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Style in modern Nigerian Art music: the pioneering works of Fela Sowande

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2011

'Bode Omojola
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Extract

The Nigerian musical landscape changed significantly following the advent of Christian missionary activity and British colonial administration in the later nineteenth century. New idioms of musical practice which have evolved as a result of this historical process include a new tradition of religious, Christian, music, urban syncretic popular styles, new operatic forms and European-derived art/ classical music. This article focuses on one of these emerging styles, Nigerian art music, as reflected in the life and works of its most notable pioneer, Fela Sowande. After a brief historical background, the article discusses the circumstances of Sowande's life and the beliefs which shaped his composing career and his compositional style. In discussing elements of style in Sowande's works, it examines the nature of the interaction between African and European elements, a stylistic feature which constantly recurs in his works. The article ends by discussing the need to consolidate the growth of this new idiom by putting in place institutional structures within which it can develop.

Résumé

Le paysage musical nigérien a connu des changements considérables sous l'influence de l'activité des missionnaires chrétiens et de l'administration coloniale britannique à la fin du dix-neuvième siècle. Parmi les nouveaux modes d'expression musicale issus de ce processus historique figurent une nouvelle tradition de musique religieuse chrétienne, des styles populaires syncrétiques urbains, de nouvelles formes opératiques et une musique artistique/classique d'influence européenne. Cet article se penche sur l'un de ces styles émergents, la musique artistique nigérienne, à travers la vie et l'œuvre de son pionnier le plus notable, Fela Sowande. Après un exposé sommaire du contexte historique, l'article traite des circonstances de la vie de Sowande et des croyances qui ont façonné sa carrière de compositeur et son style de composition. A travers l'évocation des éléments de style de l'œuvre de Sowande, cet article étudie la nature de l'interaction entre les éléments africains et européens, caractéristique stylistique récurrente de son œuvre. L'article s'achève en débattant de la nécessité de consolider l'essor de ce nouveau mode d'expression par la mise en place de structures institutionnelles propices à son développement.

Type
Writing music, teaching history
Information
Africa , Volume 68 , Issue 4 , October 1998 , pp. 455 - 483
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1998

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