African Musicology: A Bibliographical Guide to Nigerian Art

Music (1927–2009)

Godwin Sadoh

Notes, Volume 66, Number 3, March 2010, pp. 485-502 (Article)

Published by Music Library Association

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/not.0.0299

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 AFRICAN MUSICOLOGY:
A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE TO
NIGERIAN ART MUSIC (1927–2009)
By Godwin Sadoh

The musical landscape in Nigeria consists of a plethora of diverse and

dynamic styles. Conversely, the various social strata are affixed to specific
music genres. The discretion of musical taste in each group is influenced
by socioeconomic and political factors. Thus, we have music popular in
the circles of the rich, poor, elite, Christians, Muslims, as well as diverse
ethnic groups. In the light of these factions, all the musical genres in
Nigeria today can be broadly categorized into four major types—
traditional music, popular dance music, church music, and art music.
For the purpose of clarity, this article is divided into three sections: (1) a
brief introduction to the history of art music in Nigeria; (2) a concise
discussion of three generations of music composition in Nigeria; and
(3) an extensive bibliography of Nigerian art music comprised of arti-
cles, books, and discographic materials. The article is primarily set to
present a list of sources on Nigerian art music, showcasing the depth and
breadth of scholarly activities on this music. As such, this article is not fo-
cused on an overarching historical account of art music in Nigeria; this is
outside the scope of this study. Such comprehensive studies have been
done and can be found in the articles and books listed in the bibliography.
The list below succinctly encapsulates the thrusts of the extensive bibli-
ographies which represent the scholarly contributions on modern
Nigerian art music by various musicologists from Africa, Europe, and
the United States. Most of the Nigerian authors are composers, ethno-
musicologists, performers, and music educators. The research is largely
based on fieldwork, and their personal experiences in composing and
performing this music. The bibliography documents articles, both pub-
lished and unpublished, books, theses, and discographies, as well as
papers presented at international conferences and symposia from 1927
to 2009. The topics cover every area pertinent to the study of art music

Godwin Sadoh is a Nigerian organist-composer and ethnomusicologist with degrees in piano and
organ performance, composition, and ethnomusicology. He is the author of numerous books and essays
on Nigerian music. He has taught at numerous institutions, and is currently professor of music at
Talladega College.

485
486 Notes, March 2010

in Nigeria—piano, organ, chamber, orchestra, vocal solo, choral, percus-

sion, music and culture, music and dance, music and politics, music and
text, music education, analytical and compositional techniques, theory,
history, criticism, sacred and secular music, interculturalism, and com-
poser biographies. The sound recordings of selected works were done by
African, European, and American solo artists and orchestras.

BRIEF HISTORY

Modern art music in Nigeria is rooted in the emergence of the

Christian faith and the established colonial schools dating back to the
mid-nineteenth century.1 It was in these two powerful institutions that
potential Nigerian musicians had their formative tutorship and founda-
tion in Western classical music. Historically, talented Nigerian musicians
were first introduced to European musical instruments such as piano,
organ, violin, flute, guitar, and other orchestra instruments in these two
places. They received formal lessons in theory of music and musical in-
struments at the colonial schools, and from organists and choirmasters
in their local churches where they sang as choristers.2 Some of the tal-
ented Nigerians who came from upper-middle-class or affluent families
received private lessons in their homes either from their school teachers,
church organists, or British colonial administrators who had some train-
ing in Western classical music.
European classical music was also filtered into the Nigerian culture
through the music curricula of institutions of higher learning such as de-
partments of music in universities, colleges of education, and polytech-
nics (community colleges). In these institutions, Nigerian students were
exposed to various aspects of Western classical music—history, theory,
and performance on foreign instruments.3 Concert activities in the “re-
stricted” arenas were comprised mostly of repertoire by Western classical
composers, such as Bach, Handel, Buxtehude, Vivaldi, Mozart, Haydn,
Beethoven, and Britten.4 From the 1970s, concert programs began to in-
corporate works by modern Nigerian composers to the delight of the
local audiences.
Other agents that facilitated the dissemination of Western classical
music in Nigeria were the elite groups, military bands, as well as economic

