Commonwealth Connections

The Hon. Dolores Balderamos Garcia is a politician, lawyer and broadcaster. The only woman of the 31 members of Belize's House of Representatives, she is particularly interested in improving the rights of women and children and in supporting those living with HIV and AIDS . Before she became so involved in politics she hosted her own jazz show on the radio and owns an enormous jazz collection of well over 1,000 CDs. Here, she chooses the music of the Lord Rhaburn Combo to express her deep love of the close-knit communities of Belize and to give us a sense of the Belizean zest for life.

Within these small Islands, steelpan orchestras are an integral part of daily life. The Pamberi pan yard on the outskirts of Port of Spain is a meeting place for the whole community whether they turn up to play cards, have a sociable drink together or learn many artforms from painting to dance to music. For the young people in the steelpan orchestra, this is a passion and the way they choose to spend several evenings of their week and although they play all kinds of music it is still their native Calypso which gathers the largest crowd wherever they go.

Kala Ramnath is one of the leading Hindustani musicians of her generation. Born into a dynasty of violin players who championed the instrument in Indian classical music in the 20th century, Kala has developed the instrument still further with a mixture of traditional and improvisational repertoire. In her home in Mumbai, Kala demonstrates just how closely the violin is modelled on the human voice.

Measuring eight square miles with a total coastline of eighteen and a half miles and a population of just over nine thousand, the Pacific island of Nauru is arguably the least populous actual sovereign country in the world, although officially the Vatican State and then Monaco occupy the first and second spots. Situated in Micronesia, Nauru lies 2,800 miles north east of Australia, and used to be called Pleasant Island before independence in 1968. Itte Detenamo is a super heavyweight lifter, and his chosen music is of Nauruan songs composed by Baron Waqa, a songwriter who is currently the nation's President.

Seven kilometres from the world heritage site of Victoria Falls, in the Southern Province lies the rural Mukuni village, the main village of the Mukuni Chiefdom. It was founded in the 13th century by the Leya Tribal Matriarch and is today presided over by both a male and female leader. The Leya people keep alive their heritage in simple surroundings with dancing, singing and drumming for particular occasions and to communicate certain messages. The women of the village perform for us a traditional brewing dance complete with 12ft long poles for crushing grain while elsewhere in the village, the highly polished senior students at the secondary school in Mukuni village embrace the new modern Zambia with traditional, spiritual and rousingly patriotic songs.

Saxophonist Manu Dibango brought the sound of Cameroon to the world but also brought a bit of the world back into Cameroon, creating a glorious fusion of African Funk and Jazz. Weightlifter Vanatius Njuh is going for Gold in the 69 kilo class at the Commonwealth Games and through a computer at his training camp in Cameroon he's been talking about his hopes for the competition and how music fits into it.

Kiribati is an archipelago of 33 islands in the central Pacific, with a population of just one hundred thousand people across more than a million square miles of Ocean. Formerly the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati gained independence from the UK in 1979, and has participated in the Commonwealth Games since 1998. Weightlifter David Katoata became the first person from the country to formally qualify for the Olympics, and came 17th in London two years ago. His favourite Kiribati group is called Ruff Dogs with their song Salute.

On a rooftop beside Gulshan lake, above the bells of tuk tuks and sounds of the call to prayer, a group of musicians have gathered in the late afternoon in Dhaka. Baby Dewan sings Bhatiyali songs of the lonely boatmen who ply the waters here for a living and Baul musician Rob Fakir shares the mystical music and philosophy of one of the legendary Bauls of Bangladesh, Lalon Shah.

Writer and poet Philip Nanton chooses Credentials by Shake Keane, the well-known Vincentian jazz musician and poet, and explains how the story Shake tells encapsulates for him certain key aspects of life in St Vincent and the Grenadines, including migration and the welcome awaiting those who choose to return.

In the midst of the Seychelles Carnival, Latroupe Nasyonal Sesel, a ceilidh-style band of seven players and several young dancers are preparing their traditional music and dances for the celebrations. The music and dances of this Creole culture grew from the European traditional dances such as Quadrille and Waltz but the Seychelles people have made it their own with African rhythms and movements and a real love and joie-de-vivre of their Islands. Singer-songwriter Jean-Marc Volcy shares this passion for their fragile heritage and works to keep it alive in his own contemporary songs.

