Personal Perspectives on a Multicultural Approach to Composition in South Africa

by Gerrit Olivier

Introduction

This article is based on a presentation delivered during a composer's session at the Fourth Biennial International Symposium and Festival of the Centre for Intercultural Music Arts held at City University in London from 15th to 19th April 1996. ¹

South African Composers

Note the music takes place in a multicultural musical environment at a particular locale, and that the process of music making illuminates the role of composers in music making in South Africa.

Indigenous Folk Music Composers

The first category of composers comprises the creators of indigenous folk music. These composers are usually males and their music largely employs the use of improvisation. The availability of particular instruments and their performers play significant roles in the realisation of this music, which also means that no two performances of the same music are identical. This music serves specific occasions, such as weddings, births and funerals. On some occasions, it permeates an entire event, such as a celebration. On other occasions, it provides a prelude to an event, such as preceding a hunt (O'Brien 1994: 295). According to Mthethwa:

Music is for all life situations, so that life itself is enacted in music; or rather, life is a musical experience. Music can vent anger, express ones state of depression and even be used to lampoon ones['] enemies (Mthethwa, 1988: 19).

There was a time when aspects of indigenous music, particularly its ties to particular rituals around fertility, polygamous marriage and obedience to the spirits of the forefathers were considered unacceptable to those who, with very honest convictions, felt a calling to convert the indigenous peoples of South Africa to Christianity.

Furthermore, the truly indigenous music of South Africa was never notated, and the only documents thereof existed in the form of recordings which, in turn, were seldom made under optimum conditions. In the absence of a complete notated score, performances of the same work can vary greatly. One might find, for instance, that tenors, in their harmonic realisation of a melody, might sing what might be described as an alternative part, an inner part, or a counter melody.

In the present, and especially in predominantly Christian communities, much of this music has gone "underground" and lives on as the music of rural villagers.

Even at school level, matters have reached a stage where teachers with an urbanised background are often under the impression that a song such as London Bridge is Falling Down, sung to a text translated into one of the many indigenous black languages, is an indigenous song!

This situation is further complicated by the traditional belief that subjects such as music and dancing do not belong to the school curriculum and should be "taught" in the traditional familial environment. It might very well be asked: what music training is provided in South African schools. In many communities, schooling is regarded as synonymous with to literacy, and music is regarded as part of training as long as it entails the writing of music, i.e. music theory, staff notation and so on. Singing, the playing of instruments, dancing, improvisation, listening to music and the learning of songs and dances are not considered to be part of schooling and are therefore not accepted as a valid part of the school curriculum. These activities have to take place in the home on occasions when music is regarded as meaningful and when it fulfils some social or religious function.² According to Nzewi:

Not much formal music education happens in the modern African school systems, adopted from Europe and America without much cultural-environmental rationalization or mediation... Published reports and research findings show that, at the primary level ... in the modern African school systems, formal music teaching or learning has not been taken seriously, beyond casual class singing periods (Nzewi, 1999: 77).

The above factors, together with increasing urbanisation, place the true indigenous musics of South Africa in the ranks of an endangered wildlife species. Concerted efforts are needed to save the bulk of this music for posterity. In the final analysis, it would appear that both the use and respect for traditional indigenous music is on the wane, more so in the wake of the ever-increasing tidal wave of Western pop music, which reaches the most remote corners of South Africa by radio and television.

Composers of indigenous folk music have the advantage of a music that is immediately and repeatedly performed, and of the music fulfilling a real and significant function in the social and cultural life of communities.

"Mission Station" Tradition Composers

The second category of South African composers can be classified as the so-called mission station tradition (see Malan, 1979). As far back as the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a great number of missionaries from various denominations emigrated to South Africa. A multitude of mission stations, schools and hospitals were founded by members of the Lutheran, Calvinistic, Reformed, Roman Catholic and Methodist Churches. The music emerging from these environments was the result of a strong choral tradition and fulfilled a mainly liturgical function. It was (and still is) documented chiefly by means of the Tonic Solfa system, which was the music-theoretical system taught in the missionary schools. Rycroft (1991: 5) states that education was a "package deal": Western culture, values and life-style were inseparable from it. Indigenous music was replaced by hymns and choral singing, modelled on current European practice and taste, and that form of music making came to be universally adopted and perpetuated as the civilised norm among educated blacks throughout the whole of South Africa.

