Rwanda's Voice: An Ethnomusicological Biography of Jean-Paul Samputu

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dc.contributor.advisorWitzleben, John L.en_US
dc.contributor.authorSwanson, Brenten_US
dc.contributor.departmentMusicen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2015-02-07T06:31:42Z
dc.date.available2015-02-07T06:31:42Z
dc.date.issued2014en_US
dc.description.abstractRwandan international recording artist Jean-Paul Samputu is one of few musicians from Rwanda who have gained international acclaim. In this dissertation, I will delineate how his life and works serve as a reflection of and a mediator for Rwandan identity, as well as East/Central African popular music identity. Specifically, I will use elements of his biography to situate him in these contexts, and will analyze his works via timbral analysis, transcription, and studio production techniques to demonstrate how his music reflects the aforementioned identities. Mr. Samputu's life and music reflect the complicated narrative(s) of Rwandan identity. He was born in Rwanda, but fled to Uganda just before the 1994 genocide; speaks about forgiveness (a central focus of the RPF's--Rwandan Patriotic Front--Commission for Unity and Reconciliation) around the world; sings in Kinyarwanda, French, English, Luganda, Lingala, and Kiswahili; wrote pro-RPF songs in the early 1990s and still supports current government in various functions within the country and abroad; and performs and records all styles of Rwandan traditional and popular music, as well as many popular and traditional styles found in East/Central Africa. He is one of the key figures in the Rwandan music scene, as he performs regularly there and serves as a mentor for up-and-coming Rwandan popular and traditional musicians.en_US
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.13016/M2DW57
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/16258
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledMusicen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledAfrican studiesen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledAfrican historyen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledChristianityen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledGenocideen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledMusicen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledPeacekeepingen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledReconciliationen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledRwandaen_US
dc.titleRwanda's Voice: An Ethnomusicological Biography of Jean-Paul Samputuen_US
dc.typeDissertationen_US

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