Sunday, January 31, 2010

Inquiry on Sheet Music for Piano Works of African Composers


[ASA: Piano Music by Composers of African Descent; William Chapman Nyaho, piano;
MSR Classics MS1242 (2008)]

A visitor to AfriClassical.com thanked us for the attractive website and asked how to obtain piano repertoire of the Nigerian composer Akin Euba and other African composers in sheet music form. This is a question which is likely to be of interest to others as well, so our reply is reprinted here:

Many thanks for your compliment about AfriClassical.com and your inquiry about piano repertoire by African composers. I am happy to recommend a unique resource compiled and edited by Dr. William Chapman Nyaho, a pianist born in the U.S. but raised in Ghana, the home county of his parents. He is profiled at AfriClassical.com and at http://www.Nyaho.com:

Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora

http://www.oup.com/us/corporate/publishingprograms/music/sheet_music/new_and_featured/pianoafrica/

For the contents of each volume, you may consult this page:

http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Music/SheetMusic/KeyboardPiano/?view=usa&sf=toc&ci=9780193870154

As you will see, piano works of Akin Euba are found in Volumes 2 and 3, along with works by many other composers of Africa and the African Diaspora. Oxford University Press offers the series in 5 separate volumes or a single volume.

The Akin Euba page at AfriClassical.com features a Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University Conservatory in Wisconsin. Dr. Fred Onovwerosuoke is an American composer who was born in Nigeria. He heads African Musical Arts, Inc., http://AfricArts.org, an organization whose activities include publishing both sheet music and recordings.

His works for piano include Twenty-Four Studies in African Rhythms. Six of he Studies open the program of Dr. Nyaho's latest CD, ASA: Piano Music by Composers of African Descent; MSR Classics MS 1242 (2008). Bob Briggs of MusicWeb International has written:

"This is strong music with a very individual voice. Each piece imitates a dance or musical pattern and they make a very attractive suite, with lots of variety and plenty of fun. These six come from a set of 24 and I yearn to hear the others. This taster is really too good to miss..."

William Chapman Nyaho's earlier recording is Senku: Piano Music by Composers of African Descent; MSR Classics MS 1091. I hope this information will assist you in finding the sheet music you are seeking.

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