The creative results of these compositions often seem disappointing. The bulk has a predictable sameness. The music of composers employing the co-called mission station or hymn style lacks the true African sound and rhythmic vitality of indigenous music. In its pseudo-Western guise, the lack of modulation and the often futile tonal progression, combined with a very limited harmonic vocabulary, are even more apparent. In truly indigenous music, with its exotic instrumentation and powerful rhythmic drive, these parameters play an insignificant role and their absence is of little or no consequence.

The reasons for these "deficiencies" in this particular style of music might lie in the modulatory limitations of the Solfa system. Another important constraint is the fact that the use of indigenous instruments and bodily movements were not encouraged by the missionaries, which only served to exacerbate the anaemic colour and lack of rhythmic life in this music.

Frequently in the past, only the cantus firmus was written down in the bass part. During performance, the other parts were improvised, resulting in an end product that was part pre-meditated creation and part improvisation.

An interesting stylistic feature of this music is that it is commonly devised as a call and response: a solo voice (mainly the bass) announces a phrase, which is then answered in harmony by the others. It is a style that continues to be practised in a very strong and vigorous musical life in numerous choral societies, choral festivals, and competitions. It appears in both secular and sacred types.

It could be summed up that this music is exclusively vocal, choral, homophonic, very often for religious use, partly documented in Tonic Solfa, in which the vocal parts other than the main melody are improvised during performance.

Composers of works in this genre have an advantage in that their music is performed almost immediately and frequently. They also enjoy a high social status and are regarded as an expert in their field. They may only be able to notate their music in Tonic Solfa and often have little or no keyboard skills. On the other hand, they are able to realise the basic vocabulary of four-part harmony skilfully from a single melodic line.

Due to the composers' experience and training, their sound world is almost exclusively vocal. The texts they employ are either of their own creation or Biblical. This also limits the variety of subjects in their music. Being vocal, the tonal range is limited, and so is the variety of modulations and key schemes. As mentioned before, this is partly due to the almost exclusive use of the Tonic-Solfa system for the purpose of documenting his music.

In the case of secular music, conventions such as call-and-response, bodily movements and foot thumping are often used.

Amongst the present generation of these so-called "mission station" composers is a very real desire to learn the theory of Western staff notation, a need which the University of Pretoria is addressing by means of well-attended workshops, and the compilation of a manual for Solfa transcriptions into staff notation.

It is of great importance to note that the society in which this music thrives is mainly urbanised. Its concert life does not include ballet, opera, symphony concerts and the like, but consists mainly of choral festivals and competitions in which trophies and prizes form an important part.

Alongside this scenario stands the very active and dynamic world of African jazz and so-called "township music" which, unlike the two categories discussed so far, attaches great status and prestige to the career of the instrumental soloist.

Western Trained Composers

The third group of South African composers consists of those who underwent formal tertiary training in the Western tradition, and in many cases also studied overseas. They compose in all the styles representative of present-day compositional practices of Western art music. In a historical sense, this particular twentieth-century South African scenario represents stylistic developments, characterising the broad picture of twentieth-century Western music, from impressionism, through atonality, serialism, neo-romanticism, to minimalism and electronic music. 

All of the activities mentioned so far result in a multifaceted, multicultured musical panorama in South Africa. At the same time, it is necessary for us to be reminded that we live in an era of worldwide intermingling of styles and genres. Luciano Pavarotti's voice mingles with those of singers from the world of pop music, just as the supporters of opera and pop music share the same open-air venues where such happenings take place. Gone is the exclusivity of the opera house as the sole venue for the enjoyment of so-called "Eurocentric" operatic voices. An increasing number of formally trained South African composers have started to incorporate African elements in their works. Jazz, pop and indigenous music intermingle to a great extent.