Formerly known as the Ellice Islands, Tuvalu is a Pacific island nation situated between Hawaii and Australia. Its population of just 11,200 means it the third-least populous sovereign state in the world. Tuvalu first took part in the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and since then has steadily increased its participation. But Tuvalu weightlifter Lapua Lapua isn't just an Olympian - he's a bit of a singer and guitarist too, and gave us a taste of the Pacific. The song is "Toku nukupele funafuti" by Tamaika Kofe.

Singapore is home to a very senior group of 'waijiang' musicians originating from Chaozhou in southern China. Their waijiang style of playing was popular in pre-cultural revolutionary China but is now extinct on the mainland. Yet in their small shop house in the Geylang neighbourhood these senior gentlemen still take pride in performing pieces such as 'Little Peach Red' and 'Pipa verse'. Not far away in Chinatown a group of young students from the Siong Leng Musical Association practice Nanyin or 'southern pipes music' - the traditional wooden flute and voice reminisce wistfully of home.

In the capital of Malaysia's southernmost state of Johor, traditional Malay Ghazal and Zapin dance music is popular despite the country's race to modernity. We hear from On Jaafar and Shafie Bin Ahmad how Zapin music and dance arrived with the Arab Missionaries and that the tradition of Ghazal came from Persia; graduating from royal palace performances to the local community.

Mozambique is something of an anomaly in terms of Commonwealth membership. It only became a member in 1995 and was never under British control. Instead the country was ruled by Portugal from 1505 until independence in 1975. As a result Portuguese remains the official language and strong ties remain between Mozambique and Portugal. Swimmer Jessica Teixeira Vieira is part of that story, having been raised on the island and has chosen to represent them at events such as the Olympics. Her chosen piece of music is a Marrabenta a musical form typical of Mozambique, and the song is A Nkama wa hi Siya sung by Mingas.

Athlete Jason Rogers (100m), living and training in Canada, chooses an example of the soca music so popular back home in the Caribbean islands of St Kitts and Nevis. Unstoppable Force by King Konris is deeply rooted in that country and speaks of the pride, dedication and energy of the people, something Jason finds inspiring as he looks forward to representing St Kitts and Nevis at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Across the source of the Nile at Jinja and eastwards towards the Kenyan border lies the remote and rural Bigwala Village. The last surviving musicians of the Royal courts are the Akadinda players, playing a giant wooden xylophone built across a pit in the ground. This impromptu concert at the village also features a rare opportunity to hear the gourd trumpets of Busoga, who have been named by UNESCO on the list of Important Cultural Heritages in need of urgent safeguarding. Meanwhile and by contrast in the leafy campus of Kyambogo University in Kampala, we meet one of the two Ennanga (Bow harp) players of Buganda.

In Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, Vesak celebrations are underway for the birth and enlightenment of Lord Buddha. The streets are thronged with families and traffic all heading to the town centre, colourful lanterns are lit and the sounds of music and prayer from the Gangaramaya Temple can be heard from nearby Beira Lake. Temple musicians play Thammetama and Davula drums and the Horenava as they call people to prayer. Outside the city centre Mr TS Murugesh is continuing the Tamil tradition of folk songs, he sings a story of rural love and hopes more will be done to promote this Sri Lankan musical style.

Jeffry Feeger, Papua New Guinea's leading visual artist, chooses the song West Papua by George Telek to express the deep-rooted Melanesian heritage his people share with those across the border in the west.

Writer and academic David Dabydeen is currently Guyana's ambassador to China. His Heritage Track is 'Not a Blade of Grass' by Dave Martins and the Tradewinds. For David the song prompts thoughts of Guyana's evolving relationship with Britain since independence in 1966, and of the opportunity for the Guyanese to renew their self-image and own their heritage.

Whiri Tu Aka are a 5-piece all-female Maori a capella group founded by producer/vocalist Mina Ripa. Best known for her work in the field of electronica and dance music, this project was inspired by the birth of Mina's son to create music using only 'the power of the voice'. We hear a performance by the band recorded at a special event on Waitangi Day (February 6th) at a waterfront concert in Wellington. On this day in 1840 the country's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed granting Maori people ownership of their lands and properties giving them the same rights as British subjects. The programme also features a unique collaboration with members of Whiri Tu Aka and Horomona Horo a practitioner of 'taonga puoro', the collective term given to a wide array of Maori instruments, recorded on the shores of Titahi Bay, Porirua in the North Island of New Zealand.