MP3 Hungwe - Tsunga
This beautiful recording by Musekiwa Chingodza and Jennifer Kyker features traditional songs on the mbira dzavadzimu music from Zimbabwe. As Musekiwa says, “Our music is both medicine and food, as mbira has the power to heal and to provide."
10 MP3 Songs in this album (62:54) !
Related styles: WORLD: African, WORLD: Mbira
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Details:
Hungwe is the Zimbabwe/US mbira duo Musekiwa Chingodza and Jennifer Kyker. The name "hungwe" refers to the fish eagle, a bird of great importance within Shona cosmology. It is also a type of black and white cloth worn by spirit mediums. "Tsunga" is Hungwe''s first album, released in 2001. Reviewing "Tsunga" for the Dandemutande online catalogue, Paul Novitski wrote, "This is a lively set of mbira duets that manage to simultaneously express the youthful energy of the musicians and deep antiquity of their repertoire. Musekiwa’s and Jennifer’s voices and playing styles are strong and well matched. Except for the vocals which sound a bit distant, the recording is immediate, throaty, and clear, sounding very much like they’re playing in the same room I’m dancing in. Handei!"
Musekiwa Chingodza is a well-known Zimbabwean mbira and marimba player and teacher. He was born in Zimbabwe into a family of great mbira players in Mwangara village, Murewa, Zimbabwe in 1970. He began playing mbira at the age of five and is self-taught. Through listening to other gwenyambira, or great mbira players, he developed a strong attachment to and love for mbira music. He says, “Our music is both medicine and food, as mbira has the power to heal and to provide for people. Mbira pleases both the living and the dead.” In 1991, Musekiwa was a key member of the band Panjea, founded by Chris Berry. He composed the hit song “Ganda” on Panjea’s Zimbabwean album. Currently, Musekiwa teaches mbira at Prince Edward School in Harare. He is an excellent singer, dancer, drummer, and he plays both mbira dza vadzimu and nyunga nyunga. Following up on "Tsunga," Musekiwa has also released a solo CD, "VaChingodza Budai Pachena."
Jennifer Kyker began to play marimba in 1990 and mbira in 1992. She has lived and studied in Zimbabwe for over three years. Jennifer has performed with various artists in Zimbabwe and the United States, including Kudana Marimba Ensemble, the Chigamba family''s group Mhembero, Wagogo, and Chris Berry and Panjea. She is currently working on a Ph.D. dissertation in ethnomusicology at the University of Pennsylvania.