Masks of All Kinds

I just had to show one more set of photos from the Masks of the Congo exhibit at the Musical Instrument Museum.  The masks above are made from wood and fiber.

The one to left is another made of wood and fiber but this one has pigment added to add color.  It also has a bird perching on its crown.

This one made me smile.  I love it.

I found this one to be most interesting.  In essence it's a fertility mask depicting not only the head but the torso of a female.  Here is how it was described:
"It was part of a complex set of ritual steps involving the participation of a large group of assistants who cleansed and fed women suffering from infertility problems, accompanied by their partners and the mask character.  At the end of ritual, the mask handed the women twigs representing babies; these were kept under their beds at night."  Fascinating.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm visiting some ancient ruins.

Beauty of the instrument

Taking a break from the Masks of the Congo, I thought I'd tell you a little about the Musical Instrument Museum.  First of all, it's huge.  I never made it to the second floor on this last visit, I got too fascinated with the masks and the unique displays on the ground floor.  In this room, they had a display of creative instruments that were unusual or beautifully designed.

That "Octobasse" in the center of the room was huge.  It's described as a  bowed lute and is a 2007 reproduction of an instrument from 1850.

Above is a group of instruments going for beauty as well as beautiful sound.  There is a Mandolinetto from 1920, Mark VI Tenor Saxophone from 1970, Concert Zither from 1908 and a "Tar" or plucked lute from the 19th Century.

When you visit the museum, you are given a headset and each display contains a video screen and when you step within range, you are able to hear the sound that goes with the video display.  That was especially wonderful in the Masks of the Congo exhibit.  I could actually see the masked dancers and hear the music being played.

Masks and Costumes

There were some very elaborate costumes on display in the exhibit of Masks and Music from the Congo at the Musical Instrument Museum.  I found this group of costumes especially interesting.  Some are made from cloth and rope while others from shells and bones.

Many of the masks are made from gourds and trimmed with dried grasses.  They were carved and shaped into all kinds of expressions.

I'm glad I went to see this fascinating exhibit.

Masks and Music from the Congo

Last Saturday I went to the Musical Instrument Museum to see a special exhibit they have showing a variety of masks and musical instruments of the various regions of the Congo.

It was a beautiful exhibit with lots of videos and audio to go with the different tribal areas.

As you can see, along with the masks and instruments, there were also full costumes worn for the masquerades.

Masquerades take place in different parts of the Congo for a variety of reasons.  Anything from simple entertainment, demonstrations of power to connections with the spirit world.

It was a fascinating exhibit.  I'll show you a few more photos tomorrow.

Dvorak & Vivaldi

On Saturday evening, I went to the Musical Instrument Museum's concert hall to see the Chamber group of the Phoenix Symphony perform.  It was my first time to see a performance in this space and I was impressed.  It is a small theater with an excellent line of vision down to the stage.

The chamber group performed Dvorak's Serenade in E Major for the first half and a favorite of mine, Vivaldi's Four Seasons in the second half.  The soloist is Steven Moeckel who is the concert master for the Phoenix Symphony and who has performed as a soloist around the world.  I met Steven several weeks ago after a symphony performance through my good friend David and Saturday evening I got to meet his parents who were visiting Phoenix to see him perform.  Steven is a superb performer and an all-around nice guy.  I feel privileged to know him.  Oh, and the performance of The Four Seasons was nothing short of spectacular.

A Musical World

One more shot from the Musical Instrument Museum.  This marble floor sits at the foot of a spiral staircase leading to the second floor of the museum.  I love inlaid map of the world in different shades of marble.

Blogger Problem:  It appears that there is another problem with blogger.  I am unable to post comments on many of my reader's sites.  I checked Blogger Support and it's a known problem they are working on.  Sorry for the lack of comments.

Marching Band

In one section of the Musical Instrument Museum is a display of instruments used in marching bands.  To help set the tone for the display, they had two band uniforms on display.  When I saw this one, I knew I had two take this photo especially for Jack (Hartford Daily Photo).  Have a great weekend everyone.

Prodigy

Another activity from my weekend with my friend was a trip to the Musical Instrument Museum.  As we stepped off of the escalator on the second floor, we could hear a wonderful piano concerto wafting up to our level.  We peeked over the railing and saw this very young musician skillfully playing what sounded to me like a complex piece.

In this close up you can see the blur of her hands as they raced across the keyboard.  What talent in one so young.  And, she wasn’t being paid to entertain.  She was just another guest of the museum who sat down at the piano in the lobby that is there for anyone to play. 

Quiet

One more set of photos from the Musical Instrument Museum.  The museum is arranged on two floors with a theatre, café, and special interactive displays on the ground floor and the main displays arranged by continent on the second floor.  The top photo is of the hallway on the second floor which leads to the display rooms.  I thought it was very sleek and since I was there right at opening, I could snap a photo before it filled with people.  And it did fill with people very quickly.

The photo to the left was taken in one of the special rooms on the lower level.  The display was about the diversity of the guitar throughout the world.

MIM

Yesterday I visited the new Musical Instrument Museum for the very first time.  I must admit, I wasn’t expecting what I found.  First of all, the museum is huge.  When I left the house I expected to be gone for no more than three hours.  I spent five hours there and could have stayed all day.  It was an amazing experience.

Every country in the world is represented and the majority have video screens showing the instruments on display being played in their native environment.  Visitors wear ear phones and magically the audio changes as you move from display to display.