1. Fela Sowande, “Nigerian Music and Musicians: Then and Now,” Composer 19 (Spring 1966): 25.
2. Godwin Sadoh, Samuel Akpabot: The Odyssey of a Nigerian Composer-Ethnomusicologist (New York:
iUniverse, 2008), 1–2.
3. Godwin Sadoh, The Organ Works of Fela Sowande: Cultural Perspectives (New York: iUniverse, 2007),
7–8.
4. Margaret Peil, Lagos: The City is the People (New York: G. K. Hall; London: Belhaven Press, 1991),
126–27.
African Musicology 487

and political factors. The modern Nigerian elite and the military bands or-
ganized various types of classical concerts featuring both vocal and in-
strumental works at designated venues such as public auditoriums,
churches, university and college campuses, garden parties, and at the
homes of patrons.5 The economic and political factors document the
influx of foreign musical instruments into Nigeria through trade with
the British Empire. Indeed, the economic policies of the colonial admin-
istration encouraged the sales of British goods, including musical instru-
ments, to Nigerians.6 Since this style of music emanated from the
Christian church, the performers and composers were predominantly
Christians.
The activities of elitist organizations such as the Musical Society of
Nigeria (MUSON), the Steve Rhodes Voices, Lazarus Ekwueme Chorale,
Music Circle, Terra Chorale, and the Ile-Ife Choral Society, have con-
tributed immensely to the development and nurturing of art music in
Nigeria. Since their inception, these groups have organized regular con-
certs of both Western and African art music in various parts of the coun-
try, particularly in Lagos, Ibadan, and Abuja. Consequently, the patrons
and audiences of art music in Nigeria have been comprised of selected
segments of the Nigerian populace—affluent, upper-middle-class, well-
educated, students, expatriates, business tycoons, members of the diplo-
matic corps, intellectuals, as well as university and college professors.7
Another positive force toward the dissemination of art music in
Nigeria is the recordings that are played on state and national radio sta-
tions. The program has been a weekly production for short periods over
the years, and the broadcasts are usually aired at off-peak hours between
9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Short biographies of the composers and brief
analysis of their music precedes the playing of the music in order to
serve as background information for the listeners.8 Notable Nigerian
music broadcast commentators are Fela Sowande, Christopher Oyesiku,
Samuel Akpabot, Ayo Bankole, Akin Euba, Kehinde Okusanya, Kayode
Oni, Banke Ademola, Regina Anajemba, and Joy Nwosu Lo-Bamijoko. In
addition to the efforts of Nigerian composers through broadcasting,
modern African composers and scholars began to record and document
indigenous art music on long playing records, compact discs, and video-
tapes beginning in the late twentieth century. Few recordings have been

5. J. H. Kwabena Nketia, The Music of Africa (New York: W. W. Norton, 1974), 14–16.
6. Akin Euba, “Neo-African Art Music and Jazz: Related Paths,” International Jazz Archives Journal 1,
no. 1 (Fall 1993): 4.
7. Afolabi Alaja-Browne, “A History of Intercultural Art Music in Nigeria,” in Intercultural Music I,
edited by Akin Euba and Cynthia Tse Kimberlin, Bayreuth African Studies Series, 29 (Bayreuth, Ger.:
Breitinger, 1995), 80.
8. Godwin Sadoh, Intercultural Dimensions in Ayo Bankole’s Music (New York: iUniverse, 2007), 15.
488 Notes, March 2010

made in Nigeria; most of the recordings are presently done in Europe

and the United States. Three prominent organizations responsible for
these efforts are Iwalewa-Haus, Afrikazentrum der Universität Bayreuth,
Germany; 9 the Centre for Intercultural Music Arts (CIMA), University of
London, England;10 and the Center for Black Music Research (CBMR),
Columbia College Chicago.11

THREE GENERATIONS OF COMPOSERS

In the course of in-depth research on Nigerian art music spanning

over twenty years, the author has been able to identify and codify music
composition in Nigeria into three basic generations: (1) the golden age
of church music; (2) the age of concert music; and (3) the age of atonal-
ity. The periodization is based on the style of music that these musicians
wrote in the epochs, rather than using chronological dates of birth to de-
lineate the eras. By using style for the categorization of the music peri-
ods, progressive development of the works from the simplest entities to
the most complex forms is vividly illuminated.

