Author: Bakare, Micheal Adeleke (PhD)
Journal of Music Composition
Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 33-45, May 2026
Received: 10 March 2026 |
Accepted: 16 Apr. 2026 |
Published: 30 May 2026
Abstract
Ebi Npa Wa! (“We Are Hungry!”) is a contemporary Nigerian SATB choral composition that
transforms the nation’s current economic hardship into a powerful musical statement. Scored for mixed choir with piano accompaniment, the work draws on Yoruba linguistic expression and communal lament traditions to articulate collective frustration, deprivation, and resilience. Its through-composed structure, reinforced by recurring motivic refrains, enables the text to unfold with emotional immediacy, while call-and-response textures, homophonic clarity, and contrapuntal layering heighten its expressive intensity.
The harmonic language blends diatonic tonality with modal inflections and moments of dissonance that mirror social instability, supported by a rhythmically active piano part that evokes indigenous percussive patterns. Beyond its aesthetic qualities, the composition functions as a socio-musical archive, capturing the lived realities of inflation, food scarcity, and migration pressures. Ebi Npa Wa! ultimately positions choral music as a medium of civic reflection, communal solidarity, and subtle resistance within contemporary Nigerian society.
Keywords: African Choral Expression, Economic Hardship, Musical Social Commentary,
Nigerian Art Music, Yoruba Lament Tradition
Copyright © 2025 The author retains the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.
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Author
Bakare, Micheal Adeleke (PhD)