Chief Olufela Obafunmilayo "Fela" Sowande

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(29 May 1905 – 13 March 1987) was a Nigerian musician and composer. Considered the father of modern

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

art music Art music (alternatively called classical music, cultivated music, serious music, and canonic music) is music considered to be of high phonoaesthetic value. It typically implies advanced structural and theoretical considerationsJacques Siron, ...

, Sowande is perhaps the most internationally known African composer of works in the European "classical" idiom.De Lerma, Dominique-Rene
"African Heritage Symphonic Series"
Liner note essay.

Cedille Records Cedille Records () is the independent record label of the Chicago Classical Recording Foundation. History In 1989, James Steven Ginsburg, James Ginsburg, the son of Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice of th ...

CDR055.

Early life

Sowande was born in

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokuta and the surrounding are ...

, near

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, the son of Emmanuel Sowande, a priest and pioneer of Nigerian church music. As a child he sang in the Choir of the Cathedral Church of Christ. He studied at the C.M.S. Grammar School and at

King's College, Lagos King's College, Lagos (KCL) is a secondary school in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was founded on 20 September 1909 with 10 students on its original site at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only male students ...

. The influence of his father and Dr T. K. Ekundayo Phillips (composer, organist and choirmaster) was an important factor in his early years. At that time, Sowande was a chorister and was introduced to new

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

works being introduced into the churches. During that period, he studied organ under Phillips (including works by Bach and European classical masters), and earned the Fellowship Diploma (FRCO) from the

Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and de ...

. At that time, he was also a

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

, playing

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and popular

highlife Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (British colony), history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions ...

music. All of these had considerable influence on his work.

London

In 1934, Sowande went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to study European classical and popular music. In 1936, he was solo pianist in a performance of

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's ''

Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered i ...

''. He also played as part of a pianist duo with

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

, was

theatre organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements o ...

ist for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, Choirmaster at

Kingsway Hall The Kingsway Hall in Holborn, London, was the base of the West London Mission (WLM) of the Methodist Church, and eventually became one of the most important recording venues for classical music and film music. It was built in 1912 and demolished ...

and pianist in the 1936 production of ''Blackbirds''. In 1939, he played the organ on recordings by popular singers

Adelaide Hall Adelaide Louise Hall (20 October 1901 – 7 November 1993) was an American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer. Her long career spanned more than 70 years from 1921 until her death and she was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Hal ...

and

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

. Later, he studied organ privately under

Edmund Rubbra Edmund Rubbra (; 23 May 190114 February 1986) was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak o ...

, George Oldroyd, and George Cunningham and became a Fellow of the

in 1943, winning the Limpus, Harding and Read Prizes. He also won several prizes and obtained a Bachelor of Music degree at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and became a Fellow of

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

. He also worked as musical advisor for the Colonial Film Unit of the Ministry of Information during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, providing background music for educational films. From 1945, he was a renowned organist and choirmaster at the

West London Mission The West London Methodist Mission was established in 1887 under the leadership of Hugh Price Hughes, a leading voice in Methodism and in Non-Conformity, and has a long track record as a Methodist ministry and as a spiritual home for "good works". ...

of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

until 1952, and a considerable amount of organ music dates from this period. These are based on Nigerian melodies that gave a special appeal to the Black members of his congregation in the early years of migration from the African continent and the Caribbean. During this time, he also became known as a dance pianist, bandleader, and

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

ist, playing popular tunes of the day. Western and African ideas prevail in his music, which included organ works such as ''Yorùbá Lament'', ''Obangiji'', ''Kyrie'', ''Gloria'', ''Jesu Olugbala'', and ''Oba Aba Ke Pe''. Most of these show a strong influence from

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

music, combined with Yoruba

pentatonic A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many ancie ...

melodies. His orchestral works include ''Six Sketches for Full Orchestra'', ''A Folk Symphony'', and ''African Suite'' for

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

, and show African rhythmic and harmonic characteristics. The final movement of ''African Suite'' became known to Canadian audiences as the theme of the popular CBC music programme '' Gilmour's Albums'', and is now a Canadian orchestral standard. He also wrote a significant amount of secular and sacred choral music, mainly a cappella. Some of these works were composed during his period with the BBC Africa Service. He went back to Nigeria to scholarly work with the

Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation The Voice of Nigeria or VON is the official international broadcasting station of Nigeria. History Founded in 1961, the Voice of Nigeria began life as the External Service of the then Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (now Federal Radio Corpora ...

and later the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

. He was appointed

in the 1955 Queen's Birthday Honours for his work in the Nigerian Broadcasting Service. In 1968 he moved to

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

in Washington, D.C., then the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

Later life

In the last years of his life Sowande taught in the Department of Pan-African Studies at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

, and lived in nearby

Ravenna, Ohio Ravenna is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Akron. It was formed from portions of Ravenna Township in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 11,323 in the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Por ...

with his wife, Eleanor McKinney, who was one of the founders of

Pacifica Radio Pacifica may refer to: Art * ''Pacifica'' (statue), a 1938 statue by Ralph Stackpole for the Golden Gate International Exposition Places * Pacifica, California, a city in the United States ** Pacifica Pier, a fishing pier * Pacifica, a conceiv ...

. He died in Ravenna and is buried in Randolph Township, Ohio. In addition to his position as a professor, Sowande also held the

chieftaincy A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...

title of the Bariyo of

. There is currently a move to set up a centre to research and promote his works, as many remain unpublished or are out of print.

