|
Şówándé, Fẹlá, 1905-1987[1] He was born in Oyo, Nigeria. His father, Emmanuel, of Egbá origin, was an Anglican minister on the faculty of St. Andrews College in Oyo, where music study was a requirement for all students for the priesthood. Şówándé thus was surrounded by music from his earliest years. When his father, his first teacher, was transferred to Lagos about 1912, Şówándé began his 20-year association with Thomas. K. Ekundayo Phillips (who been the second Nigerian to study music in London,[2] second to Robert Coker), originally as a choir boy, age 7, at Christ Church Cathedral and then as his student. Like Phillips before him, he was enrolled at the Church Missionary Society Grammar School and later at Kings College, but he used every opportunity to attend the organ recitals of Phillips, thus becoming introduced to European music and the organ works of Bach and Rhineberger. On his graduation from Kings College (B.M., 1956), he was an accomplished pianist and was engaged as deputy organist under Phillips at the cathedral. Simultaneously, he taught at the Church Missionary Society Grammar School for three years (where one of his students was Akin Éubà) and worked as a civil servant. In 1934, he moved to London with the intent of studying civil engineering, but he arrived already experiences during his days in Lagos as a jazz musician. He first met jazz in the company of fellow Nigerians in 1932, listening to Duke Ellington on short-wave radio. Added to this were broadcasts from France, the BBC, and from New York and Chicago. His interest in music took priority after six months in London, and his African American friends were delighted by his ability to imitate the pianistic styles of jazz figures and performances by Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Earl Hines, encouraged by his teacher in jazz, Jerry Moore. This led to his organization of the Triumph Dance Club Orchestra, in which he played piano. By playing in the clubs, he was able to pay for his stay in England. This included jazz performances on the Hammond organ, an innovation for Britain. He organized a jazz septet, consisting largely of musicians from the Caribbean, and he was assumed to be a Black American. He was befriended by those visiting England, including J. Rosamond Johnson (in London, 1936), Fats Waller (in Europe,1932, 1938 and 1939), Paul Robeson (in London for the 1928 production of Showboat) and Adelaide Hall (in London 1938,[3] in whose club he performed until the Second World War broke out). He toured with The Blackbirds of 1937, made recordings and was active in broadcasts, particularly the 1940 radio series, “West African music and the possibilities of its development,” offering his own music as exemplars. This was the decade in which he began composing, performing these works at the West London Mission of the Methodist Church, at Kingsway Hall where he served as organist and choirmaster from 1941 to 1950.[4] == was active with the Chocolate Dandies.= 1925 He abandoned his plans for civil engineering and dedicated himself to music, attending the University of London (B.M., 1956) and Trinity College of Music. His work in Lagos with Thomas K. Ekundayo Philips provided him with a European musical perspective, and he intensified that by study with George Cunningham, George Oldroyd, and Edmund Rubbra. However he was influenced by these contacts, it was in 1935 that he began coping with nationalistic impulses, which were articulated in his articles from 1965, “National traditions of music in Nigeria” and “Language in African music.” In essence he felt music had the obligation to communicate with his fellow citizens and this could be accomplished by reference to a Nigerian musical language. He used the term “Ideation” to refer to an individual’s ability to respond to an existing musical thought. This process of making traditional music classical has been often observed. Nonetheless, the composition of a symphony to commemorate Nigeria’s freedom from colonialism in 1960 provoked substantial controversy, in large measure because, there not then being an orchestra in Nigeria that could play it, he took it to the U.S. for performance. Alternatives were offered that he have it performed by a dance orchestra or by a police or army band. He had not abandoned his interest in jazz or his curiosity about African American culture. He took lessons in