| Awakening Spaces: |
||
Awakening Spaces: French Caribbean Popular Songs, Music, and Culture. By Brenda F. Berrian. Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology series. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Pp. xiv + 287. Index, maps, photographs, discography. $40.00/£28.00 Cloth, $16.00/£11.50 paper. In this recent volume from the Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology series, Brenda Berrian provides an insightful analysis of the ways in which popular musics---specifically, but not exclusively, zouk---prove to be vital resources for people of the French Caribbean region. Not an ethnomusicologist by training (she tells the reader this up front), Berrian approaches the music in large part through the lyrics by weaving her interpretations in with those of the musicians and fans she has interviewed. Berrian's multiple visits to and extended residence in parts of the Caribbean have given her a perspective on the social functions of zouk and other musics that enriches her literary analysis of the lyrical themes and topics found in these musics. The "spaces" of the book's title refers to what Berrian calls "seven spaces of empowerment and identity" found in Martinican and Guadeloupean popular songs. The drive behind Berrian's research into these spaces was her interest in the relative accessibility of song lyrics to the general public in comparison to literary texts; in effect, she wondered why lyrics spoke more clearly to or meant more to the populations of the French Caribbean. The seven spaces that Berrian identifies as integral to the roles of popular song lyrics are childhood and exile, gender, cultural politics, Creole language, public performance, recontextualization, and the deferential space for the drum. These spaces, she maintains, are sites for dialogue, contest, and communication; due to the omnipresence of music in the French Caribbean in homes, markets, taxis, schools, and numerous other social realms, these awakening spaces are constantly available to people. Berrian dedicates one chapter to each space, providing numerous examples to illustrate her interpretations and develop the theoretical framework. The structure of the book leads to engaged reading. Berrian opens each chapter with a fieldwork vignette, providing a solid grounding in her daily movement through social life and popular musics of the French Caribbean. These reflective introductions frame the awakening space at the core of each chapter, setting the stage for Berrian's investigation of song lyrics based on ethnographic and textual material. Her extensive interviews with musicians from Martinique and Guadeloupe, in conjunction with the historical narratives of the popular music scenes there that she unfolds, serve as backgrounds for her critical reading of the song lyrics. Rather than simply interpreting lyrics without reference to social realities or the political and economic environments of the musics, Berrian soundly contextualizes her analyses and provides a valuable study overall. Despite her initial tenuousness about the project---feeling that lack of ethnomusicological training would prevent her from tackling the topic "correctly"---Berrian succeeds in many regards in her project. Anyone interested in the Caribbean as a musical and social region will find the book enjoyable and useful. Written from the point of view of a fan and a scholar, Awakening Spaces vibrantly illustrates the attraction Caribbean musics hold for so many people the world over. John Fenn |
