Adaptation of Apala Music Performance Techniques to the Conducting of Yoruba Art Choral Works
Abstract
The conducting mode of African art music can extend beyond Western and theoretical approaches. Africans care about musical performances that convey their emotional and spiritual meanings. Therefore, an African conductor of an ensemble carefully crafts a lyrical interpretation that profoundly delves into notes, rhythms, and sounds and rests on locating layers of meanings that underpin the effectiveness of the written music. The discoveries and musical developments in African music performances, types of ensembles, and style vis -a- vis the conducting techniques had to change. These can be done using African performance techniques such as body movements and cues by the lead vocalist in the Apala music of the Yoruba people of Southwest Nigeria. The aforementioned suggests that conducting/directing African choral music, especially Yoruba art choral works, requires adaptation of traditional performance idioms and compatibility explored in live performances. This study is hinged on the Theory of Conducting Dynamism by Ossaiga (2020). This article examines the historical perspectives of Apala music and musical performance, the concept of conducting synthesis and adaptation and finally, the features of the synthetic conducting concept. The writer analyses the performance and audience reactions in the concert vis-a-vis the utilisation of traditional performance techniques in Apala in a concert of selected Yoruba art choral music works. The responses of the audience were rated on variant scales which include a 4-point Likert scale – SA = Strongly Agreed, A= Agreed, D= The study adopted the disagreed, SD= Strongly Disagreed and unstructured interview questions. Analyses of the data collected from the questionnaire were calculated using the simple percentage scale of rating. Findings reveal that conducting manifests changes as it interacts with different musical cultures, contexts, conductors, and compositions. Unlike Western practice, the conducting is carried out by the master musician or the lead singer, while the voice arrangements and stylistic techniques are distinct. The study recommends that others present a template for broadening the scope of conducting beyond Western conducting nuances to accommodate traditional conducting models. Also, evolve a system of adaptation of Apala and Juju music performance techniques for conducting Yoruba art choral music.
The conducting mode of African art music can extend beyond Western and theoretical approaches. Africans care about musical performances that convey their emotional and spiritual meanings. Therefore, an African conductor of an ensemble carefully crafts a lyrical interpretation that profoundly delves into notes, rhythms, and sounds and rests on locating layers of meanings that underpin the effectiveness of the written music. The discoveries and musical developments in African music performances, types of ensembles, and style vis -a- vis the conducting techniques had to change. These can be done using African performance techniques such as body movements and cues by the lead vocalist in the Apala music of the Yoruba people of Southwest Nigeria. The aforementioned suggests that conducting/directing African choral music, especially Yoruba art choral works, requires adaptation of traditional performance idioms and compatibility explored in live performances. This study is hinged on the Theory of Conducting Dynamism by Ossaiga (2020). This article examines the historical perspectives of Apala music and musical performance, the concept of conducting synthesis and adaptation and finally, the features of the synthetic conducting concept. The writer analyses the performance and audience reactions in the concert vis-a-vis the utilisation of traditional performance techniques in Apala in a concert of selected Yoruba art choral music works. The responses of the audience were rated on variant scales which include a 4-point Likert scale – SA = Strongly Agreed, A= Agreed, D= The study adopted the disagreed, SD= Strongly Disagreed and unstructured interview questions. Analyses of the data collected from the questionnaire were calculated using the simple percentage scale of rating. Findings reveal that conducting manifests changes as it interacts with different musical cultures, contexts, conductors, and compositions. Unlike Western practice, the conducting is carried out by the master musician or the lead singer, while the voice arrangements and stylistic techniques are distinct. The study recommends that others present a template for broadening the scope of conducting beyond Western conducting nuances to accommodate traditional conducting models. Also, evolve a system of adaptation of Apala and Juju music performance techniques for conducting Yoruba art choral music.
References
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