19/01/2022
Today in Ethiopia Orthodox Christian's celebrate Timket. It is an important holiday in the church calendar and the Orthodox musical traditions of Ethiopia play a big role in these celebrations. Across our country today, huge gatherings are taking place and each involves music.
Ethiopia has an amazing musical history, much of which has survived the test of time. Our musical history includes the work of the monk St. Yared, though his contribution to music has not been proven by history, as is noted in several books that talk about his history. To learn more about this aspect of music history, which is important for any student of music, you can read the following books: Yared and His Compositions by priest Tiume Lisan, Esetu Tirufat Yared by Belay Mekonnen and Bet Yataw Betegna by Yonas Gorfe.
We must remember that our musical diversity in Ethiopia is a beautiful part of who we are. It is not possible to study music and ignore the contribution that all the different musical styles have brought, especially our own traditional music as it is part of being Ethiopian!
Jazzamba friend and board member, Melaku, says it well in this video about his memories of Timket and the current cultural celebrations that Fendika is a part of.
So let us celebrate Timket together!
