Audio samples: mixed choir (Eskesta Ensemble).
Old Skool is rooted in the alphabet of the Amharic and Tigrinya languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It relies on a simple repetitive tune, taught in elementary schools to help the children memorise the letters.
For this piece, eleven soloists from “Eskesta ensemble” were recorded singing that tune. Each of them interpreted it the way they remember it, starting from any pitch that comes to them.
This tune is interspersed with snapshots of free, associative improvisation on the letters, for which the soloists used their voice and bodies. The passion, humour, rhythms and musical gestures bursting out of these recordings cascade out of the collage.
—
“Eskesta” is a dance ensemble, comprised of Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia