Lightning Talks: Interculturalism in Brazilian, Ghanaian, and Nigerian Music

Program

Chair: Desirée Mayr (Bahia State University) and Aaron Carter-Ényì (Morehouse College)

• The Riser Schema in Brazilian Choro - Stephen Guerra (University of Buffalo)
• Kagoro Kundun: Background and Analysis of a Drummistic Piano Work - Anton Vishio (University of Toronto) and Christian Onyeji (University of Nigeria)
• Brazilian Style through Hispanic Ears: Cantata Sudamericana’s Integration Project - Bruno Alcalde (University of Richmond)
• From Rondo to Quasi-Sine Curve: Formal Approaches in Gyimah Labi’s “Earthbeats” - Hang Ki Choi (CUNY Graduate Center)
• Discussion

 

Organizer: Desirée Mayr & Aaron Carter-Ényì (co-chairs).

If you would like to join the Interest Group, please send an email to Desirée Mayr or Aaron Carter-Ényì (djmayr@gmail.com or Aaron.CarterEnyi@Morehouse.edu).

 

Abstracts

The Riser Schema in Brazilian Choro

Choro is Brazil’s longest-living native instrumental tradition. Its pitch practices are said to trace back to those of European salon music of the early- to mid-1800s, such as especially the polka—although this has yet to be investigated plainly in musical analysis. So, choro harmony should be easily conceptualized in terms of Euroclassical theory. Indeed, it is in many ways. Forms tend to be regular three-part rondos or two-part ternaries with four four-bar phrases per part. The fourth phrase in most major-key choros gives one bar to SD, two to I-vi-ii-V, with or without secondary dominants, modal mixtures, and extensions, and one to tonic. In the few cases when this doesn’t happen, the four quarter-note beats allotted to the usual I-vi-ii-V are replaced by the four events of the riser schema, any of a finite set of harmonic solutions to the voice-leading line 5-#5/b6-6-7. Most of these solutions are unprecedented in Euroclassical music, whether light or serious, and as such, remain theoretically undefined. This owes to two pressures. First, choro harmony is conducted by guitars, and fretboard space and its attendant manual-visual patterns work in different ways than those of keyboard space. Second, choro guitarists were not conservatory trained. In my 12 minutes, I’ll introduce the riser schema and all those different harmonizations of it that I’ve found, taking note of which possibilities are absent. Lastly, I’ll suggest which may be the most common solution and why, both speculatively and based on a recent study that I conducted

 

Kagoro Kundun: Background and Analysis of a Drummistic Piano Work

Our presentation is centered on Christian Onyeji's new piano work, Kagoro Kundun, premiered by Anton Vishio earlier in the conference; the composition draws its creative idiom and inspiration from a traditional music of the Kagoro people which combines voice and instruments in its performance. Creative elements and idioms of the indigenous music provided compositional materials that were simulated in the piano. Onyeji will present the cultural background of the work and an introduction to the motivations for the drummistic style he has developed, which brings to the fore the uniqueness of piano in simulating African rhythmic and drumming techniques. In his contribution, Vishio will discuss the motivic and rhythmic organization of this diversely-textured piece. He will also explore technical demands engendered by the work, especially for a pianist trained in a European-derived tradition in which the percussive nature of the piano is often sublimated.  

 

Brazilian Style through Hispanic Ears: Cantata Sudamericana’s Integration Project

As the only official Portuguese-speaking country in South America, Brazil is surrounded by Hispanic culture. This linguistic and cultural behemoth of an "island" in Latin America interacts with the encircling countries in rich ways, but its musical identity, unified due to conscious political efforts throughout the 20th century, overpowers combinations to the point of becoming stereotyped. A different unification is pursued by Ariel Ramírez and Félix Luna in Cantata Sudamericana (1972), sung by Mercedes Sosa. The project, within the nuevo cancionero movement, has the goal of integrating South American music while renovating its folk traditions. The aim for continental musical unity brings many stylistic challenges in the selection of instruments, harmonies, rhythms, and lyrics throughout the album's eight tracks. Some songs focus on plural combinations, but in a few instances, Ramírez and Luna dwell on a single country. Perhaps the most friction is seen in “Canta Tu Canción,” representing the “big neighbor” Brazil. The composition offers a unique opportunity to see Brazil through Argentinean eyes: musically written as Bossa Nova, and linguistically and socio-historically through the choice of Spanish language and hints of Afro-Brazilian markers such as “macumba” and “Samba.” These musical and word choices evince Brazil’s perceived identity and role in this integration of South America. In this brief talk I will explore the general style markers, topics, and textual references used in “Canta Tu Canción,” connect these choices with the album in general, and highlight the challenges of Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian musical culture within Hispanic Latin America.

 

From Rondo to Quasi-Sine Curve: Formal Approaches in Gyimah Labi’s “Earthbeats”

African art music remains underexplored, overshadowed by the extensive literature on traditional African music. However, African art music possesses many intriguing aspects that bear careful study, such as the innovative approach to formal design in this repertoire. An example that is particularly representative in this regard is Ghanaian composer Gyimah Labi’s "Earthbeats," from his Five Dialects in African Pianism. This piece begins with a refrain-episode alternation that is reminiscent of a rondo. Yet, midway through, its first episode begins to reappear insistently, as if hijacking the role of the refrain. Themes from the refrain and the first episode also coalesce to create hybrid thematic sections that obscure the sense of a rondo. Two of Labi’s publications—his foreword to “Earthbeats” and his treatise, Theoretical Issues in African Music—offer insights into the seemingly idiosyncratic form of this piece. In the foreword, Labi describes the refrains and hybrid sections of “Earthbeats” as transitional bridges, thereby suggesting a stark contrast from the stabilizing function typically associated with a refrain. In his treatise, he emphasizes the importance of balance in a composition’s formal design, such as balancing coherence with variation or motion with stasis. Building on these writings by Labi, I interpret “Earthbeats” as involving a series of motion-stasis alternations, displaying what Labi calls a “quasi-sine curve”: an undulating, continuous cycle of climaxes and depressions, periodically interrupted by discontinuity. I conclude my presentation by exploring how Labi’s quasi-sine curve model can be applied to other African art music pieces.