Ablodewu an original composition derived from compositional techniques of kinka in avenorpedo in the Volta Region of Ghana

Abstract

Unlike choral art and popular music, the military band is still hooked to its umbilical cord of using fundamentally Western music as its repertoire. It has been my strongest desire that a sensitization be done on the need to adopt and adapt our rich cultural heritage to ensure that our military band music also becomes part of the global musical discourse. This quest ignited the study that focused on the Kinka genre of the Avenorpedo people of the Volta Region in Ghana. The research took a study of Kinka genre’s generative processes featuring its origin, instrumental resources, rhythmic basis, vocal techniques, melodic, polyphonic and speech principles. These resources were creatively explored and blended with Western contemporary art music compositional techniques fused with military band tenets to come out with a hybrid innovation that maintains an African identity. The novel military band piece is titled Abl42e3u. It comprises four movements– Banyinyi, Husego, Kinka3u and Kinata–whose instrumentation formula is full band/woodwind/brass/full-band. Very significant is the ethno-musicological dimension intended to deepen the appreciation and understanding of the Anl4 E3e and their traditional music in general to the other world of art musicians. In addition, it is hoped that the piece will encourage creativity among not only military bandmasters, but also other Ghanaian art composers in writing music for the country’s regimental bands. Finally, it is intended to augment the repertoire of contemporary art music of Ghana.