Mbira Korositina, by Chartwell Dutiro and Mike Parnell

Mbira Korositina

by Chartwell Dutiro and Mike Parnell

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A unique Mbira/Concertina collaboration between the late Chartwell Dutiro and Mike Parnell.

Four star reviews ****

'Dutiro and Parnell's Mbira Korositina is a very impressive fusion album of seemingly improbable sounds.' Songlines

'Together they interweave Shona vocal harmonies as well as instrumental strands, and it is a sympathetic and spirit-lifting combination. Highly recommended.' Folkroots

Also featured on BBC Radio 3 and 6music (Tom Ravenscroft no less!)

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
The CD includes extensive sleeve notes, unique artwork, an 8 page booklet including track information and translation of the Shona lyrics.
All shrink wrapped to maintain its pristine condition!

Includes unlimited streaming of Mbira Korositina via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.	Jairosi 06:31	lyrics	buy track
Jairosi, ziromo rinenge piki yedu yemanyowa – Joyce, your mouth is like a pick we use to dig compost Jairosi, chenjera zirume rako rinoruta ndakariona richichachura rongo renyama kwaambuya - Joyce, be careful with that husband of yours, he is a meat lover, I saw him take meat from the pot in your mother in law’s kitchen. Chikende, sadza wadya here iwe nemusoro wembe – have you eaten sadza with the head of a mouse? (to do the dance Chikende you need to have all the energy you can, so eat well!) Sadza raambuya kungbvirodya pasi pendiro pane madziwa – when you eat sadza from your grandmother, just eat it, it doesn’t matter is there is a bit of snot under the plate. (respect what your elders provide and be tolerant and not critical)
2.	Chemutengure 05:14	lyrics	buy track
Tinotamba nemombe – they play around with the cattle Chave Chemitengure Vhiri Rengoro – the wheels go round and round Mukadzi Wemuchairi HaaShaye dovi Anotora Girizi woitawo dovi – the wives of the wagon drivers don’t have a problem with peanut butter, they can just use the grease on the wheels
3.	Tobin's 06:46	lyrics	buy track
Inga mahure marema, ane pfumvu nemari – I see that the prostitutes are fools, they get into danger with money Kunyenga hure chigumbu – to court a prostitute is a scandal/disappointment Kunyenga mahure chigumbu Kumarondera chigumbu – In Marondera there are stumbling blocks/scandals Hiya here ndoenda netsoka – going to Tsoka by foot Nndoende Harare – going to Harare on foot
4.	Samandoza 06:27	lyrics	buy track
Ndakanyadziswa – I have been ashamed Kufa nenyasha – To die with mercy Kwa muTambara – this happens at Tambara Samandoz Iwe – You Mr Mandoza
5.	Makaranga 05:50	lyrics	buy track
Makarange woye makaranga hiye makarange – Karanga people, you Karanga people Kune nyimo hakuna mandere – Where we come from we have black eyed peas not the edible beetle Kwedu – where we come from Dzwi tswi, ha hiye hiye chimbere dzapinda – we let the old women go through
6.	Ngororombe 06:49	lyrics	buy track
Vanofa vachizvarwa vamwe – some die some are born Hurombo hunonuhwa – being poor stinks
7.	Kaswera Munzira 04:53	lyrics	buy track
Kaswere Munzira, une vana une vana iwe – Kaswere Munzira, you have children, take care of them
8.	Muchinanga 06:14	lyrics	buy track
Bhi muchinanga, bhi muchinanga, rire rire muchinanga – Gazing directly and hearing the beautiful call of the bird Ndakaona hwata richifamba dzu tarire mukaranga – I could see the upright graceful walk of the secretary bird Ndakati ndaona mukaranga dzu tarire mukaranga – I thought I had found a wife

about

The creation of this album wove together many different tales; of the mbira and the concertina, of the individual musicians and the paths that led them to work together, of colonization and resistance in different countries far apart.

In a Zimbabwe colonised by white settlers a Shona woman is captivated by the music of a concertina, she leaves her arranged marriage and starts a family with the musician, despite the disapproval of her mother and the severe consequences that may and do follow. This story is heard by her young nephew who is learning mbira and who thinks, ‘What is this sound that can have such a powerful effect on a person?’
In an Ireland barely free of colonial rule and still scarred by civil war, a young girl is fascinated by a travelling musician who comes round every year, playing pipes as he walks through the countryside and an accordion in town. She follows him and copies his tunes on a battered harmonica, later playing them for kitchen set dances. Her son hears these and starts copying them in turn, eventually being given a concertina by his uncle. Many years later his own interest in mbira music leads him to find a teacher, who already has a powerful connection with the concertina. The idea of a collaboration is born.
The mbira, an instrument honed by centuries of tradition, an integral part of the music, beliefs and identity of a people; hand made by craftsmen. The concertina, invented by a scientist and then mass produced in millions by the late nineteenth century. How do these stories merge? In England the concertina is taken up by traditional musicians playing for dances, spreading to Ireland, then stretching out to the corners of the British Empire, finding its way to Australia, the Americas, Egypt, and South Africa. It is taken up by missionaries, light, portable and capable of playing chords and tunes to hymns. And so it spreads into Zimbabwe at the end of the 1800’s. But just as everywhere else musically minded locals find it can be adapted to their own styles of music. You can still hear a few rare recordings of these Zimbabwean pioneers. But then the concertina’s day is over and its sound is replaced in turn, in South Africa by saxophone, in Zimbabwe by the electric guitar innovators of the 1960’s and beyond.
So the concertina meets the mbira and so the concertina player meets the mbira player and the challenge is to do justice to the music and to those now long gone Zimbabwean concertina players.

credits

released December 12, 2014

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about

Chartwell Dutiro and Mike Parnell UK

Dr Chartwell Dutiro was a musician, singer, songwriter, composer and teacher. Born and raised in Zimbabwe he lived in the UK when these recordings were made. He sadly passed away in 2019 leaving a huge musical legacy.

Mike Parnell started learning concertina and mandolin back in the 1970’s, then playing in assorted bands. He has travelled to Zimbabwe to learn mbira numerous times.
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