Text and Tune in Nigerian Solo Folk Song Arrangements: A Performer's Perspective on the Creativity, Limitations and New Directions

Abstract

Nigeria stocks some amount of art music compositions for different media. Of these creative works vocal compositions dominates. Within the large number of vocal works however, very few works are for solo voices of different ranges. In addition, of the solo vocal works by Nigerian composers, creative arrangements of existing folk songs drawn from oral compositions of different Nigerian sub-cultures form a large part. In these folk song arrangements, text is indispensable, such that it weighs heavily on the creative aspects of the music that goes with it. The “constraining” role of the meaning of text seems to be accepted to be a limitation to creative exploration of the text and tune in most solo voice arrangements from Nigerian composers. The dependence of the composers on syllabic text setting of folk songs for their solo arrangements seems to suggest a degree of reluctance to explore the expressive aspects of the words or the music in their creative out puts or lack of awareness of the potentials of the texts and tunes of such folk songs for creative development. What exists are folk song arrangements that feature syllabic text or neumatic text settings almost exclusively. Very little has been done to explore the creative potentials of the songs as art music compositions similar to what obtains in the Western art music. This has resulted to creative limitations on the part of the composers and the performers alike. This paper takes a critical look at the folk song arrangements by Nigerian composers and their creative explorations/developments of the texts and tunes. Drawing from selected works of some Nigerian composers, the paper discusses the creative utilization of folk songs by Nigerian composers in their current state, the creative limitations for the performer as well as some creative directions for the development of high-level/advanced Nigerian solo songs at par with the performance abilities of professional soloists. Analytical samples would be provided where necessary to illuminate the point being made. A combination of analytical and library research methods was used in this paper.