#Aseda News Today | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

comfortfoodaustralia · 3 years ago

Text

Authentic Jollof Rice and Egusi with Pounded Yam in Perth

There is nothing similar to one African cuisine. You will find assortments, all things considered. The individual district has its specificities, and this incredibly rich variety makes African cooking interesting from one region to another. Yet, today you will find Egusi with pounded yam in Australia as well.

For instance, in West African flavors will quite often be new and strong. The dried fish, matured beans, and shrimp, all add layers of umami greatness when combined with new ingredients in the stews and sauces.

The cuisine changes even within countries. Each culture has a different cuisine. Yet, with regards to the more extensive pieces of Africa there are still huge loads of shared characteristics, because of the environment and social powers. Northern areas like Tunisia, Morocco, or Algeria will generally have couscous-based food varieties and use seasonings like cinnamon or cumin. Eastern regions like Ethiopia would use grains like teff and flavor combination like berbere, among others. Have authentic Jollof rice in Perth.

In West Africa, suppers will likewise vary from one country to another. In Nigeria, food varieties things are normally presented with cassava or yam dumplings (called fufu). Ghanaians would utilize aged corn wastes (known as kenkey). In Senegal, they would pick split rice or millet couscous. While in Mali or Guinea, the fonio grain is the ruler.

Southern pieces of Africa have their interpretations of dumplings - likewise generally corn-based - yet infrequently they're cooked with a grain named millet. Going up the Southern shore, countries like Angola or Mozambique have more fish in their staple eating regimen and use toppings, flavors like Piri to put hotness to marinades and dressings.

African cuisine has been evolving from home cooking - where suppers are the medium that gets relative and buddies around a bowl - to a 21st-century method by youthful culinarians who've worked in fine dining eateries in places like New York or Paris. The new time of cooks is getting in recent fads and plan parts that are adjusted to customary passages.

All things considered, this change isn't totally new. It's an ongoing cycle that has crossed over the time of many years. For instance, during Colonialism, different areas of the continent had been put out to European societies - predominantly English, French, or Portuguese - that has prompted culinary exchanges. Different societies have likewise moved to Africa and brought their cooking. Attempt the plantain dishes or authentic Jollof rice in Perth with soup or stews at Aseda Jeegs soon.

#Egusi with pounded yam #authentic Jollof rice in Perth

1 note · View note

choralmusicghana · 6 years ago

Text

Harmonious Chorale wins Gold at World Choir Games!

On the 10 of June this year at the “Heaven” concert, it was announced that Harmonious Chorale was chosen to represent Ghana at the World Choir Games in South Africa. This year’s contest is titled “Tshwane 2018”. Harmonious Chorale is the first Ghanaian choir to be invited to the competition.

The idea to create an event like the World Choir Games is based on the Olympic ideals, which aims to peacefully unify people and nations connected by song in a fair competition. This idea is supposed to inspire people to experience the power of interaction by singing together.

The World Choir Games (formerly Choir Olympics) is the largest choral event organised by INTERKULTUR Foundation, a German based organization that promotes art and culture. The first competition was held in Linz, Austria in the year 2000, from the 7th to the 16th of July.

Since it is a biennial competition, this year’s is the 10th World Choir Games. It is being held for the first time in Africa. The event began on the 4th of July with an opening ceremony, but the contest proper began on the 5th with over 300 choirs from about 50 countries participating. The competition is divided into two parts: the Open Competition and the Champions competition, each having different competitive categories.

Harmonious Chorale took part in the Open Competition and participating in 3 categories which are the Mixed Choirs, Musica Sacra with Accompaniment and the Scenic Folklore categories. For the Mixed Choirs category, they sang “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” arranged by J. Rosamond Johnson, “Mema m’aniso” by George Mensah Essilfie, “La Nuit” by Jean Phillipe Rameau and “Aseda Nka Nyame” by James Varrick Armaah. For the Musica Sacra with Accompaniment, they sang “Cantique de Jean Racine” by Gabriel Faure, “Abofo rekyin” by Newlove Annan, “This is the Day” by John Rutter and “Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts” by Henry Purcell. Lastly, for the Scenic Folklore category, they performed some traditional pieces like “Yaa Amponsah” arranged by George Mensah Essilfie, “Every body bring your calabash” which was also arranged by George Mensah Essilfie and “Oye” by James Varrick Armaah.

