| dc.description.abstract | The lyre, thum, is the musical instrument par
excellence of the Luo people of Kenya. It is played
at several ritual and social occasions. This thesis,
which is in two parts, is a study of both the music
of the lyre, which is also called thurn, and the . - instrument.
The first part focuses on the instrument,
contextualising it both historically and synchronically.
The history of the lyre outlines its relationship to
the ancient lyres of the Middle East and the
Mediterranean lands. . T:his is followed by a sketch of
the stylistic changes-in its music over the last one
hundred years. The uses and functions of the music
in the society are then examined before describing
the manufacture and tuning of the instrument. This
part ends with a study of the musiciaq's determination, 't
inauguration, and vocational practice of composition
and performance of h1~ music, as well as his social
status.
The second part focuses on the three elements of
the music: song text, vocal line, and instrumental
accompaniment. The song texts are classified into
praise son~and threnodies and analysed with respect
to their contents and poetic forms. The vocal lines
are analyzed to show their formal, as well as their
tonal and rhythmic structure'. The study ends with
the analyses of instrumental technique and ostinato
accompaniments and a comparison of the characteristic .
of these accompaniments to those of the songs they
accompany. | en |
