Intercultural expressions in the Yorùbá Native Air tradition of Rev. Canon J. J. Ransome-Kútì

Abstract

The evolution of indigenous Yorùbá Church music can be traced to the activism of some pioneer Church men who were passionate about generating appropriate idioms and medium for musical expression. Rev. Canon Josiah Jesse Ransome-Kútì can be regarded as a progenitor of the Yorùbá native air tradition in Christian liturgy. This paper employed the theory of interculturalism in identifying the elements of intercultural expressions in his musical output that formed the appendix of the Yorùbá Hymn book Iwe Orin Mimo fun Ijo Enia Olorun ni ile Yorùbá. His upbringing showcases simultaneous exposure to the worlds of Yorùbá traditional and European Church music. Intercultural expressions identified in the song collection of Canon Kútì includes documentation, set keys, instrumentation and rhythm, harmonic progression, structural form, as well as open air music performance.