Harmonious Chorale performed remarkably in the part one of the Open Competition, which has officially ended. They won three gold medals (awarded based on accumulated points) - one each for the “Musica Sacra with Accompaniment” category (O16) as Level IV winners with 23.74 points, “Mixed Choirs” category (O9) where they were Level I winners with 20.73 points and the “Scenic Folklore” category (O27) of which they were the overall winners with 22.80 points.

We asked the Director of Harmonious Chorale, James Varrick Armaah, how he felt about their success and the reception of Ghanaian choral music at the event. He said, “I believe the choir has worked so hard to attain this feat. Passion, interest, love for perfection and advancement of Ghanaian Choral music has brought us thus far”. He also said that people at the event are eagerly waiting to hear more from Ghana and this is proof that Ghana has something to show to the world. Speaking to Kennedy Dankwa, bass soloist and Head of Choral Management of the choir and a member of the World Youth Choir, he asserted that he felt very happy and excited for Ghana and that Ghanaian music was received and embraced by all the people as they really loved it.

Harmonious Chorale signed up for the Part one of the Open Competition and therefore will not be staying throughout the event.

We enquired from the Public Relations and Publicity Director of Harmonious Chorale, Emmanuel Osae-Nyarko, about some comments and reactions of other people at the event. He told the Choral Music Ghana crew that, people were surprised about the ability of a Ghanaian choir to switch from traditional music to classical music. Feedback from a South African couple who said “From today, our perception of Ghana has changed” was very humbling.

We also asked him what his participation in the contest meant to him personally. He highlighted two contrasting reactions. First, the quality of the event and attention to detail, time consciousness and the fraternizing with like-minded people with similar interests were very memorable. In his words, “It will take years for this to wear off.”

He however had concerns about his country’s ability to host such an event. In a moment of self-assessment, he reckoned that Ghana may not be ready to pull off “even 10% of what would be required to host the event.” From issues with transportation, availability of theatres and concert halls, the continuous supply of electricity and accommodation of over ten thousand singers in one city, in one location, the resources needed to host an edition of the World Choir Games require more than we can manage at the moment.

“We as a people need to rise up and see that developing the Human Potential is the greatest asset we have got and stop the over reliance on Natural Resources”, he added.

We also spoke to the Principal Organist of Harmonious Chorale, Augustine Kweku Sobeng. He expressed how grateful he is to God for an opportunity such as this. He said, “It is awesome that in such a little time, we were able to put together all the acts and musical details for this competition.”

He stated that they met great choirs who had awesomeness up their sleeves and that they have learnt so much from them. “We are grateful to have won a gold diploma in all categories in which we participated and the overall best in scenic folklore”.

Talking about people’s feelings towards Ghanaian music, he added, “Ghanaian music was in stride at this INTERKULTUR event in Pretoria. We, and our songs were really mostly all over the place. We made so many friends and admirers and we appreciated and loved other cultures as well.

One question remained unanswered: why Harmonious Chorale did not participate in the “Champions Competition”. On this, we found out that the champions competition is closed to new entrants, and comes with an extensive list of requirements for qualification. Some of these include;

International competitive experience and a proven level of achievement or proof of comparable artistic level,

Being listed among the top 500 of the MUSICA MUNDI World Ranking List which is available at interkultur.com,

Having won a Gold medal at World Choir Games since 2013,

Reception of a recommendation diploma for the Champions Competition in a previous INTERKULTUR event,

This suggests to us that, since Harmonious Chorale has won more than one gold medal, they may be eligible to partake in the Champions Competition in the next World Choir Games.

This year’s event is expected to end in a week's time, on the 14th of July.

2 notes · View notes