The Africanism in Two Selected Works of C.W.K Mereku: A Formalistic Viewpoint

Abstract

The arrival of the Europeans in brought about formal education of the Western world into the then Gold Coast. In the area of Music, the Western theory of Musical practices were introduced and implemented. The introduction of the Western theory of musical practices deeply affected the early Ghanaian composers such that early compositions were in the framework of Western music education, which affected the use of indigenous Ghanaian cultural and traditional practices. However, in the spirit of nationalism, a crusade of Ghanaian indigenous music traditions was initiated in the early twentieth century by Ephraim Amu and it was supported by many composers who followed. Using Euba’s creative ethnomusicology as the underpinning theoretical framework, the writers seek to examine the composer, C.W.K Mereku, investigating into his academic biography. The study again appreciates Africanism through the formalist viewpoint of two of his works: Ghanamamma (People of Ghana) and Atentenata (Atenteben Sonata), exploring the Ghanaian traditional and indigenous elements, and how he used them in his compositions. This study uses purposive sampling method and focuses on interview and document analysis as instruments for data collection. The two compositions of the study reflect Mereku’s conscious usage of the Ghanaian indigenous elements as source materials to express his identity and the awareness of his thematic intercultural activities.