Two Traditional Renditions of "The Manificat" & Three Gospelized Examples Of The Song "My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about the Christian prayer/hymn "The Magnificat" ("Song Of Mary").

This post also presents two "traditional" and three gospelized renditions of that hymn.

"Gospelized hymns" ("gospelized Spirituals", "gospelized songs") are terms that I coined for religious songs that are performed in an African American gospel style. An example showcased in this post expands that definition by presenting a hymn that is performed in a Yoruba (Nigeria) gospel style.

Two of these gospelized renditions are entitled "My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord" and are performed by O'Lander Draper & The Associates and O' Lander Draper's Associates.

The third rendition is performed by the Daystar Healing Streams of God Choir (Nigeria) and is titled "Messiah" (although its lyrics are the same as "My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord").

Lyrics for "My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord" are included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composer of this hymn and thanks to all of the choirs for their musical legacy. Special thanks to O'Lander Draper for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "MY SOUL DOTH MAGNIFY THE LORD"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnificat
"The Magnificat (Latin: [My soul] magnifies [the Lord]) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary, and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos... It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical services of the Catholic Church (at vespers) and of the Eastern Orthodox churches (at the morning services).[1] It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn.[2][3] Its name comes from the incipit of the Latin version of the canticle's text.

The text of the canticle is taken directly from the Gospel of Luke (1:46–55) where it is spoken by Mary upon the occasion of her Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth.[2] In the narrative, after Mary greets Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist, the latter moves within Elizabeth's womb. Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith (using words partially reflected in the Hail Mary), and Mary responds with what is now known as the Magnificat.

Within the whole of Christianity, the Magnificat is most frequently recited within the Liturgy of the Hours. In Western Christianity, the Magnificat is most often sung or recited during the main evening prayer service: Vespers in the Catholic and Lutheran churches, and Evening Prayer (or Evensong) in Anglicanism. In Eastern Christianity, the Magnificat is usually sung at Sunday Matins. Among Protestant groups, the Magnificat may also be sung during worship services, especially in the Advent season during which these verses are traditionally read."...
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That Wikipedia page includes the Latin and Anglican translations of "The Magnificat".

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LYRICS: MY SOUL DOTH MAGNIFY THE LORD
(O'Lander Draper And The Associates)

Chorus:

My soul doth magnify the Lord
My soul doth magnify the Lord
(Repeat)

For he has done so many wonderful
and marvelous things
He reached down and saved me and
He changed my name.

Chorus:

My soul doth magnify the Lord
My soul doth magnify the Lord

Do do do do a-do do

Well well well well well well well well well well

Do-well do-well do-well do-well a woo-woo

My soul doth magnify the Lord

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
My soul doth magnify the Lord
Thank You Jesus! Thank You Jesus!
My soul doth magnify the Lord

Source: https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/O-Landa-Draper-And-The-Associates/My-Soul-Doth-Magnify-the-Lord

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLES:
"Standard" Renditions Of "The Magnificat" ("The Song Of Mary")
Example #1: Magnificat (Song of Mary)



Orlando Deanery Choirs, Published on Jun 11, 2013

Magnificat, (Latin: [My soul] magnifies), also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary. Its name comes from the first word of the Latin version of the canticle's text. Arranged by David Hogan and commissioned for the Festival of Evensong of Thanksgiving at Washington National Cathedral.

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Example #2: 'Mary's Magnificat' | The Choir of St Paul's



The CatholicTV Network, Published on Dec 18, 2014

The Choir of St Paul's Harvard Square performs 'Mary's Magnificat' (Andrew Carter) at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

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Renditions by "O'Lander Draper & The Associates and O'Lander Draper's Associates
Example #1: My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord - O'Landa Draper & The Associates



