{"id":46871,"date":"2024-08-23T12:08:34","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T10:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3e87ea78-1c1b-4dab-9e87-d6551aad26a6"},"modified":"2024-08-23T13:07:15","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T11:07:15","slug":"african-classical-music-nine-great-works-by-african-composers-that-you-should-hear","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/african-classical-music-nine-great-works-by-african-composers-that-you-should-hear\/","title":{"rendered":"African classical music: nine great works by African composers that you should hear"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Friday, 23 August 2024 at 10:08 AM<\/p>

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Having grown up in Romania to a Romanian mother and Nigerian father, I was always familiar with the music of Romania, but knew very little about African classical music.<\/p>

Encouraged by my then musical partner Julian Lloyd Webber, who was convinced that I might find a rich heritage there, I set about researching. And what riches I discovered.<\/p>

The best pieces of African classical music<\/h2>

Christian Onyeji: Ufie, Igbo Dance<\/strong><\/h3>
My paternal grandfather was an Oja master player (Oja is an Igbo flute) and was often invited to perform at traditional ceremonies. Most African composers are inspired by the sounds of traditional African instruments when writing new works. Nigerian Igbo composer Christian Onyeji<\/strong> wrote Ufie, Igbo dance<\/em><\/strong> for piano, drawing inspiration from the Ufie percussion ensembles in the Anambra part of Igbo land of Eastern Nigeria.<\/p>
Ten of the best concertos for unusual instruments<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
Ufie is also the name of the percussion instrument, the wooden slit Ufie drum, performed only by the men who have achieved respectable status in society. Onyeji’s piece is full of Igbo rhythms and melodies which encourage both the performer and the audience to dance.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-jh-kwabena-nketia-volta-fantasy\"><strong>JH Kwabena Nketia: Volta Fantasy<\/strong><\/h3><p>African Pianism refers to a piano style that expresses certain features of African traditional music. It’s a style that has been adopted by many African composers including <strong>Professor Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia<\/strong>, a composer and ethnomusicologist from Ghana. Kwabena Nketia was one of the most significant musicians to compose and write on African musical aesthetics, emphasising that ‘the music of Africa, like its language, is ethnic-bound. Each society practices its own variant.’<\/p><p><strong><em>Volta Fantasy<\/em><\/strong>, from his <em>African Pianism: Twelve Pedagogical Pieces,<\/em> is a beautiful piano piece inspired by the Volta river, the largest river in Ghana and the source of the country’s hydroelectric power. Nketia uses materials characteristic of the music of the communities that live in the area.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Echezonachukwu Nduka - J.H. Kwabena Nketia: Volta Fantasy\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GX_4AIvY6Bk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ayo-bankole-african-suite\"><strong>Ayo Bankole: African Suite<\/strong><\/h3><p><strong>Ayo Bankole<\/strong> was one of Africa’s most prolific composers. Despite his tragic murder at just 41, Bankole was able to leave a notable body of music. This included two piano sonatas, of which <em><strong>The Passion<\/strong><\/em> is particularly impressive, clearly showing his Christian inspiration.<\/p><p>In great contrast in terms of scale and inspiration, are two much lighter suites by Bankole, of which the better known is the <strong><em>African Suite<\/em><\/strong>, dating originally from 1957 and the <strong><em>Nigerian Suite<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p><p><strong><em>V<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>ariations for Little Ayo<\/em><\/strong> was written for the composer\u2019s son, Ayo Jr, now an established composer in his own right. <strong><em>Egun Variations<\/em><\/strong> is inspired by an Egun theme from the Yoruba land, Tona Nowe.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The African Concert Series: Ayo Bankole Piano Sonata no.2 | Rebeca Omordia\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3qtEw4BLJAo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-more-african-classical-music-to-explore\">More African classical music to explore<\/h2><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-david-earl-princess-rainbow\"><strong>David Earl: ‘Princess Rainbow<\/strong>‘<\/h3><p>‘Princess Rainbow’ from <strong><em>Scenes from a South African Childhood<\/em><\/strong> by South African composer <strong>David Earl <\/strong>represents a musical evocation of the composer’s younger years. It recalls an ongoing bedtime story invented by his father, which involved the adventures of a trout which lived in the Eerste River in Stellenbosch. Each