jazz piano with Jerry Moore and began performing, not just on piano, but on the Hammond organ, and he made friends with such visitors as Paul Robeson, Fatts Waller. Others he came to know included the Nicholas Brothers, Peg-Leg Bates, Valaida Snow, and Tim Moore (later to play the role of Kingfish on the Amos and Andy radio broadcasts). He performed with J. Rosamond Johnson, choral conductor of Lew Leslie’s Black birds of 1936, and it was Johnson who introduced him to the music of R. Nathaniel Dett. He joined Adeliade Hall as her pianist and recorded with her. In 1936, he was pianist for a London performance of Gerhswin’s Rhapsody in blue. He joined the Royal Air Force during the war, but was released on the request of the Ministry of Information so that he could serve as music director for the colonial film unit. This resulted in his writing music for films that were directed to African audiences. Composed at this time was his personal “signature” tune, based on a sacred melody composed by Rev. J. J. Ransome-Kuti that served its needs and those of the BBC’s African programs from 1943 to the 1960s. He was appointed organist and choir director of the West London Mission of the Methodist Church in 1945 (or 1948?) (Kingsway Hall), which stimulated the creation of new works for organ. His Sunday recitals became very popular. It was under these circumstances J. H. Kwabena Nketia, then a student at the School of Oriental and African Studies, met him. They encountered each other again in 1966, when Şówándé was exploring new theories in ethnomusicology at Northwestern University, some of which he found controversial. In 1953 he returned to Lagos to head the Music Section of the Nigerian Broadcasting Service, a position that provided little time for his work as composer. In this post he produced weekly radio programs based on field research of Yoruba folklore, mythology, and oral history, presented by tribal priests. He was also named honorary organist at the Cathedral Church. From 1962 to 1965 he was senior research fellow at the University of Ibadan, then becoming musicology professor at the university’s Institute of African Studies. A government grant in 1966 resulted in a series of studies on Nigerian music. “Respect the culture and the religions of my people, too. Teach, if you will, but do not impose. Even better, let us learn from one another” quoted from “On hearing the Missa luba” by Studs Terkel in recording LP Philips PCC 206. Funding from the United States Department Leaders and Specialists Grant on 1957 provided him with the opportunity to present organ recitals in New York, Boston, and Chicago, and to lecture on his research, those offered in New York being sponsored by the Rothschild Foundation and was a visiting scholar for the 1961 school year at Northwestern University’s anthropology department. His writings during this period were unpublished for the most part, because his metaphysical orientation ran counter to prevailing philosophies in music. At Princeton University, he supplemented his study of composition by working with Roger Sessions. A grant from the Ford Foundation (1962-1965) permitted him to conduct additional research at the University of Ibadan on Yoruba religion. At one point he also held a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1962 he established the Şówándé School of Music in Nsukka. He was professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Ibadan’s Institute of African Stduies from 1965 to 1968, leaving that position to join the faculty of Howard University, where he remained to 1972. From 1968 to 1971 he produced a series of recordings on various aspects of Nigerian history, language, literature, and music that was distributed by the Broadcasting Foundation of America, 48 of which were deposited with the foundation’s New York archives. He became professor of Black studies at the University of Pittsburgh in 1972, later joining the faculty of the School of Education. He was affectionately known here as “Papa Sowande.” His last position was in the Department of Pan-African Studies at Kent State University, which he held from 1976 until his retirement in 1982, accompanied by Eleanor, his wife. His final days were spent in a nursing home in Ravenna, where he died of a stroke. A memorial service was held at St. James Episcopal Church in New York on 3 May 1987, at which time Eugene