Orun seco and Orun Cantado

 

The music of the batá drums consists of rhythmic figures called toques. Each toque is an overlaying of the parts played on the six skins of the conjunto. In its basic form, a toque is presented as a short, cyclically repeated sequence.

 

The orun seco, played at the start of the Toque de santo, is the most fascinating part of the batá repertoire. It is a long instrumental suite in which toques dedicated to twenty-four different orichas are played. One or more toques are associated with each oricha. The succession of the orichas follows strict religious rules, while the length of each toque can vary. It is up to the iyá player, the instrument that leads the ensemble, to decide when to move from one toque to the next.

 

The first video shows an orun seco played during a ceremony held in Havana on 29 June 2011, of which the toques dedicated to the first four orichas are presented: Eleguá, Ogun, Ochosi and Obaloke. Each oricha is associated with a variable number of toques, identified by names in the Lucumí language. Three toques are played for Eleguá, called Latopa, Bobo Araye and Abukenke; one toque for Ogun and Obaloke, while that for Ochosi, called Agueré, is divided into seven sections.

 

In the central parts of the ceremony, known as orun cantado, drums accompany the singing. Dozens of songs in Lucumi are handed down for each divinity. These are usually short and arranged into cycles dedicated to the same oricha.

 

The awpon, the master of ceremonies, must select the songs to be sung, considering both the religious aspects (like the content of the lyric or the part of the ritual), and the musical ones. The songs that accompany the more excited toques are usually proposed at the end of a cycle.

 

The length of a song cycle may vary according to the participants’ reactions and the effects it has on those showing signs of possession. The awpon, as master of ceremonies, is free to alter the length of the song cycle, lengthening the songs if required or introducing new ones.

 

The songs dedicated to the orichas have a responsorial form, with the alternation of solo voice and choir. The choral parts are usually fixed and known by heart by the believers taking part in the ceremonies, while the novices learn to sing them by imitation. The soloist, however, enjoys a certain freedom of improvisation. Starting from known melodies and lyrics, the awpon proposes rhythmic and melodic variations that allow him to assert a personal style. The lyrics can also be varied; for example, the songs intended for a male oricha are often preceded by or interspersed with the invocation babá (father), while those for a female divinity contain the invocation iyá (mother).

 

The second video presents some examples of songs sung during an orun cantado, dedicated to the orichas Eleguá, Babalu Aye and Orula. The lyric in Lucumi, the transcription of the choral part on the score and the melodic outline of the awpon’s intonation are given for each song.