Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, тАЬthe footprint between Africa and Asia,тАЭ with a history marked by many waves of migration. Over the centuries, a wide range of styles of music, of instruments and of dance have become a part of the islandтАЩs musical palette. Despite this and the resulting diversity of regional musical particularities, musicians claim there is one element they all share: a common rhythmical base.
To explore this claim and the meaning of тАЬrhythmтАЭ in the Malagasy context, Jenny Fuhr makes use of her dual role as musician and researcher. Self-reflexive field research combined with learning to play and perform Malagasy music enables a profound intercultural dialogue. This book shows how her intense involvement in music-making and a constant dialogue between musical experiences and discourses opens up new paths of understanding. In doing so, it challenges prevalent Western analytical perspectives on music and demonstrates the need for a more performance-based approach to ethnomusicology.