Decolonising the concept of solemnity in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of Igbo Land: A compositional study

Abstract

Liturgical art music in Nigeria has been beleaguered by the confusion about what is truly African or traditional and what is foreign. This confusion is exacerbated by the Western traditional notion of the solemnity of the liturgy as opposed to the African notion of the concept. This paper investigates the theoretical constructs for authentic indigenization of liturgical music compositions in Nigeria many years after the colonialists have left and addresses issues pertaining to the unicity of style and peculiarity of form in African music. It problematizes the concept of solemnity in the liturgical music of Igbo land, arguing against the colonial concept of ‘sanctity of immobility’ insisting on the reflection of the African rhythmic and tonal sensibilities in the church’s notion of authentic worship. The paper relies on ethnographic data for its findings, using the research composition method to arrive at its major contentions and recommendations. It also provides a unique compositional sample as a kind of pastiche for further study of indigenization in the context of solemnity in liturgical music