Songs
these are a few songs from the Ewe-Anlo musical tradition. All songs are played by the entire ensemble and are always accompanied by dancing.
sOUND cLIPS WILL pLAY WITH WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER
GAHU (click for sound clip)
Gahu is the social dance music of Ghana. It can be played at any function. The piece will be heard at funerals, harvest celebrations, and any other performance context. This is the "standard" piece in the Ewe musical tradition. It will be the first piece that a musician will learn when starting to become a musician. As with most Ewe musical pieces, the drums follow a timeline (repeating bell pattern) played on the "gangokui" or double bell. The timeline will continue right to the end of the piece. All of the other instrumentation is played in relation to this timeline. During the piece, the other drums will follow a series of call and response sections led by the Boba or Asteimevui. These responses are signals for the drums and well as the dancers to change their patterns. Essentially the lead drummer is in charge of the entire group of dancers and musicians.
http://www.mapasa.com/pics/ghana1960/dancing.jpg
Agbekor (sound clip)
Agbekor is from the Northern section of Ghana. It is similar to Gahu in that it uses the entire ensemble. The word Agbekor literally means "we make ourselves happy in life". Agbekor is merely a style of Ewe drumming. There are many songs that go along with Agbekor.
Adzrowo (sound clip)
Slow bell piece involving 4 to 5 Gangokui as well as a taco shaped bell called the Toquewe.