Musicology Commons^™

Music In The Funeral Traditions Of The Akpafu, V. Kofi Agawu

Publications and Research

"Nna lo senu kuwe, fie oresire somoloo?" ("Who laid a mat for him, so that he slept so deeply?") With this rhetorical question, the Akpafu of Southeastern Ghana initiate a period of public mourning occasioned by the death of one of their number.1 The philosophic significance of death in Akpafu culture is twofold. First, it marks the completion of the earthly cycle of existence, birth-circumcision-puberty-marriage-death. Second, it opens the door to a higher, spiritual realm in which the deceased, as an ancestor, takes his place alongside the lesser gods and the Supreme Being in the higher reaches of the hierarchy …

The Rhythmic Structure Of West African Music, V. Kofi Agawu

Publications and Research

The music of Africa has long intrigued many Westerners. From scattered comments in the accounts of explorers of the so-called Afrique Noire to the full-fledged ethnomusicological studies of the last fifty years, the constant theme has been the fundamental role of music-making in African life and society. And of all the elements of that music, rhythm has received the most attention.

There is something to be gained from looking closely at the early writings on African music, for although they represent the work of non-specialists, and for all their ethnocentricism and anthropocentricism, these accounts touch on the fundamental questions regarding …

Tonal Strategy In The First Movement Of Mahler's Tenth Symphony, V. Kofi Agawu

Publications and Research

During his summer retreat of 1910, Mahler sketched a five-movement symphony in F# major that was to be his tenth. He did not live to see the work completed. In spite of this, or rather because of it, the Tenth has accumulated a fascinating history, evident in the series of attempts to "realize" Mahler sketches, the best known of which is Deryck Cooke's "performing version."

"'Gi Dunu,' 'Nyekpadudo,' And The Study Of West African Rhythm", V. Kofi Agawu

Publications and Research

Rhythm has remained the focus of much study of West African music since the pioneering studies of Ward (1927), Hornbostel (1928), Waterman (1948), Brandel (1951), Cudjoe (1953), Merriam (1959), and Jones (1959).

Formal Structure In Popular Music As A Reflection Of Socio-Economic Change, Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Language On Musical Composition In Ghana: An Introduction To The Musical Style Of Ephraim Amu, V. Kofi Agawu

Publications and Research

In most cultures of the world, the creative act of composition may be defined simply as the transformation of pre-existing material into new, individualized structures. The precompositional resource may be a system such as the hierarchical arrangement of triads that forms the basis of Western tonality, a set of formulas that generates such genres as Gregorian chant and West African storytelling, or even a rigidly defined set of relationships such as those inherent in a twelve-tone row. In each case, the precompositional elements provide a framework for the analysis and interpretation of the composition.

The Musical Language Of Kindertotenlieder No. 2, V. Kofi Agawu

Publications and Research

Three times during his compositional career, Mahler turned to the medium of the orchestral song cycle either to experiment with or to refine certain technical procedures. This resulted in a variety of methods for establishing large-scale tonal coherence, using song as a resource for later symphonic composition, and stylizing folk material, melodically and rhythmically. These compositional techniques are clearly exemplified in Mahler's three cycles, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (1883-85), Kindertotenlieder (1901-04), and Das Lied von der Erde (1907-08).