Hancock complied with Sowande’s 1965 request by performing his Bury me eas’ or wes’. Sowande had received a permanent American visa in 1972 and become a citizen in 1977. He had been guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1944), the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, and of the New York Philharmonic (1961/VI/1, Folk symphony). Among his students were and Ayo Bánkợlé. As possibly the first African, he was named a Fellow of the Royal College of Organist in 1943. In honor of his 70th birthday, New York’s St. Philip’s Episcopal Church dedicated its 20th Annual Festival of Sacred Music to him. He was granted an M.B.E. and D.M. degrees in honoris causa. An honorary doctorate was also conferred on him in 1972 by the University of Ife. He won the Limas Prize for music theory, the Harding Prize for his organ playing, and the Read Prize for the excellence of his examinations. The music department at the University of Nigeria-Nsukka, was renamed the Şówándé School of Music in his honor. Queen Elizabeth II named him a Member of the British Empire in 1956, the same year he became a Member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and in 1964 was named a member of the Federation of Nigeria.. In 1968 he was given the Traditional Chieftainsy Award, named the Bagbile of Lagos. An honorary doctorate was accorded him in 1972 by the University of Nigera (Ile-Ife).The Fęlá Şówándé Memorial lecture and Concert Series was initiated in 1996 by Monsúnmợl Omibiyì-Obidike at the University of Ibdan’s Institute of African Studies, with the keynote address delivered by J. H. Kwabena Nketia. WORKS[5] Recordings to identify: RCA Victor LM-110: Marian Anderson MGM E-156: Camilla Williams Columbia AAL-32: William Warfield A folk symphony; a symphony of Nigerian folk-melodies in four movements for full orchestra, Nigerian independence celebrations, October 1, 1960. New York: MCA Music, n.d.* 1. Allegro moderato; 2.Vivace; 3. Andante con moto; 4. Allegro con moto. Instrumentation: 2222 Eh, 4231, timp, perc, harp, strings.[6] Première: 1960; Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Charles Groves, conductor.[7] Duration: 20:00. . AT: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Charles Groves, conductor (1960). African dances,* for violin & piano. London: Francis, Day & Hunter, 1954. 1. No. 1; No. 2. Library: Library of Congress. African suite, for string orchestra & harp (by 1939).[8] London: Chappell, 1950.* (Chappell & Co. orchestral works, 494; #42892). 48p. 1. Joyful day [based on a melody of Ephraim Amu]; 2. Nostalgia [based on a melody of Ephraim Amu]; 3. Lullaby; 4. Onipe; 5. Akinla[9]. Songs of Amu: London: Sheldon Press, 1933. Here is source of Sowande’s African suite. Duration: 14:17. LP: Decca (1951 ==or 1952?) as The African in sacred idiom? I doubt it.== LP: Harvey, conductor: London LS-426. --- for saxophone & orchestra. CD: Vancouver Orchestra; Mario Bernardi, conductor. CBC CMCD 5135. ---- 1. Joyful day, allegro giocoso. CD: Chicago Sinfonietta; Paul Freeman, conductor. Cedille CDR 90000 055 (2000, African heritage symphonic series, vol. 1). Liner notes: Dominique-René de Lerma. CD: Vancouver Orchestra; Mario Bernardi, conductor. CBC Records SMCD 5135, 1994. LP: London Symphony Orchestra; Paul Freeman, conductor. CBS Special Products P9-19424 (Black composers series). Liner notes: Dominique-René de Lerma. LP: London Symphony Orchestra; Paul Freeman, conductor. Columbia M-33433 (1975, Black composers series). Liner notes: Dominique-René de Lerma. ---- 2. Nostalgia, andante. CD: Chicago Sinfonietta; Paul Freeman, conductor. Cedille CDR 90000 055 (2000, African heritage symphonic series, vol. 1). Liner notes: Dominique-René de Lerma. LP: London Symphony Orchestra; Paul Freeman, conductor. CBS Special Products P9-19424 (Black composers series). Liner notes: Dominique-René de Lerma. LP: London Symphony Orchestra; Paul Freeman, conductor. Columbia M-33433 (Black composers series, 1975). Liner notes: Dominique-René de Lerma. ---- 5. Akinla, allegro non troppo. CD: Chicago Sinfonietta; Paul Freeman, conductor. Cedille CDR 90000 055 (2000, African heritage symphonic series, vol. 1). Liner notes: Dominique-René de Lerma. LP: London Symphony Orchestra; Paul Freeman, conductor. Columbia M-33433 (1975, Black composers series). Liner notes: Dominique-René de Lerma. LP: London Symphony Orchestra; Paul Freeman, conductor. CBS Special Products P9-19424 (Black composers series). Liner notes: Dominique-René de Lerma. Africana, for orchestra (1944). 