Fela Sowande
Encyclopedia
Olufela Obafunmilayo Sowande (b. Abeokuta
, Nigeria
, May 1905; d. Ravenna, Ohio
, United States
, 13 March 1987) was a Nigeria
n musician
and composer
.
Considered the father of modern Nigeria
n art music
, Sowande is perhaps the most internationally known African composer of works in the European "classical" idiom.
Sowande was born in Abeokuta
, near Lagos
, the son of Emmanuel Sowande, a priest and pioneer of Nigerian church music. The influence of his father and Dr T. K. Ekundayo Phillips (composer, organist and choirmaster) was an important factor in his early years. At that time, he was a chorister and was introduced to new Yoruba
works being introduced into the churches. During that period, he studied organ under Phillips (including works by Bach and European classical masters), and earned the Fellowship Diploma (FRCO) from the Royal College of Organists
. At that time, he was also a bandleader, playing jazz
and popular highlife
music. All of these had considerable influence on his work.
In 1934 Sowande went to London to study European classical and popular music. In 1936, he was solo pianist in a performance of George Gershwin
's Rhapsody in Blue
. He also played as duo-pianist with Fats Waller
, and was theatre organist for the BBC
as organist and Choirmaster at Kingsway Hall
(unfortunately recently demolished) London and as pianist in the 1936 production of Blackbirds. He also played organ in some recordings by Dame Vera Lynn
. Later, he studied organ privately under Edmund Rubbra
, George Oldroyd
, and George Cunningham
and became a fellow of the Royal College of Organists
(with credit) in 1943.
He also won several prizes and obtained a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of London
and became a fellow of Trinity College of Music
. He also worked as musical advisor for the Colonial Film Unit of the Ministry of Information during the Second World War
, providing background music for educational films.
From 1945, he was a renowned organist and choirmaster at the West London Mission of the Methodist Church until 1952, and a considerable amount of organ music dates from this period. These are based on Nigerian melodies that gave a special appeal to the Black members of his congregation in the early years of migration from Africa and the Caribbean. Also during this time, he became known as a dance pianist, bandleader, and Hammond organ
ist, playing popular tunes of the day.
Western and African ideas prevail in his music which included organ works such as Yorùbá Lament, Obangiji, Kyrie, Gloria, Jesu Olugbala, and Oba Aba Ke Pe. Most of these show a strong influence of Anglican Church
music combined with Yoruba pentatonic melodies.
His orchestral works include Six Sketches for Full Orchestra, A Folk Symphony, and African Suite for string orchestra
, and show African rhythmic and harmonic characteristics. The final movement of African Suite became known to Canadian
audiences as the theme of the popular CBC
music program Gilmour's Albums
, and is now a Canadian orchestral standard. He also wrote a significant amount of secular and sacred choral music, mainly a cappella. Some of these works were composed during his period with the BBC Africa Service. He went back to Africa to scholarly work with the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation
and later the University of Ibadan
. In 1968 he moved to Howard University
in Washington, D.C.
, then the University of Pittsburgh
.
In the last years of his life Sowande taught in the Department of Pan-African Studies at Kent State University
, and lived in nearby Ravenna, Ohio
with his wife, Eleanor McKinney, who was one of the founders of Pacifica Radio
. He is buried in Randolph Township
, Ohio.
Sowande also held the title "Chief Bariyo of Lagos."
There is currently a move to set up a centre to research and promote his works, as many remain unpublished or are out of print.
Abeokuta
Abeokuta is the largest city and capital of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria and is situated at , on the Ogun River; 64 miles north of Lagos by railway, or 81 miles by water. As of 2005, Abeokuta and the surrounding area had a population of 593,140....
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, May 1905; d. Ravenna, Ohio
Ravenna, Ohio
* Chris Bangle; automobile designer* Bill Bower, last surviving pilot of the Doolittle Raid* David D. Busch; best-selling author* William Rufus Day; U.S. Supreme Court justice* Calvin Hampton; Classical organist* Robert B...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 13 March 1987) was a Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Considered the father of modern Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n art music
Art music
Art music is an umbrella term used to refer to musical traditions implying advanced structural and theoretical considerations and a written musical tradition...
, Sowande is perhaps the most internationally known African composer of works in the European "classical" idiom.
Sowande was born in Abeokuta
Abeokuta
Abeokuta is the largest city and capital of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria and is situated at , on the Ogun River; 64 miles north of Lagos by railway, or 81 miles by water. As of 2005, Abeokuta and the surrounding area had a population of 593,140....
