Other audio resources and teaching packs
A nearly complete index of my Uganda field recordings can be found at the British Library Sound Archive. Search under keywords such as Cooke, Uganda. Copies of recordings are also conserved at the Dept. of Celtic and Scottish Studies (University of Edinburgh), in the Archives of Traditional Music (Bloomington, Indiana) and at Makerere University Library, Uganda.
Archive favourites Listen to two fairly recent recordings:-
No. 1. Too Paco (War brings death).
Recorded by Peter Cooke in 2005 during fieldwork near Kampala. A song lamenting the war in the north, performed by Constantine Odida and Alex Nyeko with Paul Okello and Alex Obito with their Okeme (lamellaphones) and included (like the item that follows) on the CD Watmon Cultural Troupe - Acholi music for Okeme Nanga and Adungu available for purchase or download from the amadinda website.
No. 2. Awobe pa Watmon (The Watmon boys).
A modern style boasting song accompanied by adungu (harps): recorded on the same occasion. The Watmon Cultural Troupe are an enterprising group of Acholi 'internally displaced persons' who left their homes in the far north of Uganda to seek safety in the suburbs of Kampala during the war between Kony's Lord's Resistance Army and the Uganda government. For further information visit the following page on the Amadinda website.
Cassettes, CDs and teaching packs.
The following were produced partly for use within Uganda, and are the result of collaborative work with Ugandans.
Ssempeke! In 1988, the versatile Albert Ssempeke took advantage of Edinburgh University's recording facilities (including multi-tracking) to recreate Buganda's former royal court music. Available on custom CD. Click here to download texts and translations for these recordings.Musilit Concert, 1987. A selection of traditional songs, dances and modern hymns and carols from Kitabi parish, Nkore, western Uganda. Kitabi was the home of Benedicto Mubangizi, folklorist, composer and teacher and the founding of the Musilit organisation (including a choir and traditional performing arts troupe) was just one of his many distinguished achievements. Available on custom CD or Cassette.
Watmon Cultural Troupe - Acholi music for Okeme Nanga Adungu. CDWM001 Stereo.2005. A fine selection of songs by the instrumentalists of the Watmon group.
Play Amadinda. A manual for playing traditional xylophone songs of the Ganda people. 30-page booklet and cassette. Albert Ssempeke contributed much to this production. Revised 2006. Available with CD or Cassette.
Teach Yourself The Budongo. Traditional Ugandan music for budongo (lamellaphone) arranged and edited by Christopher Kizza and Peter Cooke. A booklet providing step-by-step instructions in the mastery of four budongo songs together with a selection of field recordings featuring this uniquely African instrument. Revised 2006. Available with CD or Cassette.
The audio items can be obtained direct from me, or via the amadinda website.