78rpm: BBC Symphony Orchestra; Fela Sowande, conductor. All I do, for SATBB. New York: Franco Columbo (#2098).* Ankuri.* Art songs, for tenor & string quartet. At evening.* At the factory.* Because of you, for medium voice & piano. London: Chappell, 1950.* Text: Anthony Greville-Gascoigne. Library: Library of Congress. Chorale prelude on Yoruba sacred melodies, for organ. London, Novello, == Come now, Nigeria. Ibadan: Nigerian Book Suppliers, 1968. Come out and dance, for soprano & piano. Text: E. Fielding Kirk. Based on a Yorùbá folksong. Couldn't hear nobody pray, for soprano & SATB. New York: Franco Columbo (#FCC 1895). Curse of the demon cues.* De angels are watching, for SATBB. New York: Franco Columbo. (#FCC 2098) De ol' ark's a moverin', for tenor & SATB. London: Chappell, 1955. 8p. Library: Library of Congress. Fantasy, organ, D major. London: Chappell, 1951. Library: Library of Congress (melody only). Festival march, for organ. London: Chappell, 1951.* Library: Library of Congress (melody only). Gloria, for organ. New York: G. Ricordi, 1958. 15p. Based on Ògo ni fún o Ol. Library: Library of Congress.. Go down Moses, for organ (1955). London: Chappell, 1955.* Library: Library of Congress. CD: Nancy Cooper, organ (Richard L. Bond Op. 27, Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, Missoula MT). Pro Organo CD 7139 (c2000). Goin' to set down, for soprano & SATB. New York: Franco Columbo* (#FCC 2097). Duration: 3:49. LP: Charmain S. Hill, soprano; Virginia Union University Concert Choir; Odell Hobbs, conductor. Eastern ERS-571. Heav'n bells are ringing, for alto, SATB & piano. New York: G. Ricordi, 1961 (#NY 2095). 12p. High life (1952). London: Chappell, 1952.* Library: Library of Congress (lead sheet). Jesu olugbala, for organ. London: Novello, 1955. Joshua fit de battle of Jericho, for organ.* London: Chappell, 1955 (#42894) . 6p. AT: Herndon Spillman, organ (1971). CD: Hans Uwe Hielscher, organ (1863-1982 Walker/Saur/Oberlinger 4-116, Wiesbaden, Merktkirche). EL CD-016 (Spiritual and gospel songs). CD: Lucius Weathersby, organ (Great Torrington Parish Church, Father Willis organ; 2003/IX/27). International Society – African to American Music (2003). LP: Féla Sówandé, organ. London LL-533 (1952, The Negro in sacred idiom). Jubilate, for organ. K’a mo rokoso, for organ. New York: Ricordi, 1966. Dedication: Eugene Hancock. K’a mura, for organ. London: Novello, 1945. Koronga.* Kyrie, for organ. London: Chappell, 1955* (#42895). 15p. LP: Féla Sówandé, organ. London LL-533 (1952, The Negro in sacred idiom). Laudamus te, for organ. Maypole dance.* Mountain scene.* My way's cloudy, for SATB & piano (1955). London: Chappell, 1955. 11p. Library: Library of Congress. 6 Negro spirituals. New York: Chappell, 1955.[10] Nigerian miniatures, for orchestra. London: Performing Right Society. Duration: 20:00. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen, for SSAATTBB, by Harry Burleigh, arr. by Fela Sowande. New York: Franco Colombo (#1896).* Òbangiji, for organ* London: Chappell, 1955 (#42893). 7p. Duration: 3:48. CD: David Hurd, organ (1961 Holtkamp, Fisk University, Nashville) LP: Féla Sówandé, organ. London LL-533 (1952, The Negro in sacred idiom). ----- for woodwind quintet. Richmond VA: International Opus (WW5-9858). Oh render thanks, for organ or piano. Oyígíyigì; introduction, theme and variations on a Yoruba folk theme, for organ. New York: G. Ricordi, 1958. 19p. Library: Library of Congress Pastorale.* Pastourelle, for organ. London: Chappell, 1952.* Library: Library of Congress (melody only). CD: Lucius Weathersby, organ (Great Torrington Parish Church, Father Willis organ; 2003/IX/27). International Society – African to American Music (2003). CD: Lucius Weathersby, organ (Great Torrington Paris Church, Father Willis organ, 1864). Albany TROY == (2001; Spiritual fantasy). ----- for piano. London: Chappell, 1952. Library: Library of Congress. Pembe, for violin & piano (1954). London: Francis, Day & Hunter, 1954.* Library: Library of Congress. Plainchant, for organ. Plainsong (1951). London: Chappell, 1951.* Library: Library of Congress (melody only). Playtime.* Portrait (1954). London: Chappell, 1954.* Library: Library of Congress (violin part). Prayer; oba a ba ke, for organ. New York: G. Ricordi, 1958.