Pannellctp Traditional Gospel Music, Published on Oct 7, 2012

WOW Gospel 2000: 16 Top Videos (VHS) Release Date: 2/24/2004

More than a dozen inspirational songs are featured in this installment of the WOW music-video series. WOW Gospel 2000: 16 Top Videos includes "Jesus Is All" by Fred Hammond & Radical for Christ, "Power Belongs to God" by Hezekiah Walker & The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, "Reminding the Saints of the Hope" by Carlton Pearson, and more.
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Google search result:
Artist: O'Landa Draper and the Associates
Album: Live...A Celebration of Praise
Released: 1994
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Here's information about O'Lander Draper from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Landa_Draper
"O'Landa Draper (September 29, 1963 – July 21, 1998)[2] was a Grammy Award-winning Gospel music artist. He was the founder of the Associates Choir and is considered to be one of the top gospel artists of the 1990s. Draper was nominated for the Grammy Award, Stellar Awards and the Dove Award multiple times.
Draper was known for his choir directing style. Songs that were well known by fans of Draper's work were, "My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord", "Lift the Savior Up, "Stand Up", Gotta Feelin'", "He Touched Me", and "Give It Up".[3]"....

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Example #2: My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord (VHS) - O'Landa Draper's Associates,"All About Him (Jesus)"



Pannellctp Traditional Gospel Music, Published on Jun 16, 2012

Kidney failure may have prematurely ended the life of its founder and creative director, O'Landa Draper, at the age of 34, in July 1998, but the Memphis, TN-based gospel group O'Landa Draper & the Associates continues his musical crusade. The group, now directed by Draper's fiancée, Patrina Smith, released a video, All About Him (Jesus), featuring their performance at their annual Music Lover's Conference in 2000.

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Daystar Healing Stream Of God Choir (Rendition Of "My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord" entitled "Messiah", beginning at 3:03 - 9:05 in this video)


Daystar Carol 2011 4



The Psalmist Music, Published on Jan 2, 2014

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Four YouTube Examples Of Yoruba Bolojo Music

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part series on the Yoruba people's Bolojo music & dance. Bolojo music is a form of popular music that developed among the Egbado (Yewa) Yoruba people in the 1970s.

Part II showcases one sound file of Bolojo music by Akinna Vasco Da Gama and one sound file by King Jossy Friday. This post also showcases two videos of Bolojo music by Zeynab.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/06/yoruba-bolojo-music-dance-online.html for Part I of this post. Part I provides a compilation of information about Bolojo music & dance from several online articles and YouTube video discussion threads.

The content of this post is presented for cultural and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the featured artists whose sound files and videos are showcased in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

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DISCLAIMER:
I'm sharing this music to document this information and help spread examples of this music/dance.

I only know about Bolojo music from coming across examples as a result of "YouTube surfing" African music, and then using Google to search for information about that music genre.

Note: The four examples of Bolojo music that are showcased in this series aren't the only examples of Bolojo music on YouTube. However, I've only found a few more examples of that music on that site. Additional information about this information and its recording artists and additional publication of musical examples would be very welcome.

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
These examples are presented in chronological order baded on the examples' publishing date on YouTube, with the oldest dated example given first.

Example #1: Fasco Da Gama - Aiyetoro Social Club



EgbaAlake Uploaded on Jun 24, 2011

bolojo music. Akanni Vasco Da Gama

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Example #2: KING JOSSY FRIDAY - BOLOJO SPECIAL



EgbaAlake Uploaded on Sep 11, 2011

Bolojo music

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Example #3: Zeynab -Mogba Ara Da (Bolojo)



Zeynab Abib Published on Jun 22, 2012

Zeynab performing Pour son Amour (C) 2011 Fekema Prod & Osha Studios

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Example #4: ZEYNAB - BOLOJO "Medley"



Zeynab Abib , Published on Aug 31, 2015

Zeynab performing Bolojo "Medley"
(C) 2015 Fekema Prod

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This concludes Part II of this series.

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Visitor comments are welcome.

Yoruba Gelede Masquerade (information & four video examples)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides information about the Yoruba Gelede masquerade which is performed in Benin, Nigeria, and Togo (West Africa). This post also showcases four videos of this masquerade.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, religious, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in this post. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT GELEDE MASQUERADE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelede
"The Gelede spectacle of the Yoruba is a public display by colorful masks which combines art and ritual dance to amuse, educate and inspire worship.[1] Gelede celebrates “Mothers” (awon iya wa), a group that includes female ancestors and deities as well as the elderly women of the community, and the power and spiritual capacity these women have in society. However, this power may also be destructive and take the form of witchcraft; therefore, Gelede serves the function of appeasing this power, as well.[2]...

