Product Description
All 12 Studies in the first volume could be performed together
as an item in a concert (about 25 minutes, total). Study I,
Okoye, fuses a commonality found in some Edo (Nigeria) and
Baganda (Uganda) polyrhythm. Study II, Edo, is based on
an old Bini (Nigeria) folk melody sandwiched by two layers of
balafon (wooden xylophone) ostinato pattern for an
ancient Wollof (Senegal) royal dance. Study III, Udje, is
based on an Urhobo (Nigeria) dance with the same name; actually,
the dance sketches for a later composition, Ayevwiomo
(Birth) for flute & piano. Study IV, Tunis, is based on
an old tune the composer fell in love with among the Tuaregs in
Tunisia and Burkina Faso, but which he later notated when he
heard it again in northern Ghana by a Dagomba gonje (1-string
fiddle) player. Study V, Jali, was fashioned from years
hanging out with his kora playing griot friends from West Africa
and kraar-playing friends from the Abyssinian subregion of
northeastern Africa. It's from an earlier sketch for a later
composition, the 3rd movement of the Five Sketches for
Flute, Violin and Piano. Study VI, Iroro, draws from
the trance-like dances of the River-goddess cults the
composer observed and researched across the West African coast;
it's from the first sketches for a later composition, with the
same title, for flute and piano. Study VII, Herero Wedding
Dance, is a cross between the composer's travels in Namibia
and Ethiopia. Among the Herero and Tigre peoples the day after
the first nuptial night is particularly significant. The
events of that first night often call for communal dance and
more celebration! Studies VIII, IX and XI echo Study III,
Ayevwiomo. Their mastery will sensitize the pianist to
appreciating a wide variety of African dance music. Study 10,
Barka, brings us back to Arabia and Foula regions of Africa.
It's extracted from the composer's Five Sketches for Flute,
Violin and Piano. Study 12, Agbadza, draws from the
royal and funeral dances of Ghana and Dahomey regions of West
Africa.