* 8p. Library: Library of Congress. 2 Preludes on Yoruba sacred melodies. 1. ==; 2. Jesu olugbala, Return of spring.* Roll de ol' chariot, for SATBB & piano (1955). London: Chappell, 1955. Library: Library of Congress. Romantic lady.* Sacred idioms of the Negro, for organ. == Includes Bury me eas’ or wes’. Same train, for SATBB (1955). London: Chappell, 1955. Library: Library of Congress. Sit down servant, for SATB & piano. New York: Franco Columbo (#FCC 2096). ----- for tenor & TTBB. New York: G. Ricordi 6 Sketches, for orchestra. Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, for alto, tenor & SATB. London: Chappell, 1955. Library: Library of Congress. 3 Songs of contemplation, for medium voice & orchestra. London: Chappell, 1950. Text: A. Grenville Gacoigne. Library: Library of Congress. St. Jude’s responses, for SATB & organ. Stan' still, Jordan, for SATBB, by Harry Burleigh, arr. by Fela Sowande. New York: Franco Colombo (#FCC 1893). Steal away,* for SATBB. London: Chappell, 1955. Library: Library of Congress. Sunset.* Supplication, for organ. The emblem march. London: Chappell, 1954.* Library: Library of Congress (lead sheet). The gramercy of sleep, for TTBB. New York: Franco Columbo. (#FCC 2115) The return of spring, for orchestra (1952). London: Bosworth, 1932. Library: Library of Congress. To a priestess, for medium voice & piano. To arms; march. London: Chappell, 1954.* Library: Library of Congress (lead sheet). To the colors.* Uwa. Vespers, for organ. Via dolorosa, for organ. Wedding song, for SS (1957). Text: E. Fielding Kirk. Based on a Yorùbá folksong, Tún mi gbé. Wheel, o wheel, for SATB & piano. New York: Franco Columbo (#FCC 2094). Wid a sword in my han', for SATBB. New York: Franco Columbo (#FCC 1891). Words, for TTBBB. New York: Franco Columbo (#FCC 2114). Yoruba lament, for ogan.* London: Chappell, 1955 (#42897). 6p. Duration: 7:53. CD: Lucius Weathersby, organ (Father Willis, 1864; St. Michael and All Angels Church, Great Torrington, UK). Albany 440 (Spiritual fantasy). AT: Herndon Spillman, organ (1971). LP: Féla Sówandé, organ. London LL-533 (1952, The Negro in sacred idiom). 3 Yorùbá songs, for piano. 1. Oyígíyigì; Exercise in thirds; 2. A Yorùbá lullaby [based on Taní bá mi lçmæ wí]; 3. Ènìyàn yępęrę ló nma jé. ----- 3. Ènìyàn yępęrę ló nma jé, for voice & piano (1954).
[1] Also known as the High Priest of Music, Theodore Phillips, and Olafela Sowande. The inconsistency of diacriticals here (particularly with regard to proper names) is intentional as an aid for subsequent searching. [2] Not the first, as stated by Southern 1982, p354. [3] He had already toured with her in the tour of Sam Wooding’s The chocolate kiddies.in between 1924 and 1928, when he might have met cast member Lucille Hegamin. His affiliation with Hall could have included the time from 1936 when she settled in England. [4] Rita Cann (1911-2001), a native of Purley, Surrey, served as pianist for Tunji Sowande. Fela’s younger brother, a baritone. She had also been pianist with John Payne, a Black American singer, Paul Robeson, and Don Marino Barreto. In addition to being a night-club singer and dancer, she had her own Havana Sextet in 1936. In her later years, she was a telephonist st at the British Museum (e-mail communication from Mike Wright, 2004/VII/7). [5] Titles with an asterisk are controlled by Universal/MCA (ASCAP). [6] The first movement uses an Ébádò folksong, Èyin èdá e má ràròpin ò, the second uses Olele, the third AfÄfÄ yèyè, and the final movement uses Ó gbaya æya. Themes of the first movement are notated in BátéyÄ’s analysis, p125-126. A critic in New York claimed the work was more European than African == check NY Phil archives and ask Godwin==. The work is also known as the Nigerian folk symphony. [7] Sadoh 2003 (p19 of “A profile of Nigerian organist-composers”) indicates the première took place in 1962 by the New York Philharmonic, in Carnegie Hall. [8] Southern 1982, p355, offers 1952 as the date of composition. This is repeated by Horne 1991 and by Roanne Edwards in Encarta africana. [9] Vidal 2001 (p97) Cites the second movement as Ompa,and the fourth as The dance [based on Onídòdò Onímçyinmçyín]. [10] One is encouraged to speculate this includes My way’s cloudy, Roll de ol’ chariot, Same train, Sometimes I fell like a motherless child, Steal away, and one additional title.
|