Golden Age of Church Music

The fledgling “Nigerian composition school” came into being around

1902.12 As would be expected, the first generation of Nigerian composers
(1900–50) was comprised mainly of church organists and choirmasters.
They concentrated on writing exclusively sacred music for worship in the
newly-founded churches. Their compositions include church hymns,
canticles (responsorial prayer songs for soloist and congregation),
chants for singing Psalms, choral anthems, and cantatas. Therefore, their
works represent the first attempts by indigenous Nigerian composers in
writing Western classical music. Most of the music is simple, short, and
tonal. There is a strong imprint of Western classical music in the works
of the first generation of Nigerian composers. The music was written for
Western musical instruments such as piano, harmonium or organ, while
the form, harmony, and style are clearly European. Examples of works in
this category are Thomas Ekundayo Phillips’s Emi Orun Gbadura Wa
(Heavenly Spirit Hear Our Prayer), Versicles and Responses, Venite, Nunc
Dimitis, Te Deum, Magnificat in C, Emi O Gbe Oju Mi s’Oke (I Will Lift My
Eyes to the Hills), for SATB and organ; Three Offertory Sentences, for unison

9. Akin Euba, Modern African Music: A Catalogue of Selected Archival Materials at Iwalewa-Haus, University
of Bayreuth (Bayreuth: Iwalewa-Haus, 1993), 1–3.
10. Robert Mawuena Kwami, “CIMA Archival List,” Intercultural Musicology 4, no. 2 (March 2003): 1–7.
11. http://www.colum.edu/cbmr (accessed 18 November 2009).
12. Afolabi Alaja-Browne, “Ayo Bankole: His Life and Work” (M.A. thesis, University of Pittsburgh,
1981), 4.
African Musicology 489

voices and organ; Ninu Agbala Olorun Wa (In the Courts of Our God), for
unison voices and organ; Choral Suite, for SATB and piano or organ, Ise
Oluwa (The Work of the Lord), for SATB and piano or organ, From Glory to
Glory, for SATB and organ; and Samuel: Judge, Priest, and Prophet, a cantata
for soloists, chorus, and organ.
Nigerian traditional musical instruments were not incorporated into
these compositions during this era because they were prohibited in wor-
ship by the pioneer foreign missionaries.13 In other words, the only in-
struments that early Nigerian composers could write for were European.
Ironically, in spite of the embargo on traditional instruments, it was in
this period that we began to witness musical synthesis of European and
African idioms. The experimental process of conjoining Western ele-
ments with traditional Nigerian music actually began in the early church.
This took the form of employing indigenous languages as texts of songs,
and the use of indigenous songs as melodic themes in the composi-
tions.14 Notable composers from the first generation include Rev. Canon
J. J. Ransome-Kuti, Rev. T. A. Olude, Ayo Bankole’s father T. A. Bankole
(1900–1978), Dayo Dedeke, Akin George, Ikoli Harcourt-Whyte (1905–
1977), Fela Sowande’s father Emmanuel Sowande, Robert Coker,15 and
Thomas King Ekundayo Phillips (1884–1969).16

Age of Concert Music

The second era of music composition in Nigeria took place between

1950 and 1960. The period was represented by Nigeria’s most celebrated
musician, Fela Sowande (1905–1987), who wrote most of his mature
works during this era. Sowande continued to compose sacred music for
divine services in the church, but he also introduced secular works for
performances in public concerts, institutions of higher learning, and
radio stations. To the Nigerian art music repertoire, he introduced solo
art songs with piano or organ accompaniment, concert organ pieces,
chamber music, and orchestra works. Although Thomas Ekundayo

13. Lazarus Ekwueme, “African Music in Christian Liturgy: The Igbo Experiment,” African Music:
Journal of the African Music Society 5, no. 3 (1973–74): 13.
14. Akin Euba, “Yoruba Music in the Church: The Development of a Neo-African Art among the
Yoruba of Nigeria,” in African Musicology: Current Trends: A Festschrift Presented to J. H. Kwabena Nketia, ed.
by Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje and William Grandvil Carter, 2 vols. (Los Angeles: University of California
African Studies Center; Atlanta, GA: Crossroads Press, 1989–92), 2:46–48.
15. Robert Coker was the first Nigerian to receive professional training in music in Great Britain in
1871. He was the first organist and choirmaster at the renowned Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos,
Nigeria, in the late nineteenth century. Coker organized the first choir in this church in 1895. For
further information on Robert Coker, see Godwin Sadoh, “A Centennial Epitome of the Organs at the
Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos, Nigeria,” The Organ 80, no. 320 (May 2002): 27–30.
16. Thomas Ekundayo Phillips was the second Nigerian to receive professional training in music in
Great Britain. He was the organist and master of the music at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos,
1914–62.
490 Notes, March 2010

