, in the main, comprises a sixth g-e, and they are closely related to the structure of the penta-do songs analysed in I f.² In the hexa-do songs of fewer tones,³ the absence of the step g which is elsewhere of structural importance is to be observed. The melodic interplay of the fundamental tone c through the minor third b-d, characterises the structures of the songs analysed in II a and b; II c represents an extension of the penta-do structure I a, achieved through transposing the dominating fifth a-e a fourth lower. The tonal structure of song 92⁴ is remarkable. The part marked ‘a¹’ is a transposition of part ‘a’ a second lower. Though the first part of the song is in the hexa-do mode, the tonic being above the half-tone, and thus closely resembles the song analysed in II b, in the second part the main tone occurs as the lowest note. Yet variant 2, with its ending on the higher tone, corresponds to the hexa-do structure of the first. In contrast to what is found in the songs sung in the hexa-do modes, the tonic in the hexa-sol mode⁵ is most often the lowest note. Certain hexa-sol songs have essentially a penta-sol structure; thus the structure of song 36⁶ very much resembles that of song 68.⁷ In other hexa-sol songs a combination of penta-do with penta-sol elements is to be observed. Thus, in song 103⁸ the structure of the phrases ‘a’, ‘b’, and ‘d’ is almost identical with that of the penta-do song 3,⁹ while in motif ‘c’ a penta-sol element makes for a resemblance to the structure of I i. Similarly in song 73¹⁰ the penta-do structure of the solo part, identical with I c, is to be contrasted with the penta-sol structure of the choral section. In song 87¹¹ the manifold relations between fourths

1 Analyses Nos. II d-k.

2 Compare, for example, the hexa-do song 56 (IIh) with the penta-do song 57 (If).

3 Analyses Nos. II a-c.

4 Analysis No. IIIq.

5 Analyses Nos. II l-s.

6 Analysis No. IIq.

7 Analysis No. I k.

8 Analysis No. II o.

9 Analysis No. I d.

10 Analysis No. II m.

11 Analysis No. II r.

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Fig. 7. Number of steps (excluding octaves).

and fifths are to be remarked. The hexa-re songs III b-f, with their wide range and six tone structure, attract attention in contrast to the narrow four-tone structure of III a, which is based on the

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same (Doric) tetrachord as II b and q. The hexa-re mode is remote from the penta-re, which is characterised by the fifth c-g, but has more in common with the penta-sol mode. On the other hand, the hexa-la structures, with the exception of III g, are evidently developments of penta-re structures. Thus in song 39¹ the hexa-la mode (line 2) appears as a variant of the penta-re mode (line 1), while the structure of the songs analysed in III h and III i is almost identical with that of those given in I m and I n. The penta-pendular structure of song 74² shows a close correspondence to the hexa-si structure of song 75.³ The structure of 69⁴ is especially simple. Here the melodic line runs essentially on the same pitch, which is lowered by not quite a full tone on one unaccented beat, while at another strong beat it is raised by something short of a half-tone.

1 Analysis No. III k.

2 Analysis No. I u.

3 Analysis No. III o.

4 Analysis No. III n.

i. The Hepta-types of Modal Structure.

Half of the songs belong to the hepta-type.⁵ Among the hepta-do structures, IV a and b may be cited to call attention to the relatively high position of the fundamental tone. In IV b⁶ we recognise the penta-do mode as basic. Thus, the first line of the song corresponds structurally to the penta-do song 4.⁷ Here, the minor third below the tonic acquires (next to the tonic) a special significance. Song 42⁸ possesses what is essentially a hexa-sol structure; the b which characterises the mode only occurs in one part of the song and then only as an unaccented lower third. The transposition of the initial motif a whole tone higher in the third line of the song is to be observed. In the other hepta-do songs we notice a closer relationship to the hexa-sol than to the hexa-do mode. While the fourth above the tonic - whose absence, as has been seen, characterises the hexa-do mode - constitutes, along with the dominant g, the most outstanding structural element in these songs, the ‘seventh step’ (i.e., the b in the hepta-do mode), the absence of which is characteristic of the hexa-sol mode, is also of little significance in the greater number of the hepta-do songs.⁹ By far the most favored of the hepta modes is the hepta-sol.¹⁰ Like the hepta-do, it is usually an extension of the hexa-sol form (and not of the hexa-re); thus, for instance, song 89,¹¹ with the exception of variant 2, possesses the same tonal configuration as songs 72 and 73. In the hexa-sol mode the notes a fifth and a

