Reel 2 Real - Ait Hadiddu

Ait Hadiddu field recordings

Morocco reels Six reel to reel tapes of Berber music and soundscapes from the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains, recorded in August 1961 among the Ait Hadiddu people, were purchased by the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1963. The recordings were made by members of the Oxford University Expedition to the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and a related document gives some context and song translations.

The music includes examples of violin and drum playing, men and women singing, and some soundscapes recorded in markets, inside a mosque, and at a Festival at Rich. The collection includes several examples of Berber poets singing love songs, beggars singing for charity in Rabat Market, and poets praising the Prophet and also the King of Morocco (Hassain II).

Field Collections

Sound Galleries

Musical torchlit trails at the Pitt Rivers Museum

On Friday November 23rd 2012, the galleries of the Pitt Rivers Museum were plunged into evening darkness and bathed in Bayaka music and sound from the Central African Republic. Visitors were given torches to explore the galleries that were transformed into a rich forest soundscape with sung fables, snatches of laughter, beautiful variations on harps and flutes, and the stunning polyphonic singing of Bayaka women. Hidden surprises included mini projections from the rainforests and a visualiser designed by Nathaniel Mann, the PRM's Embedded Composer in Residence. The evening was filmed By Mike Day of Intrepid Cinema as part of the Reel to Real project, and complemented the Oxford City-wide Christmas Light Night organised by Oxford Inspires. A four hour playlist of Bayaka music from the PRM's sound collections, originally recorded by Louis Sarno, was curated on the evening by Nathaniel Mann and Dr Noel Lobley. The event was streamed online, and was watched live in the Central African Republic by Louis Sarno and some of the Bayaka community.