Phillips claims to have written three short pieces for organ solo, his
organ pieces were improvisations on indigenous themes, and thus there
are no scores or music notation for them. It was Sowande who composed
several large works for organ employing traditional folk songs and in-
digenous church hymn tunes. No other Nigerian composer has written
such a large body of solo pieces for organ as Sowande. Examples of
Sowande’s famous organ pieces are K’a Mura, Obangiji, Kyrie, Jesu
Olugbala, Go Down Moses, Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho, Prayer, and Sacred
Idioms of the Negro.
Prior to this era, musical activities were often confined to the church
during festive occasions such as Christmas and Easter seasons. With the
introduction of secular works, the venue of musical activities shifted
from the church to public auditoriums where secular compositions
could be performed without restrictions. In terms of tonality, Sowande
introduced chromaticism into the musical lexicon of Nigerian composi-
tions. He refused to align himself with the “atonal school” of composers
that was in vogue in Europe and America at the time. He rather chose to
move his Nigerian audience gradually from the tonal convention of the
baroque and classical eras towards romantic chromaticism. Chromatic
passages are more prevalent in his organ works, such as Via Dolorosa and
Bury Me Eas’ or Wes (from Sacred Idioms of the Negro). Sowande left the idea
of atonality to the next generation of Nigerian composers.
The second generation of Nigerian musical expression also ushered in
a new patois of musical integration known as pan-Africanism. Sowande,
unlike his predecessors, went beyond employing Nigerian songs in his
works; rather, he assimilated popular tunes from other African countries
into his compositions. In this process of acculturation, one would hear
indigenous songs from Nigeria and other African societies in his music.
For instance, he employs Ghanaian tunes in his African Suite, for string
orchestra. In addition, the Sowande era introduced the concept of
global interculturalism into Nigerian musical language. We must give
credit to Fela Sowande for being the first Nigerian composer to go so far
as to borrow spiritual tunes from the African American culture. He uses
spirituals in his solo art songs, choral works, as well as organ pieces.
Spiritual themes are incorporated into his Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho for
organ, Go Down Moses for organ, Wheel, Oh Wheel, for unaccompanied
chorus, and Roll De Ol’ Chariot for SATBB and piano.
Age of Atonality

The third generation of modern Nigerian composers began in the

1960s. This group consists of highly talented musicians who studied at
the royal schools of music in London and at American universities. They
African Musicology 491

were musicologists as well as composers. They received intensive training

in European traditions in England, as well as training in ethnomusicol-
ogy in America. Thus, it would be right to characterize these musicians
as composer-ethnomusicologists. From the 1960s, Nigerian-trained com-
posers embarked on intensive research into the traditional music of their
society to construe its component materials, structure, stylistic principles,
tonality, function and meaning in the society, the instrumental resources,
organization of ensembles, rhythmic basis of instrumental music, organi-
zation and techniques of vocal music, melody, and polyphony in vocal as
well as instrumental ensemble, speech and melody, theoretical princi-
ples, and interrelatedness of music and dance. The focal point has been
cultural renaissance and the search for nationalistic identity, that is, how
to make the music sound more Nigerian. In addition to their contribu-
tions to Nigerian art music literature, they are the authors of most of the
articles and books listed in the bibliographies below.
It is also from this period that we witness for the first time composi-
tions involving traditional African and Western musical instruments.
Prior to this era, the music utilized only Western instruments. African in-
struments were not included in the scores of the pioneer composers, but
rather were used for supportive purposes and to create spontaneous im-
provised rhythmic background for vocal songs in live performances.
Therefore, rhythms of traditional musical instruments were not notated,
but were confined to oral conventions. Such instrumental rhythmic pat-
terns were not notated until the era of the composer-ethnomusicologists.17
Invariably, the third generation composers intend to make the music
more appealing to their local audiences. In other words, the indigenous
elements in the music are meant to captivate and endear the larger soci-
ety to the works. Compositions utilizing Nigerian traditional and Western
musical instruments include Samuel Akpabot’s Ofala Festival, a tone
poem for wind orchestra and five African instruments; and Nigeria in
Conflict, a tone poem for wind orchestra and eight African instruments;
Akin Euba’s Chaka, for soloists, chorus, Yoruba chanter, and a mixed en-
semble of African and Western instruments; Bethlehem, an African opera
for soloists, chorus, dancers, rock ensemble, and African instruments; Igi
Nla So, for piano and four Yoruba drums; Joshua Uzoigwe’s Masquerade I
and II, for iyaalu and piano; and his Ritual Procession, for African and
European orchestra.
In terms of tonal organization, this group of Nigerian composers was
tutored in the Western theoretical principles of the early twentieth century
such as the twelve-tone-row method, atonality, dodecaphony, dissonance,

