Sometime ago I posted an observation To quote parts of what I wrote:
>>>>>As a Goan I have an interesting question related to Music. A few weeks ago, at the end of the Mass, in St Josephs Cathedral. Fr. Denis the Tanzanian Priest said that three musicians would perform. What took me by great surprise was two young Africans, came in front of the altar and both had violins. I was surprised because it occurred to me that I had never seen an African with a violin !. The third person who came to the front was a young lady who sung. The piece they had picked was the *Ava Maria. She had a mike*. Slightly more than 58 years ago Ophelia and myself exchanged vows in St, Joseph. Right in front of the altar. about 70 yards away but raised high up was the piped organ and the choir. The Choir included a few Goans, Swiss nuns Right at the end Elma Cota sang the Ava Maria solo. No mike but her voice filled the huge cathedral. It was a great moment. I cherished it for a long time especially when I was in California. God had really given Elma a very great gift. Sometimes I wondered who trained her to sing. So here I was in St Josephs Cathedral in 2021, listening to the trio. At the end of the Performance, Fr Denis had another big surprise. The young lady was a convert from a Lutheran This was even more surprising because the the Lutherns .. <<<*Hail Mary ! >>>>* *African Choirs in RC Churches* While African used drums and all types of other instruments including the hand held piano, gourds etc. In some parishes they still do so. I am aware that the Arab settlers in Dar had a small building Franco’s Bakery. it was the home of the Arab Musical Society. violinist among them . It was largely a small private and community affair The Quadros and a cluster of Goan Families stayed, all around and a couple even were part of the Goan Orchestra. An author from a consortium of South African Universities wrote an Article about research work done on different woods from Africa to produce violins. The tone was different etc etc This was new for me and it simulated a number of questions . To begin with the Violin was a South Italian creation and for a long time remained in the doldrums. So how did the Portuguese and Spanish get it So as a Tanzanian Goan I asked myself....where do the Goans get their violins. I suppose the first ones came from Portugal but subsequently were they made in Goa. Another big surprise awaited me ...I was reading *conVersation* research findings from a consortium of Universities from the Republic of South Africa Stellenbosch Martina Meincken Associate Professor, Stellenbosch University, enlightened me to a whole new world of *tonewoods, etc etc. Let me quote her*::::: >>>>>>The sound quality of this instrument, named the “African violin”, was then compared to a violin made from traditional wood species by the same luthier, with the same methodology. Both instruments were played by the same player with the same bow>>>>>>. >>>>>The sound quality of the two violins was determined by recording audio frequency spectra – ranges – of various single notes to analyze the discernible overtones. This is a musical tone which is a part of the harmonic series above a fundamental note. A good sound quality generally consists of many harmonics at higher frequencies. >>>>>> *Violins can Be Expensive * *The Messiah Stradivarius *is valued a whopping* ($20,000,000) yes* Twenty Million Messiah Stradivarius crafted in 1716 by Antonio Stradivarius and it remained in his shop after his death death in 1737. It was not used much so it is relatively in a new condition. The violin is on display at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, UK Who were the manufacturers of the hundreds of violins that came to Goa …..that was my question. Can any diaspora Goans help ….Its a big research topic …imagine if we compiled a list of all the RABAKS in every big town in Goa …then Go to Karachi and Dar es Salaam, Mombasa and who Knows one of these Canadian Goans is sitting in an heirloom Grandolfo In Makongo Juu ...plenty of loudspeakers even on Bajajs ....a single violinist might change the mood Grandolfo. . Grandolfo PS: The violin has its roots in Italy around the 16th Century ......How did it get into Portugal and Spain. Do we have to thank SFX ???