Selected compositions

Organ

* 1945 – ''Ka Mura'',

Chappell Chappell may refer to: Places * Chappell, Nebraska, United States * Chappells, South Carolina, United States * Chappell (crater) on the moon * Mount Chappell Island, Tasmania, Australia * North West Mount Chappell Islet, Tasmania, Australia Organi ...

, London * 1952 – ''Pastourelle (for organ)'', Chappell, London * 1955 – ''Jesu Olugbala'', Chappell, London * 1955 – ''Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho'', Chappell, London * 1955 – ''Kyrie'', Chappell, London * 1955 – ''Obangiji'', Chappell, London * 1955 – ''Yorùbá Lament'', Chappell, London * 1958 – ''Oyigiyigi'', Ricordi, New York * 1958 – ''Gloria'', Ricordi, New York * 1958 – 'Prayer'', Ricordi, New York * 1959 – ''Responses in 'A’'' * ''KÕa Mo Rokoso'' * ''Oba Aba Ke Pe'' * ''Go Down Moses''

Choral

* "The Wedding Day" for S.S.A. with piano, 1957, RDH * "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" for S.A.T.B. a cappella, 1955, Chappell, London * "My Way's Cloudy" for S.A.T.B. with piano, 1955, Chappell, London * "De Ol' Ark's a-Moverin" for S.A.T.B.B. a cappella with tenor solo, 1955, Chappell, London * "Same Train" for S.A.T.B.B. a cappella, 1955, Chappell, London * " Roll de Ol' Chariot" for S.A.T.B.B. with piano and rhythm combo, 1955, Chappell, London * ''Steal Away'' for S.A.T.B.B. a cappella, 1955, Chappell, London * "All I d"o for S.A.T.B.B. with piano and rhythm combo, 1961, Ricordi, New York * "Goin' to Set Down" for S.A.T.B. a cappella with soprano solo, 1961, Ricordi, New York * "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" for S.A.T.B. a cappella with soprano solo, 1958, Ricordi, New York * "De Angels Are Watchin'" for S.A.T.B. a cappella with soprano and tenor solo, 1958, Ricordi, New York * "Nobody Knows de Trouble I See" for S.A.TB. a cappella, 1958, Ricordi, New York * "Wheel, Oh Wheel" for S.A.T.B. a cappella, 1961, Ricordi, New York * "Wid a Sword in Ma Hand" for S.A.T.B.B. a cappella, 1958, Ricordi, New York * "Sit Down Servant" for T.T.B.B. a cappella and tenor solo, 1961, Ricordi, New York * "Out of Zion" for S.A.T.B. with organ, 1955 * "St. Jude's Response" for S.A.T.B. with organ * "Oh Render Thanks" (hymn-anthem) for S.A.T.B. with organ, 1960 * Nigerian National Anthem (an arrangement) for S.A.T.B. with organ, 1960

Solo songs

* ''Three Songs of Contemplation'' for tenor and piano, 1950, Chappell, London * ''Because of You for voice and piano'', 1950, Chappell, London * ''Three Yoruba Songs for voice and piano'', 1954, Ibadan

Orchestral

* ''Four Sketches for full orchestra'', 1953 * ''African Suite for string orchestra'', 1955, Chappell, London * ''Folk Symphony for full orchestra'', 1960

Books

* (1964). ''Ifa: Guide, Counsellor, and Friend of Our Forefathers''. Ibadan. * (1966). ''The Mind of a Nation: The Yoruba Child''. Ibadan: Ibadan University. * (1968). ''Come Now Nigeria'', Part 1: Nationalism and essays on relevant subjects. Ibadan: Sketch Pub. Co.; sole distributors: Nigerian Book Suppliers. (All the material presented in this book first appeared in the form of articles in the pages of the ''Daily Sketch'', Ibadan.) * (1975). ''The Africanization of Black Studies''. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Institute for African American Affairs. African American Affairs Monograph Series, v. 2, no. 1.

Articles

* (1971). "Black Folklore", ''Black Lines: A Journal of Black Studies'' (special issue: Black Folklore), v. 2, no. 1 (Fall 1971), pp. 5–21.

References

External links

A more detailed account of his life
*

Val Wilmer Valerie Sybil Wilmer (born 7 December 1941) is a British photographer and writer specialising in jazz, gospel, blues, and British African-Caribbean music and culture. Her notable books include ''Jazz People'' (1970) and ''As Serious As Your Lif ...

(on Sowande's relationship with pianist Rita Cann)
"Rita Cann – Musical talent lead her to become one of the first visible black women in London society" (obituary)
''The Guardian'', 10 May 2001.
The Papers of Fela Sowande
at Dartmouth College Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Sowande, Fela 1905 births 1987 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Nigerian musicians Alumni of the University of London American people of Yoruba descent Burials in Ohio CMS Grammar School, Lagos alumni Fellows of the Royal College of Organists Howard University faculty Kent State University faculty King's College, Lagos alumni Male classical composers Musicians from Abeokuta Nigerian academics Nigerian classical composers Nigerian emigrants to the United States Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom Nigerian male musicians Nigerian people of World War II People from Ravenna, Ohio Theatre organists University of Pittsburgh faculty Yoruba academics Yoruba-language writers Yoruba musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century male musicians Academics of Trinity College of Music