Decolonizing Western Conducting: Gospel Music Conducting Practices in Twenty-First Century Southern Nigeria

Main Article Content

Dr. Udoka Peace Ossaiga

Abstract

At the initial stages when Western conducting was introduced to Nigeria, it was mainly used to direct European art music. This was the practice from the nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. However, in twenty-first century, Western conducting is utilized to direct gospel ensembles, especially in Southern Nigeria. Although some of the nuances used to conduct gospel music in the locale predate twenty-first century Nigeria, literature is scant on how gospel music is conducted; and how such practice decolonizes Western conducting in Southern Nigeria. In this paper, I purposively selected eighteen (18) gospel music conductors, utilized non-participant observation, interview; and the theories of decolonization and conducting dynamism to descriptively discuss gospel music conducting practices and how the conducting practices are decolonizing Western conducting in twenty-first-century Southern Nigeria. Findings indicate that gospel music conducting in the region rarely engages basic conducting beat patterns, lavishly utilizes audible counting and finger snapping, feet stamping, clapping; and dance/kinetics that are traceable to popular music traditions to remove the restraints of conducting classicism, and to elicit kinetics in tandem with gospel music performance tradition in Southern Nigeria. These decolonize Western conducting, produce a form of conducting that combines Western and popular music idioms; that is predominantly opposed to the restrains of classical conducting. These warrant canonization for conducting taxonomy and education in Nigeria and beyond.

Keywords: Conducting Theory, Gospel Music Ensemble, Nigerian Conducting Practices, Western Conducting, Southern Nigeria

Article Details

Ossaiga, U. P. (2024). Decolonizing Western Conducting: Gospel Music Conducting Practices in Twenty-First Century Southern Nigeria. African Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 2(1), 158-172. https://doi.org/10.62154/ajrts.2024.02.010463
Articles

Copyright (c) 2024 Dr. Udoka Peace Ossaiga (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abidiak, M. D. (2020). Harnessing the potentialities and prospects of female choral conductors in Nigeria for sustainable professional development. Doctoral thesis at the Department of Music, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt.

Adedeji, F. (2004a). History of Nigerian gospel music. Accessed and retrieved from www.nigeriangospelmusic.org/HistoryofNigerianGospelMusic.pdf.

Adedeji, F. (2004b). Classification of Nigerian gospel music styles. Accessed and retrieved from www.ajol.info/index.php/nmr.

https://doi.org/10.4314/nmr.v5i1.35369 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/nmr.v5i1.35369

Adedeji, F. (2009). Vocal aesthetics in contemporary African music: A case of Nigerian gospel music. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts, Vol. 6, 1-12.

Agu, D. C. C. (1991). Gospel music in Nigerian orthodox churches: A synthesis of religious, social and cultural identity. Journal of General Studies, Vol. 1-(2): 14-29.

Ayorinde, O. and Ajose, S. (2022). Music and Spirituality in Africa: Gospel Music, Spirituality and Everyday Meaning-Making in Nigeria. Religions 13: 12-27.

https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13121227 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13121227

Boyer, H. C. (1979). Contemporary gospel music. The Black perspective in music, 7: 5-58

https://doi.org/10.2307/1214427 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1214427

Boyer, H. C. (2000). The golden age of gospel. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press.

Bradley, D. (2012). Good for what, good for whom? Decolonizing music education philosophies. In Bowman, W. D., Fregal, A. L. (Eds.) Oxford Handbook of Philosophy in Music Education (pp 409-433). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195394733.013.0022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195394733.013.0022

Demaree, R. W., and Moses, D. V. (1995). The complete conductor. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Forchu, I. I. (2010). The compositional techniques of gospel music in Nigeria. Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts, Vol. 7, 46-57.

Herbst, A. Nzewi, M.; and Agawu, K. (2003). Musical arts in Africa: Theory, practice and education. Pretoria, South Africa: University of South Africa Press.

Hess, J. (2018). Challenging the empire in empir(e)ical research: The question of speaking in music education. Music Education Research, 20(5): 573-590.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2018.1433152 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2018.1433152

Hukporti, F. K. (2023). Your Guide to Basic Conducting. Accra: Noyam.

Ibude, I. O; Ossaiga, U. P. (2024). Digital technology and gospel music directing in the 21st century Nigeria. JANIM: Journal of the Association of Nigerian Musicologists (18):55- 64.

Igbi, O. (2022). Music conducting techniques, practices and ensemble management styles among selected church-based conductors in Delta State. Doctoral thesis, at the Department of Music, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt.

Jensen, L. (1991). The emergence of the modern conductor in 19th century Italian opera. Performance Practice Review Vol. 4:1. Retrieved from http://scholarship.claremont.edu/ppr/vol4/iss1/5

https://doi.org/10.5642/perfpr.199104.01.5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5642/perfpr.199104.01.5

Legg, A. F. J. (2008). The transculturalization of African American gospel music: The context and culture of gospel tradition in Australian gospel music. Doctor of Philosophy Degree thesis, University of Tasmania, Hobart.

Legg, A. (2010). A taxonomy of musical gestures in African American gospel music. Popular Music 39: 103-129.

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143009990407 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143009990407

Maiello, A. J. (2007). Conducting nuances: Little things matter a lot. Chicago: GIA Publications.

Ossaiga, U. P. (2014). Expanding the frontiers of conducting with special reference to gospel music. Master of Arts dissertation, Department of Music, Delta State University, Abraka.

Ossaiga. U. P. (2020). Conducting practices of select formally trained conductors as demonstrated in a concert. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree thesis at the Department of Music, Delta State University, Abraka.

Ossaiga, U. P. (2023). Pre-performance Foundations for Conceptualizing Conducting in Twenty-first Century Nigeria. South-South Journal of Humanities and International Studies of the Faculty of Humanities, Ignatius Ajjuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, Vol. 6 (1): 467-474.

Ossaiga, U. P. (2024a). Western classicism and Western art music conducting in Southern Nigeria. African Journal of Humanities and Contemporary Education Research (AJHCER) Vol. 15 (1): 271-281. DOI: https://doi.org/10.62154/g9yckh64

https://doi.org/10.62154/g9yckh64 DOI: https://doi.org/10.62154/g9yckh64

Ossaiga, U. P. (2024b). Performative dimensions of gospel music artistry in Nigeria: Implications for church music directing. African Journal of Religious and Theological Studies Vol. 2 (1): 90-101. DOI: https://doi.org/20.62154/ajrts.2024.02.0103887.

https://doi.org/10.62154/ajrts.2024.02.010387 DOI: https://doi.org/10.62154/ajrts.2024.02.010387

Reagon, B. J. (ed.) (1992). We'll understand it better by and by: Pioneering African American gospel composers. Washington, and London: Smithsonian Institute Press.

Rosabal-Coto, G. (2014). "I did it my way!" A case study of resistance to coloniality in music learning and specialization. Action, Criticism, and Theory of Music Education Vol. 13(1): 155-187.

Wagner, R. (1869). On conducting. (Edward Dannreuther, Trans.) Retrieved from http://www.riusfrancesc.com/on%20conducting_wagner.html

Williams-Jones, P. (1975). Afro-American gospel music: A crystallization of the Black aesthetic. Ethnomusicology, 19: 373-85.

https://doi.org/10.2307/850791 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/850791