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| The Soul of Mbira cover by Donald Leake and Robert L. Heimall Nonesuch Explorer Series, H-72054 Nonesuch Records, New York, 1973 |
Scholarly level musical recordings are not the type of records you would expect to show up at thrift stores. Half the records however, I own from labels such as the Nonesuch Explorer Series and the Ethnic Folkways Library, I have found for less than a dollar at thrift stores. The recordings on these records are not hard to come by, the Nonesuch records are mostly reissued on CD format while the Folkways recordings can be ordered as a download or as a CD from the Smithsonian Institute. The original vinyl copies is a different story though as you would pay a minimum of $25 on line for a used copy, if available at all. I'm excited when I find a record such as this The Soul of Mbira for 99 cents but I get a little sad too thinking who it could have belonged to. I imagine that records such as The Soul of Mbira belonged to people who were serious about the music they bought, I imagine that they were once part of a serious collection. The Soul of Mbira was published almost forty years ago and I wonder about the fate of the original owner. Did he (or she) pass away? Did their children come in the house after this happened and just picked up these "worthless, obsolete" vinyl records to drop them off at the nearest thrift store? If that's the case I think the previous owner will be pleased that his/her precious item found a home that truly appreciates all the aspects surrounding the album. Nyamoropa Yevana Vava Muchonga by Muchatera Mujuru was my favorite track when I first listened to the album back in 1991 when I borrowed it from the library, and now 20 years later it still is. With the purchase of the album I learn that Nyamoropa, according to Paul Berliner, is played on "one of the few remaining varieties of an older style 25-key Mbira Dza Vadaimu, having the lowest and most traditional tunings".
The Soul of Mbira: Traditions of the Shona People of Rhodesia was first released in 1973, when it was issued on CD in 2002, the title changed to reflect a new political name for Rhodesia: Zimbabwe: The Soul of Mbira, Traditions of the Shona People.
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