A lively and valuable gift for the season and an exciting way to end a year whose flame was somewhat alleviated by a protracted pandemic, a blast of folk songs. 2020 is significant because it marks 50 years since such a gift illuminated the nation of Guyana in 1970. Therefore, it is very fitting to celebrate the golden anniversary of recording a collection of Guyanese memorable folk songs, the groundbreaking LP. ‘Bamboo Fire and Other Guyana Folk Songs’ by Emmel Singers. Fifty years later, it is appropriate to pay tribute to this recording, to those who made it, and to remember it as a gem of Guyanese folk music.
The nation prides itself on its vast and deep treasury of folk songs that are continually kept alive through diverse stage performances, continuous play on the radio stations, and most importantly, in the memory of its people. The popularity of these songs helps and many are favorites that have an impact on national awareness.
That’s why there have been so many attempts, so many projects, so many strategies, including efforts at the national job level, to protect this music. Folk songs are entertaining, but because they are steeped in cultural tradition and have evolved along with human society and social organization, they tend to play significant roles in communities. They are means of social control, guardians of morality, sources of wisdom, expressions of culture, and narratives of human practice and behavior.
Guyana can remember landmarks over many decades in efforts to protect, preserve and promote folk music. Not all of them were official. Notable in the impact they have had are the performances of the Police Male Choir, who are outstanding in their contribution to Guyanese folk music. More recently were the efforts of the Korokwa folk-song group, founded and directed by Deryck Bernard. This group was formed out of the Woodside Choir with a particular dedication to folk songs. Its name, Korokwa, is taken from an Amerindian word meaning “to remember”, which reflects the aim of preserving the folk songs in memory. Korokwa recorded a collection of the songs at Kross Kolor studios, and for many years was the leading performing group in this genre.
Also of major importance was the publication of Lynette Dolphin’s compilation by the Department of Culture, 100 Folk Songs of Guyana in 1996. This was an invaluable landmark because he recorded these songs in print, praising them for eternity in an effective fashion. The book was considered an invaluable national publication and was reprinted by the Caribbean Press in the Guyana Classics Series.
However, one of the most outstanding events in the history of these determined efforts in documentation was the recording of the LP ‘Fire Bamboo and Other Guyanese Folk Songs’ by Emmel Singers. The former Director of Culture focused on that development in the following words: “In 1970 the Ministry of Education surprised itself when it caused it to produce a local LP of folk songs. Fifty years later we continue to be very proud of that musical tribute ”and proposed a“ track study of the group of singers of that LP entitled Emmel Singers. ”At that time, making such a recording was an achievement, an ambitious and innovative project. Given the local time and conditions, its removal was in fact an extraordinary feat, a groundbreaking event and indeed a source of great pride. The singers involved were all student teachers at the government’s Multilateral Teacher Training Center in Georgetown. A group of 22 made the recording. At least two were already accomplished musicians – lead vocalist Hilton Hemerding, known for his popular composition “Beautiful Guyana”, and Marilyn Hunte (now Dewar), a prominent music educator and leading member of the Woodside and Korokwa Choir.
Guyana’s ‘Fire Bamboo and Other Folk Songs’ is a technology product of the age, a Mono record 33 rpm with 11 songs. The Musical Director was Lynette Dolphin with Record Production by Peter Clark. The LP was recorded at Broadcasting House by the Ministry of Education’s Broadcasting for Schools Division and sponsored by the Guyana History and Arts Council. At that time there was a significant rise in literature driven by the strong, dominant sense of nationalism further fueled by political independence in 1966 and Republicanism in 1970. The History and Arts Council had been active, as was the Department of Culture its functions over years later.
The Emmel Singers were: Eileen Baker, Rakiun Baksh, Cheryl Barlowe, Jerry Barry, Juliet Collins, Pamela Croal, Gwendoline Duncan, Alicia Fingal, Colin Grant, June Harris, Joy Harris, Hilton Hemerding, Marilyn Hunte, Leyland Joseph, Charles King, Claude Lee, Zahidali Rohoman, Gloria Semple, Khemraj Sooknaraine, Victorian Tello, Joyce Watson, and Ashley Woolford.
The best narrative of how it started and who was involved comes from those who were there at the time. Famous Guyanese writers Arthur Seymour and Frank Pilgrim wrote the background notes for the album.
“The trainee teachers were instructed by Lynette Dolphin, the Visiting Tutor for Music, who also made the musical arrangements. Hemerding was a soloist and First Guitar, with Hunte’s Second Guitar [Marilyn Dewar], bongos by Khemraj Sooknaraine and double bass by Maurice Watson, a professional Police Band musician. Cover was designed by Jasper Jacobs.
“Guyana folk songs have a rich history as they are based on people’s daily lives. They talk about the men who work in the woods cutting down trees, and the ‘pork knickers’ who paddle their boats far inside to look for gold and diamonds. They talk about the farmers tending crops in the rural areas, the people who live on the plantations, and the peasants who have settled in the towns. They tell us about the innocence of children’s games and the witchcraft of the Obeah man. They talk about people in times of sadness like waking up a funeral, or at times of joy like Queh-Queh ceremonies before the wedding. They tell us about growing up and aging, pride and fear, love and hate. In short, the folk songs tell us about life.
“The songs in this collection are the result of a folklore research project carried out in 1970 by student teachers at the Government Secondary Teacher Training Center (Multilateral Schools) in Georgetown.”
Dewar provided an up-to-date account of where members of the Emmel Singers can be found today. According to her, most of them are now living abroad, most in the USA: Baker, Barry, Croal, Duncan, Grant, Joy Harris, Hemerding, Joseph, Semple, Sooknaraine and Watson. She still lives in Guyana, along with June Harris, Dewar, Lee and Tello. We do not know where Baksh, Collins, and Rohoman are, while Barlowe, King and Woolford are dead.
It is interesting to read the notes on the folk songs that were performed for the recording as well. The selections are: “Bamboo Fire”, “Sitira Gyal”, “Samangereh”, “Aunt Bess”, “Maanin Neighba”, “Me No Dead Again”, “Lily Gal and Carrie”, “Itanami”, “Small Days” . Some of these are among the most popular, and Seymour and Pilgrim offer interpretations to songs that typically lend themselves to ‘Clearly, in some cases, Seymour and Pilgrim seem to has chosen to err on the side of conservative explanations that suit general audiences.
Of all the reports, this was a very successful and hugely popular recording that turned a previously unknown choir of teachers into a household word in Guyana where it was a big hit. Such a recording and its team of creators must not become disabled in the history of folk music production and documentation in Guyana.
It is unknown whether there has been any attempt to transfer the songs from the old 33 rpm wax recordings to something more modern and technologically accessible. That would be a project worth pursuing. It would be a way not only to pay homage to the Emmel Singers but also to protect the music’s purpose and earnings.
‘Guyana’s Bamboo Fire and Other Folk Songs’ needs to be revived and redistributed. Let the jubilee tribute be paid now, the golden anniversary being the impetus for that and for a further effort to preserve and promote Guyanese folk songs.