Gelede Spectacle

Although Gelede ceremony may be staged at any time of the year (to better the lot of an individual, to cleanse the society of pestilence, to induce rain, to enrich human fertility, to enlist the support of supernatural forces and the "powerful mothers" in wartime, and to honor the dead), the most elaborate performance occurs during the annual festival.

Once the exact dates of the festival are fixed, usually through divination, the Iyalase notifies the head of the community and the important chiefs. Messages then go out to all members of the Gelede society outside the town or working far away to return home for the celebration.

The festival begins with an all-night concert called efe, which features the Efe male mask, who uses satire to entertain and educate. Given the concern of the Gelede society with peace and social stability, it is not surprising that didactic themes recur in efe songs.

After the efe dance, most of the attendees spend the morning sleeping in preparation for the afternoon dance, which takes place in the marketplace and features pairs of male dancers who perform to fast-paced music with a vigorous beat.

The Gelede ceremony involves carefully choreographed dance, singing and music, and especially drumming. The performances are given by men, wearing masks that feature sculpted images of scenes including animals and people or sewing machines and drums. The pairs of men masquerade as women to amuse, please and placate the mothers who are considered very powerful, and who may use their powers for good or destructive purposes. These powers are especially linked to childbirth. The abilities they possess may be activated either consciously or unconsciously.[3]"...

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From http://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2014/08/egbado-yewa-people-artisan-textile.html EGBADO (YEWA) PEOPLE: ARTISAN TEXTILE PROCESSING YORUBA SUB-GROUP KNOWN FOR THEIR MYSTICAL GELEDE MASQUERADE AND SECRET SOCIETY , Wednesday, August 27, 2014
"The Egbado people also now known as Yewa, are amalgamated agriculturalists and artisan textile processing Yoruboid-speaking people that forms a sub-set of the Larger Yoruba ethnic group, inhabiting the eastern area of Ogun West Senatorial District, Ogun State, in south-west Nigeria, West Africa. In 1995, the Egbado people changed their name to the Yewa, which is the name of the River Yewa that passes through their land....

...[Information about Egbado [Yewa] masquerade] Gelede pays homage to the spiritual powers of women, especially elderly women known affectionately as "our mothers," awon iya wa. The powers possessed by such women, comparable to those of the gods, spirits, or ancestors, may be used for the benefit or the destruction of society. When manifesting their destructive dimension such elderly women are termed aje ("witches"). If angered, they can bring down individuals and entire communities...

The Egbado are known for developing a popular style of music, called Bolojo, in the 1970s. Their population level is uncertain, but may be around 500,000.

...The afternoon after Efe night is reserved for the performance of an elaborate series of Gelede maskers whose images and actions embellish and intensify reality to create exaggerated visions of maleness and femaleness and specific social groups and roles. The maskers, all males, impersonate both men and women. The first to appear are the youngest dancers, enthusiastically encouraged by friends and relatives who gather around them as they attempt their first steps to the intricate, changing rhythms of the drummers. Their dance instructors in the Gelede society follow closely, giving advice and encouragement during the performance.

...Located between the Weme River in the Republic of Benin (RPB) and the Ogun River in southwestern Nigeria, western Yoruba-speaking peoples (Ketu, Egbado, Ohori, and Anago) are renowned for an elaborate masked performance tradition known as Gelede. The Ketu-Yoruba people are credited with the invention of Gelede sometime in the latter part of the eighteenth century according to oral traditions throughout the region. A popular Yoruba saying proclaims, oju to ba ri Gelede ti de opin iran ("The eyes that have seen Gelede, have seen the ultimate spectacle!"). Gelede's affective power and impact comes from its multi-media format in which the arts of song, dance, costume and music combine to create moving artistic experiences...

