Post-Colonial Music Development Essay

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In Tonality as a Colonizing Force in Africa, Agawu (2016) states that tonality, that is, a hierarchically organized pitch relation system, has been the most influential pitch organization system in Western Europe for centuries. This is why it should not be surprising that such an essential and viable resource acted a part in the chain of exchanges and imposings that characterized European colonialism in Africa starting from the 1840s. That is, choral hymns, church music, and music for entertainment, all of it tonal, improved or even defined life in communities in, among other places, Ghana, Malawi, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. In this work, the author engages with numerous works on the theory of music, the Western view of music, urban music cultures, African music, African philosophy, and colonialism in Africa. To this body of work, Agawu (2016) adds his perspective on how African music was influenced by tonality brought to their land by Europeans and how exactly this influence was developing.

The author unfolds the argument, starting with general information on the topic and then organizing his findings in sections. First, Agawu (2016) discusses traces of tonality in African music; after that, he speaks about African tonal thinking as it was before Europeans, and, finally, he looks at some African works composed under a tonal regime. The researcher uses a variety of source materials on a number of topics, as it has been mentioned above, and he uses them to provide the necessary context for his work. In general, Agawu (2016) tries to argue that, while it is not talked about much, Europe contributed to the tonal underdevelopment of Africa by making inaction possible in the areas of creation and reception. This is the main takeaway for readers of this work envisioned by the author, and one I wholeheartedly agree with. I am from South Korea, that is, the country that went through colonization by Japan and has been subjected to American cultural influences. I believe that our musical national identity has been altered for the worse by these foreign powers, and I like seeing different authors come to similar conclusions in regard to different cultures. Moreover, Agawu’s thoughtful approach to the subject of his work is something I would want to incorporate into my own research.

In Latin American Baroque: Performance as a Post-Colonial Act?, Baker (2008) states that Latin American Baroque music is the result of more or less direct contact with the African culture of the past. Therefore, he intends to examine some ways in which greater awareness of the realities of colonialism may influence the performance and listening of colonial Baroque music. In Baker’s (2008) opinion, certain 21st-century values can be reasonably applied to the reflection on music of the 17th-century Latin America. The author engages with various works on the theory of music, music as a political act, music and culture, colonialism, and post-colonialism. What Baker (2008) adds to this body of work is his point of view on how colonial music needs to be listened to and performed and how significant historical awareness is.

The author constructs the paper by starting with the introduction, which is followed by a section expanding on the subjects of musicology and performance. After that, there is a section that offers solutions, after which comes a lengthy conclusion. Baker (2008) uses source materials that expand on the topics mentioned above to provide the foundation for his thought processes. What he tries to argue is that performers should be more aware of the issues that come with performing colonial Latin American repertoire, historically informed about them, and communicate this information to their audiences. This is the main takeaway of the work from the perspective of the author and the opinion with which I agree. The researcher’s logical composition of the paper is one thing that I feel like might be useful for my own work.

Questions:

  1. From Agawu’s perspective, how did Europe tonally underdeveloped Africa?
  2. According to Baker, what is the way for audiences to become aware of the realities of colonialism when listening to or watching performances of Latin American Baroque music?

References

Agawu, K. (2016). Tonality as a colonizing force in Africa. In R. Radano and T. Olaniyan (Eds.), Audible empire: Music, global politics, critique (pp. 334-356). Duke University Press.

Baker, G. (2008). Early Music, 36(3), 441-448. Web.

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