, near Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, the son of Emmanuel Sowande, a priest and pioneer of Nigerian church music. The influence of his father and Dr T. K. Ekundayo Phillips (composer, organist and choirmaster) was an important factor in his early years. At that time, he was a chorister and was introduced to new Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
works being introduced into the churches. During that period, he studied organ under Phillips (including works by Bach and European classical masters), and earned the Fellowship Diploma (FRCO) from the Royal College of Organists
Royal College of Organists
The Royal College of Organists or RCO, is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, but with members around the world...
. At that time, he was also a bandleader, playing jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and popular highlife
Highlife
Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920...
music. All of these had considerable influence on his work.
In 1934 Sowande went to London to study European classical and popular music. In 1936, he was solo pianist in a performance of George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
's Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects....
. He also played as duo-pianist with Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
, and was theatre organist for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as organist and Choirmaster at Kingsway Hall
Kingsway Hall
The Kingsway Hall, Holborn, London, built in 1912, was the home of the West London Mission of the Methodist Church, and eventually became one of the most important recording venues for classical music and film music...
(unfortunately recently demolished) London and as pianist in the 1936 production of Blackbirds. He also played organ in some recordings by Dame Vera Lynn
Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...
. Later, he studied organ privately under Edmund Rubbra
Edmund Rubbra
Edmund Rubbra was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak of his fame in the mid-20th century. The most famous of his pieces are his eleven...
, George Oldroyd
George Oldroyd
Dr. George Oldroyd was an English organist and composer of Anglican church music. He was organist of St. Alban's Church, Holborn from 1919 to 1920, and then of St Michael's Church, Croydon from 1920 until his death in 1956. Both are churches firmly rooted within the Anglo-Catholic tradition in the...
, and George Cunningham
G. D. Cunningham
George Dorrington Cunningham was an important concert organist. Born of musical parents, Cunningham studied piano with his mother, subsequently switching to organ at the Guildhall School of Music. Upon graduation he studied with Josiah Booth at Park Chapel, Crouch End, North London...
and became a fellow of the Royal College of Organists
Royal College of Organists
The Royal College of Organists or RCO, is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, but with members around the world...
(with credit) in 1943.
He also won several prizes and obtained a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and became a fellow of Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
. He also worked as musical advisor for the Colonial Film Unit of the Ministry of Information during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, providing background music for educational films.
From 1945, he was a renowned organist and choirmaster at the West London Mission of the Methodist Church until 1952, and a considerable amount of organ music dates from this period. These are based on Nigerian melodies that gave a special appeal to the Black members of his congregation in the early years of migration from Africa and the Caribbean. Also during this time, he became known as a dance pianist, bandleader, and Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
ist, playing popular tunes of the day.
Western and African ideas prevail in his music which included organ works such as Yorùbá Lament, Obangiji, Kyrie, Gloria, Jesu Olugbala, and Oba Aba Ke Pe. Most of these show a strong influence of Anglican Church
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
music combined with Yoruba pentatonic melodies.
His orchestral works include Six Sketches for Full Orchestra, A Folk Symphony, and African Suite for string orchestra
String orchestra
A string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely or primarily of instruments from the string family. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass , the piano, the harp, and sometimes percussion...
, and show African rhythmic and harmonic characteristics. The final movement of African Suite became known to Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
audiences as the theme of the popular CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
music program Gilmour's Albums
Gilmour's Albums
Gilmour's Albums was one of the longest-running radio shows on CBC Radio, and was hosted by former newspaper reporter Clyde Gilmour.The show started in 1957, and its format consisted of selections of music, hand-picked by Gilmour, many from his own vast personal record collection...
, and is now a Canadian orchestral standard. He also wrote a significant amount of secular and sacred choral music, mainly a cappella. Some of these works were composed during his period with the BBC Africa Service. He went back to Africa to scholarly work with the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation
Voice of Nigeria
The Voice of Nigeria is the official international broadcasting station of Nigeria.-History:Founded in 1961, the Voice of Nigeria began life as the External Service of the then Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation...
and later the University of Ibadan
University of Ibadan
The University of Ibadan is the oldest Nigerian university, and is located five miles from the centre of the major city of Ibadan in Western Nigeria...
. In 1968 he moved to Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, then the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
.
