Creative Corelli
Embaire Masterclass
Sixth Form students had the opportunity to master the embaire instrument from Uganda with visiting musician Byron Wallen.
The keys are struck at the end with sticks (rather than in the middle like a xylophone) and the performers sit opposite each other and play really fast - you can tell by the rapid movement of the sticks! The students have found it really interesting and love working with Byron.
In Uganda, there are many traditional religious beliefs connected with the embaire. Byron explained to the students that a chicken is sacrificed when the keys are tuned and a goat is sacrificed for every new instrument. Blood from a goat is splashed on the underside of the 15th key and is considered to be the heart of the embaire.
