A CONTEMPORARY COMPOSITIONAL APPROACH BASED ON SELECTED IBIBIO FOLK SONGS

CHAPTER ONE 

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The word composition has been defined etymologically as ‘putting together’ or combining parts or ingredients. Harper Collins Dictionary of Music n defined etymologically as “putting together” or combining parts or ingredients. Harper Cothins dictionary of Music (1972:86) defines it as the process of creating a musical work. Now! Man creates or composes music so as to express his feelings,ideas,beliefs and impression of events, incidents and the world around him. Composition is therefore, an art that is highly structured, highly planned, very intellectual, mathematical, even cold- blooded. Udoh(2006b), quoting Brindle submits that composition expertise,talent, and observance of implicit rules to ensure that music serves the function of its genre. Uzoigwe(1992) highlights that,

Many composers  all over the world have made conscious and unconscious efforts to draw on the folk materials of their  people.(p.9), and divers forms of artistic approaches have preoccupied the mind of the contemporary composer. Nketia (1974) observes that whether it is Africa or Asia, Latin America or Europe, there seem to be wide spread consciousness among musicians that music reflect the intellectual environment of those who make it. In drawing attention to this trend, Nketia further observes that for historical and sociological reasons, the search for new idioms has been much more intensive in the western hemisphere and in those countries musically within its orbit. According to Nketia, highly technical approaches involving science, mathematics have been developed and resulted in equally complex music such as chance music, electronic music and so forth.

Pursuant to the above, Nigerian composers have the duty to establish a musical identity for Nigeria’s art music. Characteristic traits of Nigeria’s music which may be found in our melodies, complex rhythm, harmony, roles of instruments in an ensemble, form meter, embellishment, harmony etc are materials that need to be utilized to give our new music a national character, or at least an African character. This, therefore, means that a composer wishing to draw creative materials from the socio-cultural music of his people should in the first stead, be receptive to folk music and more importantly, embark on an analytical study of such music.

In this century and in Africa, for instance, new musical genres have emerged. Notably, we have had new forms of music. This include: those using western instrumental resources while employing African music idioms as much as possible, and those that are an encompassment of both African and western resources as well as their idiomatic context. In the Nigerian case, it is note worthy that, the evolution of these new compositional styles stem from African’s encounter with music of other cultures of other races. Meanwhile, the adoption of western-styled education and religion have had a detectable effect on the music practices in Africa. Akpabot (1986) in his view relates that;

Many problems concerning African music have been exaggerated to such proportions as to make them appear insoluble. Africans with training comparable to Western researchers are now re-discovering and writing about this music free from many of the problems that confronted early Western scholars.(p.51) Nketia(1995) submits that:

As the contemporary challenge lies in the conscious search for new direction and new resources as well the expansion and reinterpretation of old ones, composers cannot but make their own personal choices while allowing themselves to be guided by tradition or the experience of others as they search for an appropriate compositional framework(p.223).

It is indeed expedient for the researcher to carry out this research in Ibibio traditional folk music and form a new music based on Ibibio traditional musical elements for contemplation. It is restricted to the Ibibio community of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Ibibio ethnic group comprises of 5 million in population sharing boundaries with the Ibos of the East central state and the Kalabari people of the Rivers state on its Western side.

In this composition, the writer elicits melodic as well as harmonic configurations from Ibibio folk songs in order to create a new piece of music for piano. This work tries as much as possible to reflect an identity even though western musical instrument (piano) is used. On this note, he agrees with Uzoigwe (2001) thus:

Composers of African art music even though their works reflect the duality of Afro-European culture, must in their African identity return to what might be described as folk or African musical tradition of what tonal concept and organization constitutes but a part.(p.164)

Taking note of Uzoigwe’s excerpt, it is necessary that modern Nigeria/Akwa Ibom composers create a musical identity for Nigerian Art music. Therefore, this work tries as much as possible to reflect an African identity, even though western musical instrument is used.