17. Sadoh, Intercultural Dimensions, 14.

492 Notes, March 2010

pandiatonicism, serialism, octatonic scales, and so forth. Suffice it to say

that pioneers of atonal compositions in Nigeria employ the various tonal
schemes in two ways. First, some of the compositions are strictly written
in Western idiom following the styles of Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg,
Anton Webern, Olivier Messiaen, and Igor Stravinsky. Works in this cate-
gory are practically European in conception without any interjection of
African traits. The form, texture, instrumentation, rhythmic organiza-
tion, and tonality are exclusively Western oriented. Compositions in this
category include Ayo Bankole’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in C (“The Passion”),
and Three Toccatas for organ. The second category of twentieth-century
atonal compositions in Nigeria incorporated some indigenous elements.
These compositions are partly Western and partly African. As such, they
are best described as syncretic or intercultural compositions—the amal-
gamation of Nigerian music resources with other world cultures.18
Examples of works in this category using diverse tonal schemes include
Ayo Bankole’s Three Yoruba Songs for baritone and piano; Joshua
Uzoigwe’s Oja for wind quartet; Akin Euba’s Scenes from Traditional Life
for piano, Impressions from an Akwete Cloth for piano, and Saturday Night at
Caban Bamboo for piano; Samuel Akpabot’s Verba Christi, cantata for cho-
rus, orchestra, and soloists; and Godwin Sadoh’s Five African Dances for
organ, Three Dances for piano, Three Sketches on Atonality for piano, Three
Pieces for flute, Illusion for violin and piano, and his Potpouri for trom-
bone, flute, oboe, clarinet, and string quartet. Prominent composers of
atonal music in Nigeria are Samuel Akpabot (1932–2000), Ayo Bankole
(1935–1976), Akin Euba (b. 1935), Joshua Uzoigwe (1946–2005), and
Godwin Sadoh (b. 1965).19

CONCLUSION

According to Kofi Agawu, the emergence of art music in Nigeria is the

African response to the Western classical music imposed during the mis-
sionary era and colonization that lasted almost a century.20 As it turns out
to be, this experience initiated the genesis of modern intercultural musi-
cal practice between the continent of Africa and other foreign cultures.
In this way, art music in Nigeria provides a platform and forum for native

18. Akin Euba, Essays on Music in Africa 2: Intercultural Perspectives, Bayreuth African Studies Series, 16
(Lagos, Nigeria: Elékóto Music Centre; Bayreuth: Iwalewa-Haus, 1989), 115–48.
19. Some other contemporary Nigerian composers whose names and works have not been mentioned
include Adam Fiberesima (b. 1926), Lazarus Ekwueme (b. 1936), Meki Nzewi (b. 1938), Okechuckwu
Ndubuisi (b. 1939), Samuel Ojukwu, Felix Nwuba, Nelson E. Okoli, W. W. C. Echezona, David Okongwu,
and Nwokolobia Agu.
20. Victor Kofi Agawu, Representing African Music: Postcolonial Notes, Queries, Positions (New York:
Routledge, 2003), 16.
African Musicology 493

composers to experiment with the combination of indigenous musical

resources with foreign idioms. Second, the introduction of Western clas-
sical music to Nigeria created a newfound social arena in the form of the
concert hall for musical performance that encourages a contemplative,
unflappable, and “passive” experience from its audience. Rather than
the traditional participatory experience of singing, dancing, hand clap-
ping, or even playing some of the simple musical instruments during
performance, the audience could only smile and applaud at the end of
musical selections. Certainly, this style of music making expands the cul-
tural landscape as well as the process of performance-creativity in twenty-
first-century Nigerian society.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NIGERIAN ART MUSIC

Articles

Adeniyi, Dapo. “A Concert of Praise in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.” Daily Times of Nigeria, 9

