Author: Christopher Olurotimi Omotoso
Journal of Music Composition
Vol. 2 No. 4, pp. 39-60, Oct. 2026
Received: 12 August 2026 |
Accepted: 15 Sept. 2026 |
Published: 24 Oct. 2026
Abstract
This article examines Eye Orofo, a contemporary Yoruba choral composition that employs the green wild pigeon as a metaphor to critique excessive talkativeness within Yoruba society. Drawing on indigenous verbal art, folklore, children’s moonlight songs, and the tonal logic of the Yoruba language, the study analyses how cultural semiotics and musical structure interact to convey moral instruction grounded in the Omoluabi ethos. The work adopts a rondo-derived sectional design comprising polyphony, call-and-response, homophony, and counterpoint, supported by pentatonic and heptatonic pitch resources centred on B-flat major. Through detailed examination of text setting, melodic contour, and structural organisation, the article demonstrates how the composition integrates satire, storytelling, and onomatopoeia to reinforce social moderation and communal ethics. The study contributes to scholarship on African art-music by showing how indigenous philosophies can be effectively embedded in modern choral writing to promote character formation and cultural continuity.
Keywords: African art music, Indigenous ethics, Musical semiotics, Tonal inflection, Yoruba choral composition
Copyright © 2026. 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
Christopher Olurotimi Omotoso