In the last years of his life Sowande taught in the Department of Pan-African Studies at Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
, and lived in nearby Ravenna, Ohio
Ravenna, Ohio
* Chris Bangle; automobile designer* Bill Bower, last surviving pilot of the Doolittle Raid* David D. Busch; best-selling author* William Rufus Day; U.S. Supreme Court justice* Calvin Hampton; Classical organist* Robert B...
with his wife, Eleanor McKinney, who was one of the founders of Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
. He is buried in Randolph Township
Randolph Township, Portage County, Ohio
Randolph Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,504 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
, Ohio.
Sowande also held the title "Chief Bariyo of Lagos."
There is currently a move to set up a centre to research and promote his works, as many remain unpublished or are out of print.
Organ
- 1945 - Ka Mura, Chappell, London
- 1952 - Pastourelle (for organ), Chappell, London
- 1955 - Jesu Olugbala, Chappell, London
- 1955 - Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho, Chappell, London
- 1955 - Kyrie, Chappell, London
- 1955 - Obangiji, Chappell, London
- 1955 - Yorùbá Lament, Chappell, London
- 1958 - Oyigiyigi, Ricordi, New York
- 1958 - Gloria, Ricordi, New York
- 1958 - Prayer, Ricordi, New York
- 1959 - Responses in ‘A’
- KÕa Mo Rokoso
- Oba Aba Ke Pe
Choral
- The Wedding Day for S.S.A. with piano, 1957, RDH
- Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child for S.A.T.B. a cappella, 1955, Chappell, London
- My Way's Cloudy for S.A.T.B. with piano, 1955, Chappell, London
- De Ol' Ark's a-Moverin for S.A.T.B.B. a cappella with tenor solo, 1955, Chappell, London
- Same Train for S.A.T.B.B. a cappella, 1955, Chappell, London Steal Away for S.A.T.B.B. a cappella, 1955, Chappell, London
- Roll de Ol' Chariot for S.A.T.B.B. with piano and rhythm combo, 1955, Chappell, London
- All I do for S.A.T.B.B. with piano and rhythm combo, 1961, Ricordi, New York
- Goin' to Set Down for S.A.T.B. a cappella with soprano solo, 1961, Ricordi, New York
- Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray for S.A.T.B. a cappella with soprano solo, 1958, Ricordi, New York
- De Angels Are Watchin’ for S.A.T.B. a cappella with soprano and tenor solo, 1958, Ricordi, New York
- Nobody Knows de Trouble I See for S.A.TB. acappella, 1958, Ricordi, New York
- Wheel, Oh Wheel for S.A.T.B. a cappella, 1961, Ricordi, New York
- Wid a Sword in Ma Hand for S.A.T.B.B. a cappella, 1958, Ricordi, New York
- Sit Down Servant for T.T.B.B. a cappella and tenor solo, 1961, Ricordi, New York
- Out of Zion for S.A.T.B. with organ, 1955
- St. Jude's Response for S.A.T.B. with organ
- Oh Render Thanks (hymn-anthem) for S.A.T.B. with organ, 1960
- Nigerian National Anthem (an arrangement) for S.A.T.B. with organ, 1960
Solo songs
- Three Songs of Contemplation for tenor and piano, 1950, Chappell, London
- Because of You for voice and piano, 1950, Chappell, London
- Three Yoruba Songs for voice and piano, 1954, Ibadan
Orchestral
- Four Sketches for full orchestra, 1953
- African Suite for string orchestra, 1955, Chappell, London
- Folk Symphony for full orchestra, 1960
Books by Fela Sowande
- Sowande, Fela (1964). Ifa: Guide, Counsellor, and Friend of Our Forefathers. Ibadan.
- Sowande, Fela (1966). The Mind of a Nation: The Yoruba Child. Ibadan: Ibadan University.
- Sowande, Fela (1968). Come Now Nigeria, Part 1: Nationalism and essays on relevant subjects. Ibadan: Sketch Pub. Co.; sole distributors: Nigerian Book Suppliers. (All the material presented in this book first appeared in the form of articles in the pages of the Daily Sketch, Ibadan.)
- Sowande, Fela (1975). The Africanization of Black Studies. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Institute for African American Affairs. African American Affairs Monograph Series, v. 2, no. 1.
Articles by Fela Sowande
- Sowande, Fela (1971). "Black Folklore." Black Lines: A Journal of Black Studies (special issue: Black Folklore), v. 2, no. 1 (Fall 1971), pp. 5-21.
Books about Fela Sowande
- Cole, Bill (1976). John Coltrane. Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-306-80530-8. Reprinted by Da Capo Press (1993, 2001) ISBN 030681062X.
- Sadoh, Godwin (2007). The Organ Works of Fela Sowande: Cultural Perspectives. iUniverse. ISBN 0595473172.