5 See Fig. 6.

6 Song 40.

7 Analysis No. I e.

8 Analysis No. IV a.

9 See analyses Nos. IV a-c, e-h, comparing, for example, IV h with II l, m.

10 Fig. 6.

11 Analysed in No. V a.

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fourth above the tonic stand out as structurally important. The extension into the hepta-sol mode is accomplished, as a rule, by adding the sub-dominant of the fourth above the tonic.¹ The fifth f-c must be understood as being very often the transposition of the fifth g-d - a whole tone lower, as in song 98, variant 1,² and at the beginning of song 76. In the choral repetition of song 25, the beginning of the ‘b’ motif (the progression f-c) is transposed a whole note above its original level. The apparently chromatic combination c-b-b♭-a in V d and V e may also be traced to transpositions of this character; while the b fulfills the function of a third within the fifth g-d, the b♭ constitutes the major second below c within the fifth f-c.³ Occasionally traces of the penta-do mode⁴ and penta-sol mode⁵ are found. The forms analysed in IV q and IV r are deserving of special notice, for while in other songs in the hepta-sol mode the d usually has the function of the dominant, it is here scarcely touched upon, or not at all. The most simple hepta-structure is found in the hepta-re song 48;⁶ aside from the extension in motif ‘a²’, the tonal range is restricted to that of a fourth, using only three steps (d-f-g). The g, the fourth above the tonic, especially prominent here, is almost always important in the other hepta-re songs⁷ but in these cases further relations of fourths and fifths also enter, as c-g-d-a in VI b, d, h; f-c-g-d-a in VI c, or g-d-a-e-b in VI g. In some hepta-re structures the penta-type cannot be overlooked as the one from which they may have been derived; thus, VI d has essentially a penta-la character, while VI g goes back to the penta-sol mode and resembles I 1 in form. In song 31, parts I and II are in the hexa-la mode; only in part III is this enlarged into the hepta-re mode. The hepta-la structures VI k and VI m constitute minor modifications of hexa-la structures; in VI k⁸ this is accomplished by substituting the third f-a for the fourth, e-a;⁹ in VI m¹⁰ it is accomplished by ‘filling’ the third with an inserted note in the beginning of the song. Songs in the hepta-mi and si modes¹¹ are very rare; when they do occur, it is as non-essential extensions of ambiguous modes, the hepta-mi mode being reducable to the hexa-mi and the hepta-si mode to the hexa-si. Finally, the ‘bimodal’ structures comprising eight tones may be remarked; here we are confronted either with a combination of do and sol,¹² or of sol and re.¹³

1 See, for example, songs 90d and 104 (end).

2 Analysed in No. V c.

3 Compare analysis No. III q.

4 Beginning of song 85.

5 Songs 45 and 51.

6 Analysed in No. VIa.

7 Analyses Nos. VI b-e, g-h.

8 Song No. 50.

9 Variant 1.

10 Song 43.

11 Analyses Nos. VI n-p.

12 Analyses Nos. IV m and n.

13 Analyses Nos. V s and t.

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j. Falsetto.

The use of the falsetto is very rare.¹ At the same time the songs show that the occurrence is not due to an unintentional break in the voice, but to a deliberate and conscious use of head tones. Thus the last measure of song 38 is a repetition in falsetto of the final phrase, while, on the other hand, in 39 the falsetto is employed in the manner of a yodel.

1 Songs 5, 38, 39.

k. Meter and Melodic Rhythm.

About half of the songs may, without forcing, be fitted into some metrical scheme. Measures of even numbers of beats are more frequent than those of odd ones; however, in most of the songs triplets are employed in abundance. The three-quarter rhythm predominates in the odd meters, while the five-four meter,² and the seven-four meter³ are also represented. Occasionally, the meter is extended or shortened,⁴ or a change of rhythm occurs in the course of the song.⁵ In a number of songs diverse meters are combined, either in regular or varied sequence.⁶ In spite of these liberties in meter, the songs are strictly rhythmic, and are to be contrasted with about a third of the songs, which run in free rhythms. It is characteristic of these free-rhythmic songs that in them there occur, side by side, long drawn-out motifs, motif-like calls, and recitative-like motifs, broken up into tones of short duration⁷.

2 E.g., songs, 9, 35, 76, 96.

3 E.g., songs 8, 16, 92, 103.

4 E.g., songs 56, 63 b, 98 c.

5 E.g., songs 50, 81, 83.

6 E.g., songs 36, 40, 60, 63, 95, 100.

7 E.g., songs 19, 24-27, 31, 45, 51, 52, 64, 102.

l. Drum Rhythms.

A drum accompaniment often goes with the songs, or there is hand-clapping. In most instances this represents rhythm which underscores that of the melody. The beats are usually regular quarter-notes.⁸ In song 73 each quarter-beat is dissolved into two eighth-notes, in 90 and 94 into triplets of three eights-notes each. In song 57 the regularity of the 3/8 drum beats underscores the 6/8 of the music, while in song 72 the rhythm of the accompaniment is more differentiated, in conformity with the melodic rhythm. More vivid drum-rhythms which, however, still form a unit with the rhythm of the melodies, are found in songs 1, 58, 98, and 99. The strictly rhythmical 3/8 drum accompaniment to some songs which are characterised by more or less free rhythms is remarkable.⁹ Of

8 Songs 55, 77-81, 83-87, 89.

9 Songs 21, 28, 42.

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these latter, song 42 is instructive, as it makes for an understanding of the relation between regular drum-rhythm and free melodic rhythm. A comparison made between the three verses shows especially that drum and song are essentially independent of each other, meeting only here and there at important points.

m. Formal Structures of the Songs.