[A description of Gelede mask]Gelede of porcupine, Egbado-Yoruba, Nigeria, 1978. Photo by H.J. Drewal and M.T. Drewal. Submitted by Henry Drewal.
"Animals in other Gelede masks may be used for satiric purposes to criticize antisocial actions or attributes. Porcupines, because of their voracious appetites and slow, sluggish movement, are sometimes a metaphor for gluttonous or selfish persons. A headdress depicting a plump porcupine devouring a corncob conveys its greed and thus warns/reminds the audience about proper social behavior."
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WARNING: The comment section of that informative blog post about the Egbado Yoruba culture contains profanity and sexually explicit spam.
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Additional information about Gelede is found in the video summaries that are found below.

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
These examples are given in chronological order according to their publishing dates on YouTube with the oldest dated example given first.

Example #1: Gelede Preview - www.Alawoye.com



Awo Ifálojú, Uploaded on Mar 4, 2008

This is a short video preview of Gelede festivals held at certain select locations of Yoruba land, this comprises the largest spectacle of Gelede across Yoruba land and Africa, held at the UNESCO Gelede House in northern Rep. of Benin,...

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Example #2: The Oral Heritage of Gelede



UNESCO, Uploaded on Sep 26, 2009

UNESCO: Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity - 2008
URL: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/RL/...
Description: The Gelede is performed by the Yoruba-Nago community that is spread over Benin, Nigeria and Togo. For more than a century, this ceremony has been performed to pay tribute to the primordial mother Iyà Nlà and to the role women play in the process of social organization and development of Yoruba society.
The Gelede takes place every year after the harvests, at important events and during drought or epidemics and is characterized by carved masks, dances and chants, sung in the Yoruba language and retracing the history and myths of the Yoruba-Nago people.

The ceremony usually takes place at night on a public square and the dancers prepare in a nearby house. The singers and the drummers are the first to appear. They are accompanied by an orchestra and followed by the masked dancers wearing splendid costumes. There is a great deal of preparatory craftwork involved, especially mask carving and costume making. The performances convey an oral heritage that blends epic and lyric verses, which employ a good deal of irony and mockery, supported by satirical masks. Figures of animals are often used, such as the serpent, a symbol of power, or the bird, the messenger of the mothers.

The community is divided into groups of men and women led by a male and a female head. It is the only known masked society, which is also governed by women. Although the Gelede has nowadays adapted to a more patriarchal society, the oral heritage and dances can be considered as a testimony of the former matriarchal order.

Technical development is resulting in a gradual loss of traditional know-how, and tourism is jeopardizing the Gelede by turning it into a folklore product. Nevertheless, the Gelede community shows great awareness of the value of their intangible heritage, which is reflected in the efforts put into the preparation work and in the growing number of participants.

Country(ies): Benin; Nigeria; Togo
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This video summary is reformatted to enhance reading clarity.

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Example #3: Behind the mask of a West African tradition



AFP news agency, Uploaded on Oct 30, 2009

For more than 100 years, the Yoruba and Nago peoples of West Africa have performed the gelede, a masked song and dance ceremony recognised by UNESCO as a masterpiece of oral cultural heritage. It's performed to mark major events -- in particular the annual harvest --but also plays an important role in society. Duration: 02:18.

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Example #4: Gelede at SICA 2011



Jelili Atiku, Published on Aug 23, 2012


The poem by M.O. Okogie in 1965, aptly describes GELEDE (or EFE) DANCE.
Okogie writes:

Gelede is another masquerade of repute
Here in the western Coast of the Bight of Benin:
He is grotesque in shape and he is less fleet of foot
He is cumbersome, ugly, and hefty, within.
There he goes in the street and is followed by children:
He is waving on hand his horse tail in response
To the adulations and praises of women
Whom he eyes with his head one way bent in askance.

He is out on the day after his midnight play:
For donations he dances and shakes his jingling feet:
He is bugbear to those at some distance away
Who are not his men but commoners of the street.
There are singers of women and drummers of men
When he dances at night in the Gelede way.
It is good to see him, as dancers were often
Beat the ground to the music and twist in the play.

Note:
The poem was cited in: Taiwo, O. (1965)(Ed), "Collected Poems for Secondary Schools-Book", (Revised Edition), Macmillan Education Limited, London, page 13.

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