Showing Archived Posts

Noura Mint Seymali Makes Mauritanian Music International

Posted November 19th, 2013 at 4:24 pm (UTC-4)
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On September 29th 2013, Noura Mint Seymali — a leading female vocalist and ardine player from Mauritania — came to VOA to record a session with me on Music Time in Africa.  Noura was on tour in the U.S. promoting her latest CD Azawan II, a cutting edge, traditional electro-fusion style of Mauritanian music.   […]

The Music of Mauritania, Part Two.

Posted June 25th, 2008 at 12:06 am (UTC-4)
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Over the last five decades the Islamic Republic of Mauritania has gone through profound climatic and demographic changes. In 1960, when Mauritania won her independence from France, over 60% of all Mauritanians were nomads, and the capital city of Nouakchott was home to only 500 persons. (The first president of Mauritania, Moktar ould Daddah, initially […]

The music of Mauritania, Part One.

Posted January 23rd, 2008 at 12:12 am (UTC-4)
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The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is where West Africa and the Maghreb meet- a huge, sparsely populated, country-stretching between Morocco and Senegal, Mali and the Atlantic ocean. The country’s name comes from its dominant ethnic group, the Moors (Maures in French), and it is their nomadic traditions and culture that give Mauritania its unique character. […]

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About

Heather Maxwell produces and hosts the award-winning radio program “Music Time in Africa” and is the African Music Editor for the Voice of America. Heather is an ethnomusicologist with Doctorate and Master’s degrees from Indiana University specializing in African Music. She is also an accomplished jazz and Afrojazz/Afrosoul vocalist and has been working, researching, and performing in Africa and the U.S. since 1987.

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