Negotiating Nigerian Church Melodies Through Contemporary Compositional Practice: Seun Owoaje’s Iyanu l’Oluwa

Author: Oladapo Okunmuyide

Abstract

Contemporary Nigerian art music continues to evolve through sustained interaction between indigenous musical traditions and Western compositional techniques. This study examines Seun Owoaje’s piano fantasia Iyanu l’Oluwa, focusing on its use of Nigerian church melodies,
contemporary pianistic procedures, and African–Western musical synthesis. Employing a qualitative case-study approach that integrates documentary research, biographical inquiry, an interview with the composer, and detailed structural and stylistic analysis of the score, the
study investigates the work’s formal organisation, thematic construction, rhythmic and metric processes, harmonic language, chordal vocabulary, texture, and expressive strategies. It pays particular attention to how five Yoruba sacred melodies are identified, transformed, and embedded within the fantasia framework, revealing techniques of development,
fragmentation, reharmonisation, layering, and octave displacement. The study argues that Iyanu l’Oluwa exemplifies a contemporary Nigerian compositional approach in which African musical materials function as substantive structural agents rather than decorative additions. It further highlights Owoaje’s integration of jazz-derived harmony, African Pianism, and Western pianistic techniques. Overall, the study contributes to the documentation of Owoaje’s compositional practice and to broader discourse on African musical identity, Nigerian art music, and intercultural approaches to piano composition.

Keywords: African Pianism, Compositional practice, Nigerian art music, Nigerian
Church Melodies, Western art music

Copyright © 2026. The author retains the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.

Download Full-Text (PDF)

References

Akpabot, S. (1986). Foundations of Nigerian traditional music. Spectrum Books.

Arom, S. (1991). African polyphony and polyrhythm: Musical structure and methodology. Cambridge University Press.

Authority, O. A. U. (2025). Episto-musical pedagogy theory: A decolonial framework for sound-based curriculum in African education. African

Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research, 8(4), 44–60.

Authority, O. A. U., & Arihi, B. E. (2026). African musical systems: Epistemic foundations and aesthetic trajectories. AFUJMA, 3, 116–124.

Boornazian, J. (2018). 3 polyrhythmic exercises every jazz musician should master. Learn Jazz Standards.

Euba, A. (1989). Essays on music in Africa 2: Intercultural perspectives. Bayreuth African Studies Series.

Euba, A. (1993). Modern African music. Iwalewa-Haus.

Ferris, J. (1995). Music: The art of listening. Brown & Benchmark. Harvard Dictionary of Music. (1969). Harvard University Press.

Li, X. (2011). Evaluating African Pianism: Intercultural perspectives on piano composition. Journal of Intercultural Music Studies, 4(2), 55–70.

Mensah, M. (1998). African composers and stylistic tendencies in modern composition. African Music, 7(1), 23–34.

Merriam, A. (1959). African music: Continuity and change in African cultures. In W. R. Bascom & M. J. Herskovits (Eds.), African music (pp. 49–86). University of Chicago Press.

Monro, D. (1974). African music: A bibliographical guide. Northwestern University Press.

Nketia, J. H. K. (1974). The music of Africa. Norton.

Nzewi, M., & Nzewi, O. (2007). A contemporary study of musical arts: The foliage—Consolidation. African Minds.

Nzewi, M. (1997). The musician as educator: A perspective from Africa. African
Music Society.

Obijiaku, C. (2024). Reframing the hybridity discourse in twenty-first century African art music: A composer’s perspective. SAMUS: South African Music Studies, 43(1), 137–161.

Ofuani, S. (2014). Traditional rhythmic patterns: The source of creativity and identity of original Nigerian art music compositions. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 9(1), 162–169.

Omojola, B. (1994). Contemporary art music in Nigeria: An introductory note on the works of Ayo Bankole (1935–76). Africa, 64(4), 533–543.

Omojola, B. (1998). Style in modern Nigerian art music: The pioneering works of Fela Sowande. Africa, 68(4), 455–470.

Omojola, B. (2001). African Pianism as an intercultural compositional framework: A study of the piano works of Akin Euba. Research in African Literatures, 32(2), 153–174.

Omojola, B. (1987). Nigerian art music: A study of contemporary African art music. Ibadan University Press.

Onyeji, C. (2002). The study of Abigbo choral-dance music and its application in the composition of Abigbo for modern symphony orchestra (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Pretoria.

Onyeji, C. (2008). Drummistic piano composition: An approach to teaching piano composition from a Nigerian cultural perspective. International Journal of Music Education, 26(1), 10–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761407088491

Onyeji, C. (2013). Toward Nigerian social and cultural integrity: The contributions of Nigerian indigenous musicians (with particular reference to Abigbo music of Mbaise). NJMAR, 1, 48–62.

Onyeji, C. (2014). Composing art music on African indigenous musical paradigms (Inaugural lecture). University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Onyeji, C. U. (2016). Composing art music based on African indigenous musical paradigms. University of Nigeria.

Owoaje, S. (2007). The art of atonal and tonal compositional techniques (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Lagos.

Owoaje, S. (2025). Tonality and atonality of speech surrogacy as resource for African Pianism. African Musicology Online, 14(1), 1–13.

Owoaje, T. O., & Sofola, K. (2021). Art music composition as instrument for promotion of African cultural heritage: Ibadan School of Music composition experiment. In F. Abiodun & A.-I. Nwamara (Eds.), Music in and out of culture: Musical arts education perspective (A festschrift for Isaac Ovaborhene Idamoyinbo) (pp. 437–456).

Oyadiran, K. (2002). African Pianism: The versatility of pianoforte as adapted in
Joshua Uzoigwe’s piano compositions. Nigerian Music Review, 2, 55–70.

Pan African Society for Musical Arts Education. (2002). Glimpses of music in Africa [Audiovisual]. PASMAE.

Reflections on African Pianism. (2000). A symposium and festival. Intercultural Musicology, 2(1–2), 20–35.

Sadoh, G. (2003). A profile of Nigerian organist-composers. The Organ, 82, 18 22.

Sadoh, G. (2004). The organ works of Fela Sowande: A Nigerian organist composer (Doctor of Arts monograph). Louisiana State University.

Sofola, K. O. (2023). Yoruba vocal art music of Seun Owoaje in the context of sustainable development (Master’s dissertation). University of Ibadan.

Sofola, K. (2025). Contemporary ideas in African art music composition: An exploration of the vocal and instrumental works of Seun Owoaje. African Musicology Online, 14(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.58721/amo.v14i2.1093

Squinobal, J. (2009). West African music in the music of Art Blakey, Yusef Lateef, and Randy Weston (Doctoral dissertation). University of Pittsburgh.

Valee, M. (2000). Can African Pianism exist? Musicology Today, 3(1), 15–29.

Vidal, T. (2012). Foreign impact on Nigerian music (19th century). In T. Vidal & F. Adedeji (Eds.), Selected topics on Nigerian music: General nature, history and musicological education (pp. 92–94). Obafemi Awolowo University Press.

Western Michigan University, Music Department. (2019). Modern art music

Wolinski, M. E. (2003). The medieval hocket. The ORB: On-line Reference Book
for Medieval Studie

Xin, L. (2011). My understanding of African Pianism. In Z. Boyu (Ed.), Dialogues
in music: Africa meets Asia (pp. 59–68). MRI Press.

Author

Oladapo Okunmuyide