How does the present South African scenario appear in the light of everything described thus far? In South Africa, indigenous music is appreciated. Students study ethnomusicology and the need to preserve the true indigenous musics of a multicultured country is recognised. Regarding some of the requirements for research in the former, Gibson points out that:

In Africa, and South Africa particularly, oral traditions remain the most common field of ethnomusicological research. To date, most researchers have worked in cultures other than their own. As transcultural researchers, modern ethnomusicologists carry out research in the language of the people whose music they are studying. Consequently they must learn to speak, read, write and think in the language, so that they can, by living among the people and by working with local research assistants, understand the perceptions, notions and evaluations of the people (Gibson, 1992: 52). 

Providing more clarification on the above, Primos states:

Music educators at tertiary institutions in South Africa now realize that African and Western music traditions each have culture specific rules, traditions, performance styles and complexities that are passed on form generation to generation through the ages, and we recognize that every musical system has its own intrinsic value and integrity, and occupies its own place in the vast world of music making (Primos, 1992:88).

At the same time, there are those who believe that there is no need to document good indigenous music. They claim that its quality will ensure its preservation.

To sum up briefly: 

* Truly indigenous South African music is created by inspiration and improvisation - a creative process in which performers play an active part;
* The music of the so-called mission station composers is notated in Tonic Solfa and along with the indigenous South African music, both are recreated and partly improvised by performers who take part in the creative process;
* The music of composers with a Western oriented training is notated fully by the composer, and recreated by a performer whilst being appreciated by relatively passive audience who appear to take little or no part in either the creative or the recreative process. 

Similar to composers from the previous two groups, there are unique advantages and disadvantages to the situation of composers trained in the Western tradition currently living in South Africa. The commercial market for serious music is extremely small. The publication of "serious" music is initiated and financed privately in the great majority of cases, and so is the performance and advancement of new works. Most recordings are initiated and financed privately. After the demise of the National Symphony Orchestra, previously funded and managed by the South African Broadcasting Corporation, there is little stimulus to compose symphonic music in the hope of having it performed at least once and, possibly, recorded for broadcasting. Local quotas imposed on broadcasters are principally satisfied by pop music, or through performances by local artists of the standard classical repertoire. Most members of this group would find it comparatively easy to bake a "musical pie" in the best European tradition (in a manner of speaking) and then to cover it with an "indigenous African sauce". The artistic integrity of such contrivances is debatable. 

Personal Experiences

With this background in mind, I shall now relate my personal experiences as a South African composer of serious music. (It might be more appropriate to use the term art music, as not all music of this nature is necessarily serious). Like many others, I have been trained to use the Western system of notation with all its advantages. I have been trained to orchestrate. I am able to improvise music. I have managed to attain an adequate keyboard facility and I have a reasonably extensive field of tonal reference.

Yet composers in this category, including myself, do not necessarily enjoy a high status as composer in our community. We might, on the other hand, enjoy status as musicologists, lecturers or as practising musicians. Our music is seldom heard or performed.

In my own case, I grew up on a Dutch Reformed mission station in the far northern part of the country. At a very early age I learned to speak Sepedi (one of the indigenous languages) as fluently as my own home language, Afrikaans (a Germanic language with Dutch roots). My family then moved to another part of the country, situated virtually on the border of the Kruger National Park, a huge game reserve. On the way to school, the bus often had to wait for elephants, giraffes and hippos to cross the road before we could proceed. Part of our regular diet consisted of the meat of different kinds of antelope, which roamed freely on the farms of that region.

Often we went to sleep with the sound of drums and singing from the local black village in our ears. On Sundays, we sat in church together with the students and villagers of the black community and sang hymns and psalms to Western tunes on texts translated into the local black language. Many of our playmates were from the same community. Together we climbed trees and shared the edible fruits of the great variety of indigenous plants of the region.

The result of this unique background was that I never thought of myself as anything other than an ordinary African who happened to live amongst people who were not all that different, except for their language and the colour of their skins. I never thought of them as exotic or strange. I would therefore find it contrived to try consciously to sound different in my music, to try to be "exotically" African. In the same way I would find it contrived - with all due respect - for me to employ the twelve-tone technique, minimalism or electronic means, as much as I can appreciate such phenomena in the hands of capable composers from backgrounds completely different from mine. 