May 1992.
Agawu, Victor Kofi. “Analytical Issues Raised by Contemporary Art Music.” In
Intercultural Music III: Third Biennial International Symposium and Festival,
London, 1994, edited by Akin Euba and Cynthia Tse Kimberlin, 135–47. Rich-
mond, CA.: Music Research Institute Press, 2001.
Akpabot, Samuel. “The Conflict Between Foreign and Traditional Culture in
Nigeria.” In Reflections on Afro-American Music, edited by Dominique-René De
Lerma, 124–30. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1973.
———. “Nigerian Traditional and Popular Music: Problems of Growth and
Development.” In Nigeria Since Independence: The First Twenty-Five Years: Culture,
edited by Peter Ekeh and Garba Ashiwaju, 88–106. Ibadan, Nigeria: Heine-
mann Educational Books, 1989.
Alaja-Browne, Afolabi. “A History of Intercultural Art Music in Nigeria.” In
Intercultural Music I, edited by Akin Euba and Cynthia Tse Kimberlin, 79–86.
Bayreuth African Studies, 29. Bayreuth, Ger.: Breitinger, 1995.
Avorgbedor, Daniel. “Uzoigwe, Joshua.” In Grove Music Online, http://www
.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/ (accessed 18 November 2009).
Baker, David. “Godwin Sadoh: Three Books.” The Organ 86, no. 343 (March
2008): 53. Review of Sadoh’s The Organ Works of Fela Sowande: Cultural Perspec-
tives, Intercultural Dimensions in Ayo Bankole’s Music, and Joshua Uzoigwe: Memoirs
of a Nigerian Composer-Ethnomusicologist.
Baldacchino, John. “From African Pianism to a New Commonwealth of Inter-
culturalism.” Commonwealth Music 1, no. 2 (1996): 2–5. Review of Modern
African Music, by Akin Euba; and Akin Euba: An Introduction to the Life and
Music of a Nigerian Composer, by Joshua Uzoigwe.
Balogun, Sola. “Colors and Thrills at Children’s Choral.” Lagos Life, 16 Septem-
ber 1992.
———. “Ife Choral Society At It Again.” Guardian Express, 6 January 1993.
494 Notes, March 2010

Benner, Al. “Meet the Composer: Godwin Sadoh.” Composer-USA 13, no. 2
(Summer 2007): 5.
Brooks, Christopher A. “Fela Sowande.” In International Dictionary of Black
Composers, edited by Samuel A. Floyd Jr., 1052–56, Chicago; London: Fitzroy
Dearborn, 1999.
Dixon, P. A. F. “Joshua Uzoigwe.” In Contemporary Composers, edited by Brian
Morton and Pamela Collins, 937–38. Chicago: St. James Press, 1992.
Echezona, William W. C. “Compositional Techniques of Nigerian Traditional
Music.” Composer 19 (1966): 41–49.
Ekwueme, Lazarus. “African Music in Christian Liturgy: The Igbo Experiment.”
African Music: Journal of the African Music Society 5, no. 3 (1973–74): 12–33.
———. “Concepts of African Musical Theory.” Journal of Black Studies 5, no. 1
(September 1974): 35–64.
———. “Linguistic Determinants of Some Igbo Musical Properties.” Journal of
African Studies 1, no. 3 (Fall 1974): 335–53.
———. “Structural Levels of Rhythm and Form in African Music, with Particular
Reference to the West Coast.” African Music: Journal of the African Music Society 5,
no. 4 (1976): 27–35.
———. “Analysis and Analytic Techniques in African Music: A Theory of Melodic
Scales.” African Music: Journal of the International Library of African Music 6,
no. 1 (1980): 89–106.
Euba, Akin, “Multiple Pitch Lines in Yoruba Choral Music.” Journal of the Inter-
national Folk Music Council 19 (1967): 66–71.
———. “In Search of a Common Language of African Music.” Interlink: The
Nigerian-American Quarterly Magazine 3, no. 3 (1967).
———. “Traditional Elements as the Basis of New African Art Music.” African
Urban Studies 5, no. 4 (Winter 1970): 52–63.
———. “The Potential of African Traditional Music as a Contemplative Art.”
Black Orpheus 3, no. 1 (1974).
———. “Criteria for the Evaluation of New African Art Music.” Transition 49
(1975): 46–47.
———. “An Introduction to Music in Nigeria.” Nigerian Music Review 1 (1977): 1–38.
———. “Obituary: Ayo Bankole.” Nigerian Music Review 1 (1977): 105–7.
———. “Music in Nigeria Today.” In Nigerian History and Culture, edited by
Richard Olaniyan, 341–55. New York: Longman, 1985.
———. “Euba Takes Africa to Germany.” West Africa no. 3638 (1987): 893–94.
———. “Yoruba Music in the Church: The Development of Neo-African Art
among the Yoruba of Nigeria.” In African Musicology: Current Trends: A
Festschrift Presented to J. H. Kwabena Nketia. 2 vols., edited by Jacqueline Cogdell
DjeDje, 2:45–63. Los Angeles: University of California African Studies Center;
Atlanta, GA: Crossroads Press, 1989–92.
———. “Neo-African Art Music and Jazz: Related Paths.” International Jazz
Archives Journal 1, no. 1 (Fall 1993): 3–14.
———. “African Traditional Musical Instruments in Neo-African Idioms and
Contexts.” In Turn Up the Volume!: A Celebration of African Music, edited by
Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje, 68–77, 338–39. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler
Museum of Cultural History, 1999.
African Musicology 495

