Listening to "The Rough Guide to the Music of Madagascar".
Rich and delicious; an entire meal for the ears and the spirit. Fortunately the music slips into the ear easier than that dried-out title.
This actually is an academic overview of music found across the island -- a volume in the "Rough Guide" series. But, don't be thinking that the music is dry and academic. Oh, no.
The music is undoubtedly African and you will be tapping on everything that is handy, but this anthology is full of widely and even wildly different flavors. Some light and feathery, some as intricate and patterned as Chopin or Joplin and some as haunting as a solo fiddle on an Appalachian porch.
Thoroughly delightful and worth a listen.
