Tafese Tesfaye - Elders of the Begena: The Harp of David in Ethiopia -

"The Begena is one of those rare musical instruments of the world that has survived for more than 5800 years. What is fascinating about it is not only its age but the fact that both its manufacture and the purpose for which it is being played have never changed during all these years. It is still made of wood and animal products, such as the intestine of the sheep for the strings, the leather that covers the sound box. It is used for praying, for praising God and for meditation, just as it was in the olden days and it has survived until the present day. During the time of the Derg regime, after the overthrow of the emperor Haile Selassie, it was no longer considered important. As for the Begena, which used to be broadcasted through the radio during the fasting season, all this was stopped. At that time I was a teacher at the music school, the only music school in the country, and because I did not get the necessary support to develop it I had to stop, because I was
About this Item

The item format is a cassette CASS
This specific sale is a new release, shipped direct from the manufacturer
The Artist Name is Tafese Tesfaye,Admassu Fikre,Seyoum Mengistu & Alemu Aga
The Title is Elders of the Begena: The Harp of David in Ethiopia

Condition New

Other Comments
"The Begena is one of those rare musical instruments of the world that has survived for more than 5800 years. What is fascinating about it is not only its age but the fact that both its manufacture and the purpose for which it is being played have never changed during all these years. It is still made of wood and animal products, such as the intestine of the sheep for the strings, the leather that covers the sound box. It is used for praying, for praising God and for meditation, just as it was in the olden days and it has survived until the present day. During the time of the Derg regime, after the overthrow of the emperor Haile Selassie, it was no longer considered important. As for the Begena, which used to be broadcasted through the radio during the fasting season, all this was stopped. At that time I was a teacher at the music school, the only music school in the country, and because I did not get the necessary support to develop it I had to stop, because I was not allowed to teach. And so we could say that it did become a disappearing popular art. But not anymore, especially in the past 15, 16 years it has revived. There are many Begena players, mostly youngsters, of whom I have taught more than 500 students. Still there are some Begena makers, who make the instrument for new students. What is interesting about this instrument is that the music, or the tone that comes out of this instrument, has a special power to make people to concentrate, to keep quiet, to be carried away in thoughts, thinking of what is said. This is a special quality. You don't have to be an Ethiopian, anybody can listen to it, automatically it will make him keep quiet and concentrate." - Alemu Aga (taken from an interview with Pit Budde for WDR Radio, Cologne, 2008)

The Media Condition is New

This is new and unplayed

The Sleeve Condition is New

New unplayed

We Use Stock Images
Because we have over 2 million items for sale we have to use stock images, this listing does not include the actual image of the item for sale. The purchase of this specific item is made with the understanding that the image shown in this listing is a stock image and not the actual item for sale. For example: some of our stock images include stickers, labels, price tags, hyper stickers, obi's, promotional messages, signatures and or writing which may not be available in the actual item.

Unless a new release, cassette tapes are generally very old, a product typically of the 80s.  Tapes can look great, but we cannot guarantee the quality of the sound, speed or any distortions as age and time are not the best friends for tape cassettes.  For this reason, if any of the cassettes are pre-2000 they are sold as/is based on a visual appearance.


The Sleeve
When we describe the sleeve we are describing the printed paper cover or booklet that is included inside the case.  The case is not part of the sleeve.
 

Cassettes Version
Cassettes are released in many editions and variations, such as standard edition, re-issue, demonstration (demo), not for sale, promotional (promo), special edition, limited edition, and many other editions and versions.  The cassettes you receive could be any of these editions or variations. If you are looking for a specific edition or version please contact us to verify what we are selling before you buy it.

This Cassette Inner and Outer Sleeve
For this specific sale, the cassette sleeve condition refers only to the inner paper insert sleeve and does not refer to the outer casing. While we ship all items with some outer casing for this specific sale we are selling only the inner paper sleeve and cassettes only, as specifically outlined in the description of this listing. (we make this disclaimer as some collectors are looking for a specific outer case type). The outer casing is replaceable and has no value and is provided within this sale as packaging only. We make this disclaimer as the outside sleeve casing can be damaged or scratched, and for this reason, the outer casing is not offered as part of this sale as the Buyer can easily replace the outer casings for the inner sleeve and cassettes.
 

Gift Ideas
This is a great gift idea.

Hours of Service
We have many warehouses, some of the warehouses process orders seven days a week, but the Administration Support Staff are located at a head office location, outside of the warehouses, and typically work only Monday to Friday.

Location ID 659z

iHaveit SKU ID 1353305537

Unique Reference Number 2793938215