of the nine pieces in the cycle opens with the same melodic quotation. <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/five-best-south-african-composers\">South African composers: five of the best<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Born in Stellenbosch, South Africa, David Earl moved to England at 19. He has composed a number of major works, including five operas, eight ballets and three piano concertos, as well as seven other <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-concerto\">concertos<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-group highlight-box is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-groupinner-container\"><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/metropolitan-opera-stages-first-opera-by-a-black-composer\/\"><strong>Metropolitan Opera stages first opera by a black composer<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/best-black-composers-you-should-know-about\/\"><b>The best black composers you should know about<\/b><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-nabil-benabdeljalil-nocturne-no-6\"><strong>Nabil Benabdeljalil: Nocturne No. 6<\/strong><\/h3><p>Leading North African composer <strong>Nabil Benabdeljalil, <\/strong>from Morocco, was trained at the Tchaikovsky Academy of Music in Kiev, while also studying traditional repertoire, including Arabic singing. His six <em>Nocturnes<\/em> for piano represent a wonderful synthesis of his various stylistic approaches, but <strong><em>Nocturne No. 6<\/em><\/strong> is particularly special. <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/nocturne-definition\">What is a nocturne?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Written in 2020 at the end of the first lockdown, it is inspired by the composer’s trip to the rock known as Imsfrane Cathedral, in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. As he describes it himself, ‘In this piece I have tried to express the freedom found within nature, but it is also a spiritual quest, since God is to be found in the most magnificent and legitimate of his temples: Nature!’.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/classical-music-inspired-by-nature-weather-thunderstorms-and-wind\">Classical music inspired by weather, thunderstorms, and the drama of nature<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Concert Arabaesque : Nocturne n\u00b01, NABIL BENABDELJALIL, Piano MAROUAN BENABDELLAH\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yeVJBi1X1wQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-fred-onovwerosuoke-24-studies-in-african-rhythms\"><strong>Fred Onovwerosuoke: 24 Studies in African Rhythms<\/strong><\/h3><p>A student of Kwabena Nketia [whose <em>Volta Fantasy<\/em> features above], <strong>Fred Onovwerosuoke <\/strong>was known to friends simply as FredO. He is now known internationally from his chant \u2018Bolingo’, which was used in the 2006 film<em> The Good Shepherd<\/em>, featuring Robert de Niro.<\/p><p>Born in Ghana to Nigerian parents before settling in the USA, Onovwerosuoke has spent time in over 30 African countries researching and analysing Africa’s rich traditions. His <strong><em>24 Studies in African Rhythms<\/em><\/strong> is arguably the most important work by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/best-black-composers-you-should-know-about\/\"><strong>black African composer<\/strong><\/a> for solo piano to have appeared in recent decades.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Fred Onovwerosuoke - Studies in African Rhythms: #24 Raging River, Rebeca Omordia piano\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v7wkxwb_Iqo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li>Read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/tag\/rebeca-omordia-reviews\/\"><strong>Rebeca Omordia reviews<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"wp-block-group highlight-box is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-groupinner-container\"><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/randall-goosby-the-rising-star-violinist-on-his-hope-to-bring-music-to-a-wider-audience\/\"><b>Randall Goosby: the rising star violinist on his hope to bring music to a wider audience<\/b><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/chineke-orchestra-what-the-bme-ensemble-is-doing-to-shine-a-light-on-the-lack-of-diversity-in-classical-music\/\"><b>Chineke! Orchestra: what the black and ethnically diverse ensemble is doing to shine a light on the lack of diversity in classical music<\/b><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-three-more-pieces-of-african-classical-music-by-great-african-composers\">Three more pieces of African classical music by great African composers<\/h2><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-justinian-tamusuza-mu-kkubo-ery-omusaalaba-on-the-way-of-the-cross\"><strong>Justinian Tamusuza: <em>Mu Kkubo Ery\u2019Omusaalaba (\u2018On the Way of the Cross\u2019)<\/em><\/strong><\/h3><p>Ugandan composer Tamusuza (b. 1951) started out learning traditional music from his native land, and learned to play the endigidi (tube-fiddle). He then studied music in Belfast and America. This globe-trotting musical education can be heard in the cosmopolitan soundworld of Tamusuza\u2019s works, which blend Ugandan musical traditions and Western classical structures. <\/p><p>For an introduction, try the first movement (‘Ekitundu Ekisooda’) of his first string quartet, <em>Mu Kkubo Ery\u2019Omusaalaba (\u2018On the Way of the Cross\u2019<\/em>), below. The ever-adventurous <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/kronos-quartet\">Kronos Quartet<\/a><\/strong> included this movement on their landmark 1992 album <em>Pieces of Africa<\/em>.