My music is still tonal, it often follows a steady metrical scheme and I use conventional instruments. Unlike many present-day South African composers, I have never consciously employed indigenous African rhythms, motives, and melodic patterns. Elements of that nature found in my music, are the purely coincidental results of a multitude of influences, which played their part in my development as a musician. They could also be seen as subconscious processes. Other than class singing lessons, I had no music training at school. I took piano lessons privately and saw the first opera performance of my life at the age of nearly twenty. After completing my university studies in music, I went to London to do a course in operatic rehearsal and conducting at the London Opera Centre and to study the art of piano accompaniment with the late Geoffrey Parsons.

As a young boy, I was often required to improvise accompaniments for the singing of hymns at weekly prayer meetings in private homes. This eventually led me to the organ, an instrument for which I have developed a deep love for more than forty years service as a church organist. Improvisation forms an important part of my music making at the organ as we have a large number of hymn tunes on which no organ chorale preludes exist in the repertory. 

Some Compositions

It is perhaps unavoidable that I composed a Concerto for Organ and Orchestra. The orchestra in this instance does not employ any woodwinds as I desired some orchestral tone colours which contrasted more distinctly with that of the organ. As far as I know, the music does not contain indigenous African elements. At the same time, I was not trying to avoid any such influences. My earliest experiences of religious services took place in an environment where the pipe organ never functioned and therefore I did not associate the organ with African music.

Another work that illustrates my particular background is a Fantasy for Two Pianos. This composition concentrates on the aspect of contrast within the uniform timbre of two identical instruments. The two parts are equal in stature, one seldom dominates the other. The work consists of five movements, each with a distinctive character:

• Recitative: a free, rhapsodic recitative containing elements of vocal, dramatic opera recitative, with pianos, often engaged in dialogue. At times, one instrument approximates the role of the Greek chorus, either delivering comments or making interjections.
• Aubade: This refers to the opposition of regular and irregular metres (which, in hindsight, often occurs in indigenous African music). Several vigorous rhythmic patterns predominate. Further contrasts are provided by brief lyrical moments and mode changes.
• Waltz: The tempo of this movement is markedly slower than those of the preceding ones and the mood is often melancholic. Contrast is provided by the use of non-related keys. Now for the first time, utilising the same thematic material, each piano appears as soloist. Piano I plays the first 35 bars, after which Piano II appears for the next 23 bars. The following 83 bars, up to end of this piece, employ both instruments.
• Night music: In hindsight, I might have had the atmosphere of a brooding African night in the jungle at the back of my mind when I composed this piece. It contains some colourful chords, figurative passages and the merest suggestion of a short lyrical theme. The dynamic levels are low throughout and the level of contrast is consequently very subtle.
• Toccata: This movement revolves around powerful rhythmic motifs, octaves and chromatically coloured chords juxtaposed by the two instruments. It uses extreme registers and strong dynamic contrasts in quick succession. Brief lyrical passages interrupt momentarily.

The penultimate work to illustrate my stylistic development is a Requiem for soloists, organ and choir. It is not a requiem in the conventional sense of the word. In both categories of indigenous music - folk and mission station - rites associated with the process of death play an important role.

The central idea in my Requiem, however, does not concern itself with death, but with inner conflict, and explores the feelings of despair, protest, doubt and existential isolation experienced by a devout believer seeking to find answers in the Holy Scriptures pertaining to his daily life. Moments of resigned acceptance are suggested by a refrain-like reference to the care offered by God. These moments are frequently contrasted with a keenly felt lack of fulfilment and the often compelling desire for a beloved - a beloved who does not exist and who will perhaps never become a reality.

The Genevan melody of Psalm 51 may be considered as a leitmotif and is sung by the choir. The believer's own needs and searchings are portrayed in solo sections and the work ends with speech chorus³ which can be seen as a poignant supplication. The text consists of passages from the Biblical Psalms together with relevant sections from Afrikaans secular poems.