———. “The African Composer in Europe: The Challenge of Interculturalism.”

Journal of the Indian Musicological Society 27 (1996): 59–71. Reprint in Music,
Intercultural Aspects: A Collection of Essays, edited by S. A. K. Durga. Mumbai:
Indian Musicological Society, 1999.
———. “Text Setting in African Composition.” Research in African Literatures 32,
no. 2 (Summer 2001): 119–32.
———. “Theory, Scholarship, Myth and Mysticism: Sources of My Creativity.”
Paper presented at the 7th Biennial International Symposium and Festival of
the Center for Intercultural Music Arts, Churchill College, University of
Cambridge, 2002.
———. “Concepts of Neo-African Music as Manifested in the Yoruba Folk
Opera.” In The African Diaspora: A Musical Perspective, edited by Ingrid
Monson, 207–41. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, 1995. New
York: Garland, 2000; London: Routledge, 2003.
———. “African Drums in Symphony Hall: Village Signals in Intercontinental
Encounters.” Tri Quarterly 116 (2003): 323.
———. “Intercultural Music in Africa and Latin America: A Comparative View of
Fela Sowande and Carlos Chavez.” In Musical Cultures of Latin America: Global
Effects, Past and Present, edited by Steven Loza, 309–20. Selected Reports in
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496 Notes, March 2010

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500 Notes, March 2010

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Discography

Akpabot, Samuel. Three Nigerian Dances. South African Broadcasting Corporation

National Symphony Orchestra/Richard Cock. Marco Polo 8.223832 (1995),
CD. Collection title: African Songs.
Bankole, Ayo. Toccata III. Eugene Hancock. American Guild of Organists O-51
(1992), audio cassette. Collection title: Organ Music by Black Composers.
Euba, Akin. Selections from Bethlehem: A Gospel Opera. Akin Euba, University of
Pittsburgh Department of Music (2004), CD. Contents: Annunciation ; Mary’s
song ; The birth of Christ ; The Virgin Mary has a baby boy ; The shepherds ;
Adoration of the Magi ; Abi Jesu eyo = Jesus is born.
———. Wakar Duru: Studies in African Pianism, Nos. 1–3; Scenes from Traditional
Life. Peter Schmalfuss. Elekoto Music Center (Lagos, Nigeria) EMC LP 001
(1989), LP.
———. Chaka: Opera in Two Chants. City of Birmingham Touring Opera/Simon
Halsey. Music Research Institute MRI CD 0001, OWR-0336-2 (1999), CD.
Phillips, Thomas Ekundayo. Ninu Agbala Olorun Wa; Ise Oluwa Kole Baje ; From
Glory to Glory Advancing. Cathedral Church of Christ Choir, Lagos/Tolu
Obajimi. Lagos, n.p. (2006), CD.
Sadoh, Godwin. Nigerian Suite No. 1. Paul Fejko. Serge Tani STCD01 (2004), CD.
Collection title: Paul Fejko Plays the Peter Wood & Son Organ.
African Musicology 501

