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Music from Behind the Bridge

By Shannon Dudley

Music from Behind the Bridge

By Shannon Dudley

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Description
A symbol of Trinidadian culture, the steelband has made an extraordinary transformation since its origins-from junk metal to steel orchestra, and from disparaged underclass pastime to Trinidad and Tobago's national instrument. Now, Shannon Dudley gives the first discerning look at the musical thinking that ignited this transformation, and the way it articulates with Afro-Trinidadian tradition, carnival, colonial authority, and nationalist politics. Music from behind the Bridge tells the story of the steelband from the point of view of musicians who overcame disadvantages of poverty and prejudice with their extraordinary ambition. Literally referring to the poor neighborhoods nestled in the hills bordering Port of Spain to the East, "Behind the Bridge" is also a metaphor for conditions of social disadvantage and cultural resistance that shaped the steelband movement in the various Afro-Trinidadian communities where it first took root.

The book further explores the implications of the steelband's "nationalization" in post-independence Trinidad and Tobago, and contemporary steelband musicians' preoccupation with the formally adjudicated annual Panorama competition. In discussing the intersection of musical thinking, festivity, and politics, this book connects important questions about the history of the steelband to general questions about the relation between popular culture and nationalism.
Product details
Edition:
illustrated
Number of Pages:
326
Release Date:
2007-12-03
Publication Date:
2007-10-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Languages:
Original: English
ISBN10:
0195175476
ISBN13:
9780195175479
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:
[email protected]
Weight:
681 g
Height:
157 cm
Width:
235 cm
Thickness:
24 cm
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