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"7 Justinian Tamusuza, Kronos Quartet - Ekitundu Ekisooka - Pieces Of Africa\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QSYckNtcSpE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-fela-sowande-african-suite-for-strings\"><strong>Fela Sowande: African Suite for Strings<\/strong><\/h3><p>The Nigerian composer <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/who-was-fela-sowande\">Fela Sowande<\/a><\/strong> (1905-87) composed widely across various forms including songs, organ and choral works and songs, and pieces for both orchestra and solo instrument. His best known work is probably the luminous\u00a0<em>African Suite<\/em>\u00a0(1944), which is a vivid mingling of European and West African musical traditions.<\/p><p>Sowande had strong ties with the UK, moving in London to study engineering in 1936. Music was clearly his first love, though, and he earned money playing the organ in theatres and churches, while also finding the time to set up a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/jazz\/jazz-music-what-it-is-and-how-it-evolved\">jazz<\/a><\/strong> septet. Later, studying at the University of London and Trinity College of Music, his mentors included the composer Edmond Rubbra.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Fela Sowande: African Suite for Strings (1944)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WVGbS21o8qg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stella-rambisai-chiweshe-rwavasekuru\"><strong>Stella Rambisai Chiweshe: ‘Rwavasekuru’<\/strong><\/h3><p>Zimbabwean musician Stella Rambisai Chiweshe (1946-2023) is known as the ‘Queen of the mbira’. The latter is a traditional Zimbabwean instrument that consists of a wooden board fitted with metal tines, and it’s played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines.<\/p><p>Chiweshe became a virtuoso mbira player in her twenties. This was a bold move on two levels: at the time women were not allowed to play the instrument, and moreover the incumbent British colonial regime had put a ban on all Zimbabwean cultural practices, with playing a traditional instrument such as the mbira punishable with a prison sentence. <\/p><p>After Zimbabwe gained its independence, Chiweshe was at the forefront of the growth and spread of a naitnal musical culture. She’s now widely known as \u2018Ambuya Chinyakare’, or ‘Grandmother of Traditional Music’.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stella Rambisai Chiweshe Rwavasekuru\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rPWmWk8uv-I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Friday, 23 August 2024 at 10:08 AM Having grown up in Romania to a Romanian mother and Nigerian father, I was always familiar with the music of Romania, but knew very little about African classical music. Encouraged by my then musical partner Julian Lloyd Webber, who was convinced that I might find a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":46872,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/african-classical-music-nine-great-works-by-african-composers-that-you-should-hear.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/african-classical-music-nine-great-works-by-african-composers-that-you-should-hear-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/african-classical-music-nine-great-works-by-african-composers-that-you-should-hear-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/african-classical-music-nine-great-works-by-african-composers-that-you-should-hear-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/african-classical-music-nine-great-works-by-african-composers-that-you-should-hear-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/african-classical-music-nine-great-works-by-african-composers-that-you-should-hear.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/african-classical-music-nine-great-works-by-african-composers-that-you-should-hear.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Friday, 23 August 2024 at 10:08 AM Having grown up in Romania to a Romanian mother and Nigerian father, I was always familiar with the music of Romania, but knew very little about African classical music. Encouraged by my then musical partner Julian Lloyd Webber, who was convinced that I might find a…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/46871"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}