Venancio Mbande

Timbila is the orchestral xylophone music of the Chopi people of southern Mozambique. An ensemble of differently sized wooden xylophones with gourd resonators performs multi-movement suites that combine instrumental interlocking patterns with choral singing and dance. The music is distinguished by its bright, buzzing timbre (created by mirliton membranes on the resonators), tightly woven ostinatos, and rich polyrhythms in a lilting 12/8 feel. Compositions are often topical poems—praising leaders, commemorating events, or offering social commentary—set to intricate, cyclic grooves.