In general the songs of regular rhythm are tonally as well as formally more primitive than those where the rhythm is free. In this connection, songs of especially small range and of few tones have, for the most part, markedly primitive formal structure as well, and are restricted to repeating one short melodic phrase a number of times. These shorter songs are of predominantly regular structure, as the following table shows:

Song 69	consists of 2 times	2 beats
Songs 13, 58, 70, 78	consist of 2 times	3 beats
Songs 54, 74, 75	consist of 3 times	2 beats
Songs 47, 54, 59, 71, 72, 79, 94	consist of 2 times	4 beats
Songs 9, 35	consist of 2 times	5 beats
Songs 1, 2, 7, 15, 17, 101	consist of 2 times	6 beats
Songs 8, 92	consist of 2 times	7 beats
Songs 12, 57, 73, 77	consist of 2 times	8 beats
Songs 76, 96	consist of 2 times	10 beats
Songs 6, 87	consist of 2 times	12 beats

The frequent repetition of such phrases, most of them bipartite in character, gives a song cyclic form, especially if it closes with the opening theme.¹ In some instances the second motif is a variant of the first.² In songs 8 and 96 the second portions of the motifs ‘a’ and ‘a¹’ are almost identical, so that here, in reality, the form ‘a-b-c-b’ is found. This same form is also found in songs 50, 55, 57, 76.³ In other songs the two halves differ in their ending, with the result that the form is really ‘a-b-a-c’.⁴ Sometimes the bipartite form ‘a-b’ is enlarged into the tripartite form ‘a-a-b’ by either a close or varied repetition of ‘a’.⁵

Another tripartite type is ‘a-b-c’,⁶ a form which, in song 87, is enlarged into four sections ‘a-b-c-c¹’ through the employment of a variation of the final phrase. Some songs are divided into four

1 See songs 8, 9, 70, 71, 78, 96; compare 16, 44, 97, 104.

2 E.g., songs 8, 56, 59, 92, 96.

3 Cf. also songs 26 and 32.

4 See songs 35, 47, 77, 89; compare 21, 28, 60.

5 Songs 3, 34, 67, 110.

6 Songs 24, 25, 41, 75, 100.

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different phrases ‘a-b-c-d’;¹ it is true, however, that in song 83, ‘b’ and ‘d’ are free variations of themes ‘a’ and ‘c’. In song 103 the configuration ‘a-b-c-d’ is extended into a rondo-like form ‘a-b-c-d-c-d-c¹’. Of the longer songs, part of them are characterised by a rather free treatment,² others by a divisional construction which may be clearly perceived.³

1 Songs 19, 64, 68, 83.

2 E.g.,, songs 11, 40, 106.

3 Songs 30, 43, 46, 52, 53, 81, 102.

n. Alternation of Solo and Chorus.

The form of a song often results from the alternate singing of the soloist and the chorus, something which favors the development of cyclical forms. In songs 71 and 78 the structure is particularly concise and simple; one short theme is sung by the soloist, another by the chorus, and the entire song is repeated several times (in song 78, there are seventeen repetitions!), the solo part constituting the beginning as well as the end of the whole. In song 91 the responsorial singing is preceded by a solo part which also contains the motif sung by the chorus; in 80, the initial statement of the solo part is enlarged after the choral interpolation by a variation of the phrase sung by the chorus. Of a similar nature is song 84, where the extension of the solo part, achieved through the addition of the themes ‘c’, ‘c¹’ and ‘d’, presents a comparable case. The chorus is not always restricted to the repetition of only one phrase, however. Thus, in song 77 the solo part, which remains the same throughout, is followed by two different choral phrases which alternate with one another. In other songs, the solo as well as the choral parts vary.⁴ While in these songs of strict rhythm the motif of the chorus is different from that of the solo, in the songs where the rhythms vary,⁵ the chorus is mostly a slightly changed repetition of the solo part. In song 23, the part of the chorus is shortened noticeably, while in 27 the entries of the chorus and the soloist differ quite considerably. To illustrate with an instance where alternating themes occur in the solo part while the refrain of the chorus remains the same, song 26 may be cited.

4 See songs, 72, 73, 89.

5 Songs 19, 23-27, 29, 31.

o. Part Singing (Polyphonic Music).

In Bush-Negro music, part-songs in the proper sense of the term are almost entirely absent. Occasionally the premature opening of the solo over the prolonged final tone of the chorus produces an accord, and in this manner a bourdon-like effect is created.⁶ In the

6 See song 19a¹.

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choral part itself there are simultaneous seconds, thirds, or fourths occasionally to be heard.¹ The jump from unison singing to the upper fourth is to be noted, as well as an attack on the fourth above the main voice with a step of a descending fifth following, as in song 85, variant 2, and 87, variant 2. Parallel fifths are found in one instance only.²

1 See songs 19, 23, 24, 26, 92, 93.

2 Song 86, variant 2.

p. Tempo.

In general the tempo is rather lively. In most cases (91%) it remains constant; however, sometimes there is much acceleration as the song proceeds.³

3 See, e.g., songs 47, 59, 85.