———. Nigerian Wedding Dance for Piano Solo. Jeffrey Grossman. Cambridge, MA,
n.p. (2006), CD. Collection title: There and Back.
Sowande, Fela. Obangiji for Organ. David Hurd. Minnesota Public Radio MPR CD-
1003 (2000), CD. Collection title: Pipedreams Premieres: A Collection of Music for
the King of Instruments, vol. 2.
———. Jubilate for Organ. Eugene W. Hancock. American Guild of Organists 0-51
(1992), audio cassette.
———. Prayer for Organ. James Kibbie. Organ Historical Society OHS-95 (1995),
CD.
———. Onipe (from African Suite for String Orchestra). Morton Gould and His
Orchestra/Morton Gould. RCA Victor 09026-68479-2 (1996), CD. Collection
title: Moon, Wind and Stars.
———. Nigerian Prayer for Organ. James Kibbie. Organ Historical Society OHS-95
(1998), CD. Collection title: Historic Organs of Michigan.
———. African Suite for String Orchestra [Selections]. Chicago Sinfonietta/Paul
Freeman. Cedille CDR 90000 055 (2000), CD. Contents: “Joyful day” (mvt. 1);
“Nostalgia” (mvt. 2); “Akinla” (mvt. 5). Collection title: African Heritage Sym-
phonic Series, vol. 1.
———. African Suite for String Orchestra. CBC Vancouver Orchestra/Mario
Bernardi. CBC Records SMCD 5135 (1994), CD. Also includes works by
Darius Milhaud, Paule Maurice, Malcolm Forsyth.
———. Yoruba Lament for Organ. Lucius Weathersby. Albany TROY440 (2001),
CD. Collection title: Spiritual Fantasy.
———. Go Down Moses for Organ. Nancy Cooper. Pro Organo CD 7139 (2001),
CD. Collection title: The Road Less Traveled.
———. Obangiji for Organ. David Hurd. Minnesota Public Radio CD-1003 (2000),
CD. Collection title: Pipedreams Premieres: A Collection of Music for the King of
Instruments, vol. 2.
———. K’a Mura for Organ. Michael Stewart. New Zealand, n.p., CD.
———. Nostalgia (from African Suite for String Orchestra). Chicago Sinfonietta/
Paul Freeman. Cedille CDR 8001 (2005), CD. Collection title: Serenely Cedille:
Relaxing Rarities from Chicago’s Classical Label.
Towards an African Pianism: An Anthology of Keyboard Music from Africa and the
Diaspora, Daryl Hollister, Glen Inanga. University of Pittsburgh Department of
Music ABA 0001–0002 (2005), 2 CDs. Recorded anthology for the book
Towards an African Pianism (see bibliography of books). Contents: disc 1.
Dagarti work song ; Buisa work song ; Dagomba ; Libation ; Volta fantasy / J. H.
Kwabena Nketia. Themes from Chaka no. 1 / Akin Euba. Dance of the honey mon-
key / Eric Moe. Lustra variations / Joshua Uzoigwe. Homage a Scriabin ;
Sharpeville 1960 ; Duo Napolitain (Naples street) ; Valse musette ; Last spring ;
Scherzino / Andres Wheatley. Anger and jubilation / Mark Boozer. The village
children at play ; Dusk / Nkeiru Okoye. American progressions / Amy Rubin. —
disc 2. Three African miniature songs without words / Paul Konye. Three preludes /
Wallace Cheatham. Themes from Chaka 2 / Akin Euba. Three ivory magnolia fan-
tasies / Gary Powell Nash. Piano piece no. 6 / Robert Mawuena Kwami. January
dance / Robert Mawuena Kwami. Agbigbo / Joshua Uzoigwe.
502 Notes, March 2010

Uzoigwe, Joshua. Talking Drums for Piano. William Chapman Nyaho. Musicians
Showcase Recordings MS 1091 (2003), CD. Collection title: Senku: Piano
Music by Composers of African Descent.

ABSTRACT

This article provides a brief introduction to the history of art music in

Nigeria, a concise discussion of three generations of music composition
in Nigeria as well as an extensive bibliography of Nigerian art music com-
prised of articles, books, and discographic materials. The article is pri-
marily set to present a list of sources on Nigerian art music, showcasing
the depth and breadth of scholarly activities on this music. As such, this
article is not focused on an overarching historical account of art music in
Nigeria; this is outside the scope of this study. The bibliography encapsu-
lates the focus of the extensive bibliographies which represent the schol-
arly contributions on modern Nigerian art music by various musicolo-
gists from Africa, Europe, and the United States. Most of the Nigerian
authors are composers, ethnomusicologists, performers, and music edu-
cators, whose research is largely based on fieldwork, and their personal
experiences in composing and performing this music. The bibliography
includes articles, both published and unpublished, books, theses, and
discographies, as well as papers presented at international conferences
and symposia from 1927 to 2009. The topics cover every area pertinent
to the study of art music in Nigeria—piano, organ, chamber, orchestra,
vocal solo, choral, percussion, music and culture, music and dance,
music and politics, music and text, music education, analytical and com-
positional techniques, theory, history, criticism, sacred and secular
music, interculturalism, and composer biographies. The sound record-
ings of selected works were done by African, European, and American
solo artists and orchestras.