Griselda Sanderson

Gnawa is a spiritual, trance-based music of Morocco associated with the Gnawa brotherhoods, a community with roots in sub‑Saharan Africa and Sufi Islam. It centers on a deep, percussive bass lute called the guembri (also known as sintir or hajhuj), the bright metallic clatter of iron castanets (qraqeb/krakebs), unison handclaps, and call‑and‑response vocals. Performances often unfold in an all‑night ritual called a lila (derdeba), where cyclical 6/8 grooves and repetitive chants invite communal participation and induce a trance state. The repertoire invokes saints and ancestral spirits (mluk), moving through color-coded suites and intensifying rhythmic layers. While firmly rooted in West African rhythmic sensibilities, Gnawa also absorbs Maghrebi and Sufi aesthetics, producing a sound that is both devotional and intensely groove‑driven.

Nyckelharpa refers to the Swedish keyed-fiddle tradition centered on the nyckelharpa instrument, a bowed chordophone with wooden keys and a chorus of resonant sympathetic strings. Its timbre is bright, glassy, and bell-like, with a natural shimmer created by the sympathetic strings that ring along with the bowed melody. Historically rooted in Uppland (east-central Sweden), the style features dance-derived forms such as polska, schottis, waltz, and polka. Modern performance often blends traditional dance tunes with newly composed repertoire and baroque/renaissance pieces adapted to the instrument’s chromatic range. The chromatic nyckelharpa (developed in the 20th century) enabled expanded harmony and modulation, making it equally at home in solo settings, small folk ensembles, and cross-genre collaborations.