Zulu music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Mbube and Isicathamiya#

Mbube is both a song, originally released in the 1940s by Solomon Linda, and a genre of South African popular music that was inspired by it. “Mbube” was recorded in 1939 and became a major hit in the country. The song was in a traditional Zulu choral style, which soon came to the attention of American musicologist Alan Lomax, who brought to the song to folk singer Pete Seeger, then of The Weavers. They made the song a Top 15 American hit in 1952 (as “Wimoweh”), though creator Solomon Linda was not credited; later, The Kingston Trio released a cover of it. Later still, The Tokens turned the song into “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, and it became a #1 American hit. The Durban-based Ladysmith Black Mambazo, formed by Joseph Shabalala in 1960, sings, among other styles, music in the mbube tradition inclusive of isicathamiya.

Żurawiejka

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Żurawiejka in the Polish Army#

Following the Polish–Soviet War, the couplets quickly gained popularity among cavalry regiments of the Polish Army. Some historians trace back Polish żurawiejkas to the “Uhlan March”, written in 1863, during the January Uprising. Furthermore, during World War I, soldiers of the Polish Legions sang the “Song of Wasowicz’s Squadron”, which described a cavalry charge during the Charge of Rokitna (13 June 1915), led by rotmistrz Zbigniew Dunin-Wasowicz. “Nasz Wąsowicz, chłop morowy, Zbił Moskali w Cucyłowej. Odznaczył się szwadron drugi, Wrażej krwi on przelał strugi.” English translation: “Our Wąsowicz, a great guy, Beat up the Moskals in Cucylowa. Second squadron distinguished itself, By shedding streams of enemy blood” Originally, every uhlan regiment of the Polish Army had its żurawiejka. Later on, the tradition was adopted by regiments of mounted rifles - even though, as one couplet said: “To tell the truth among ourselves - riflemen are not uhlans” (“Prawdę mówiąc między nami – strzelcy nie są ułanami”). Furthermore, there were żurawiejkas of units of infantry, artillery, armored troops, navy and airforce.

ZU on Music Theory Print

Zulu music

Mbube and Isicathamiya#

Żurawiejka

Żurawiejka in the Polish Army#