Baka Beyond Music Workshop

SATURDAY 3RD OCTOBER · 11AM–1PM · THE SOUTHCLIFF HOTEL BALLROOM

Su Harts (lead singer in Afro Celtic band Baka Beyond and community choir leader in Bath) runs singing workshops which are inspired by many visits to the Baka Rainforest People in Cameroon since 1992.

The Baka are thought to be the first humans to sing. The Baka women’s rainforest singing style, an interlocking yodel, can be heard throughout their forests of Central Africa. It is the most ancient of singing, developed to enchant the forest animals ensuring luck in the hunt, to navigate the forests, to help heal illness and argument, and to soothe loss or a crying baby. Music and song are absolutely central to the Baka, living and interpreting a world made up of only natural sounds. Their song is a beautiful interlocking of voices, and to try to learn it is to learn a new technique of sound sharing – it is accessible, rhythmic and fun, for singers and for anyone who thinks they are not a singer.

After many years of visits, Su was initiated by the Baka women and given permission to share this singing beyond the forest. Royalties go back to them for projects in the forest through the charity Global Music Exchange. See globalmusicexchange.org.