E BA MI GBE JESU YI GA

Author: Sunday Anuoluwapo Ajayi

Musical Analysis

Introduction
African Art Music is a hybrid of both Western and African musical idioms. “E Ba Mi Gbe Jesu
yi Ga” is a piece of music that possesses the duo. Even though Western musical concepts are
truly deployed in terms of polyphony (fugue-like) harmony written for SATB, the deployment
of rhythms in depicting Africanism is a point of attraction in the piece of music.

Analysis
In the analysis of “Eba Mi Gbe Jesu Yi Ga”, macro and micro analyses shall be made, and other elements of music, such as tonal organisation, melodic range, harmony, rhythms, texts, and form or structure shall be examined.

Structure
This piece in its macro form, is structured ABC and codetta. A section is from bars 0-17, B
section is like exposition or developmental section from bars 17-34 with subsections abcd.
Section C starts from bars 34-41, and the codetta from 41-46.

Considering the microstructure, Section A starts with a fugue-like style stating the main
melodic material in the Bass part, imitated by Tenor, a 5th apart, and also by Alto and Soprano.

The main theme got its inspiration from the commonly sung lyrics in most of the churches in
Nigeria. Sub-sections in B are partitioned as follows: a. 17 – 23, b. 23-28, c. 28-32, and d. 32-34. All these subsections are differentiated by cadences, different material development, and
possessions of different rhythmic features.

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Author

Sunday Anuoluwapo Ajayi