The combination of influences and sources, which form the intercultural make-up of this work, could be listed as follows:

* The text is both biblical and secular
* The work carries the title "Requiem" from the Roman Catholic world, but at the same time, contains both text and melody of a Protestant Psalm:
* The secular text is highly personal and rarely contains reference to any liturgical contents.

I often write short works for liturgical use, either choral arrangements or organ works based on the tunes of hymns or psalms. Such works play an important role in the liturgy of the Dutch Reformed Church in which I have been serving as organist since the age of sixteen.

In my experience, the most successful liturgical music in the majority of South African denominations is written in a more-or-less conventional style. The majority of my parishioners hear serious music only once a week when they are in church, and even the organ works of conventional twentieth century organ composers such as Ernst Pepping or Helmut Walcha are seldom met with enthusiastic approval. Amongst my organ works are two short organ preludes both based on the melodies of Lutheran Easter Hymns, namely Gelobet sei Gott im höchsten Thron and Lasst uns Erfreuen, respectively.

Conclusion

I would like to end on a slightly more humorous note, provided by my Three Miniatures for Organ and Trumpet. The three sections are named after three beverages, which are generally well liked in South Africa. Two of these, Frisco and Presto, are mixtures of powdered coffee and chicory (reminders of the coffee shortage during and after the Second World War):

Milo (a bed-time drink)
Frisco 
Presto. 

The three short movements are rhythmically very lively and contain a humorous dialogue between organ and trumpet. It ends with a tongue-in-the-cheek satire on an Afrikaans folk song Ou tante Koba of which the words mean "Old Aunt Koba sits on the stoep (an outside veranda or porch) and stirs her coffee with her big toe..."

References

Gibson, P., Norris, E and Alcock, P. 
1992 Music: The Rock-Classic Connection. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Kirby, P. R. 
1968 The Musical Instruments of the Native Races of South Africa. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.

Malan, J.P. (ed.) 
1979 South African Music Encyclopaedia. (4 vols.) Cape Town: Oxford University Press.

Mthethwa, B. N. 
1988 "A Need for Musicological Research into African Music", Unizul Music Review, July, vol.3, pp. 19-22.

Nzewi, M.
1998 "Strategies for Music Education in South Africa: Towards a Meaningful Progression from Tradition to Modern", van Niekerk, C. (ed.) Conference Proceedings of the 23rd International Society for Music Education World Conference. Pretoria: University of South Africa, 19-25 July, pp. 456-486.

________
1999 "Strategies for Music Education in South Africa: Towards a Meaningful Progression from Tradition to Modern", International Journal of Music Education, 33: 72-87

O'Brien, J.P. 
1994 Music in World Cultures: Understanding Multiculturalism through the Arts. Iowa: Kendall/Hunt.

Primos, K. 
1993 Effective Music Education in South Africa. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.

Rycroft, J. 
1991 "Black South African Urban Music since the 1890s: Some Reminiscences of Alfred Assegai Kumalo 1879-1966)", African Music, 7 (1): 5-31.

¹ Editor's note: Although there is no access to the recorded music examples and accompanying colour slides used in the original presentation, the editor would be glad to forward e-mail requests to the author for those interested in the music and photographs, However, this article does include important sources of documented information and a bibliography.

² For an expression of similar views, see Primos, K. (1993) Effective Music Education in South Africa. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council, page 94; Nzewi, M. (1998) "Strategies for Music Education in South Africa: Towards a Meaningful Progression from Tradition to Modern", in van Niekerk, C. (ed.) Conference Proceedings of the 23rd International Society for Music Education World Conference. Pretoria: University of South Africa, 19-25 July, pp. 456-486.

³ The text here is spoken (recited) by the choir. The notation in this section is a mere approximation of the duration of the syllables of each word; no pitches are indicated, not even by approximation. I presume one could refer to it as "speech rhythm". It is the kind of thing we often did at school and at eisteddfods -- and it entails nothing more than the (spoken) recitation of a poem by a group of participants".