Radio Africa

African classics
Reviews of classic African recordings
 

Orchestre Régional de Mopti

 

Mopti, the "Venice of Mali", is situated on the Niger river, near the town of Djenné with its famous mosque and archaeological sites. As a regional capital, Mopti maintained its own state-funded orchestra, and at Mali's national arts festivals the Orchestre Régional de Mopti performed against other regional orchestras in competition. Mali's arts festivals were held in Bamako from 1962 until 1988, when internal unrest and budgetary constraints forced their closure. In 2001 they were resurrected and are now held every two years. The Orchestre Régional de Mopti produced two recordings - a 10" disc of four tracks released through the national radio station and one album through the Bärenreiter-Musicaphon label in circa 1970. Some of the orchestra's members, however, also performed in Kanaga de Mopti, a non-governemt sponsored group, who released a LP on the  Mali Kunkan label (see links to Malian vinyl discography and Mali Kunkan discography below). An orchestra of 14 musicians, the Orchestre Régional de Mopti personified the cultural policies of the era by adapting traditional melodies and songs (such as the epic "Taara") into a modern performance context (electric instrumentation, brass section, etc). The Bärenreiter-Musicaphon recordings of Mali's music in the early 1970s totalled over 15 albums, most of which have been unavailable for many years and are now highly sought after. Definite candidates for re-release.

→ More African classics
 

Kanté Manfila & Salif Keita "Dans l'authenticité vol 1"	Les Ambassadeurs du Motel
Kanté Manfila & Salif Keita "Dans l'authenticité vol 2"	Doura Barry "Laureat de Guinea"
L'arbre éternel - Syliphone LP 28	Djali Madi Tounkara and The Rail Band
Guinée an XII - Syliphone LP 21	Keletigui et ses Tambourinis - Syliphone LP 30
Orchestre Régional de Kayes	Mamadi Diabaté et Les Ambassadeurs
Victoire à la Révolution - Syliphone LP 29	Souleymané Traoré dit Neba Solo
Orchestre Régional de Mopti	Rail Band "Soundiata"
Teningnini Damba	A Search for the Roots of the Blues vols 1 & 2
Ernesto Djedje "Le roi du ziglibithy"	L'Orchestre National "A" de la République du Mali
Ami Koita "Pour le collectionneur vol 3"	Kanaga de Mopti

→ Discographies

by record label -   • Syliphone     • Club Voltaïque du Disque     • Tempo International     • Mali Kunkan     • Société Ivoirienne du Disque     • Safie Deen      • Volta Discobel     • N'Dardisc     • L.G.V.D.     • Music Hall 

by group -             • Bembeya Jazz     • Les Ambassadeurs     • Rail Band     • Salif Keita     • Keletigui et ses Tambourinis

by nation -            • Guinea Bissau     • Mali     • Guinea     • Mauritania     • The Gambia     • Burkina Faso     • Senegal - coming soon

other -                   • Guinean orchestras of the 1st republic      • Malian orchestras 1960-1980      • Rail Band & Les Ambassadeurs family tree

Go to the Radio Africa homepage