Appreciating Ghanaian Choral Music: George Mensah Essilfieas YEdze Wo KEseyE Mawa (We Ascribe To Your Greatness) In Perspective
Ghana grew out of formal music education introduced into Ghana’s educational system during the colonial period. Western music and its stylistic features of compositional techniques were then espoused and put to use. Conversely, this comprehensive espousal of foreign traditions impeded the very existence of indigenous Ghanaian cultural practices – especially music. The early twentieth century saw the nation’s musical icons like Ephraim Amu, Nketia among others, initiating a crusade to resuscitate Ghanaian indigenous musical traditions. Through a critical analysis of a representative work, ‘YɛdzeWokɛseyɛmaW’(We ascribe to your greatness) the authors introduce one “contemporary” Ghanaian composer, George Essilfie Mensah, whose pieces demonstrate bimusicality, a syncretism of traditional Ghanaian and western musical styles which presents his works appreciating to Ghanaian Choral music performers. The paper seeks to serve as model for the study of a blend of traditional and western elements in choral music.
