Godwin Sadoh: April 13, 1932: ’4th pipe organ at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos, was consecrated’
Ekundayo Phillips: The Doyen of Nigerian Church Music;
by Godwin Sadoh]
Sadoh, D.M.A. writes:
was exactly 80 years today that the 4th
pipe organ at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos, was consecrated
at a special service.”
Sadoh, D.M.A., is a Nigerian organist and composer who serves as
Professor of Music at Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama. His
website is: www.reverbnation.com/godwinsadoh
by email:
Godwin,
had been meaning to mention Christ Church Cathedral, Lagos for some
time after talking to an organ builder on a renovation job he was
doing abtroad. I had also heard some time ago that that the organ at
Christ Church may not have been in such good condition. However, a
quick check on the web reassuringly showed that they now have a
pretty impressive Oberlinger instrument!
extract of a recital by Prof Thorsten Mader on the Cathedral website
proves it to be a very worthy instrument indeed. I am very much aware
of the wear and tear that can beset a pipe organ in the sort of
climatic conditions of a tropical country. I have seen some very sad
examples!!! One hopes that the German engineering will keep Christ
Church Cathedral in good sound for many years to come.
have done quite a bit to bring the world to the attention of Nigerian
organ music. Indeed, Nigeria seems to have been fairly unique in
being perhaps the only sub-Saharan African country to have really
taken the instrument seriously – with the music to prove it.
is interesting to note that the electronic organ ‘route’ seems to
be the normal approach in Nigeria
the tradition of organ music in Nigeria definitely appears to be
‘alive and kicking’.
but not least, I have to put in this lovely link from You Tube!
have copied this to Bill Zick and the other interested people as an
open response simply to spread the word to those who are unaware of
what exists in Nigeria! Regards Mike
[Michael S. Wright]
Mike,
for your great interest about organs in Nigeria.
the cathedral church built a new pipe organ in 2008 by a German firm
and the first recital on the instrument was by a German Professor.
article about electronic organs in Nigeria is very true. Pipe organs
are very expensive to build today even in the US. Most churches are
going for new electronic organs that can produce pipe organ sound.
Cathedral church of Christ is one of the very few elite and rich
churches that can afford to build a brand new pipe organ from the
scratch and by a foreign firm, considering the issue of foreign
exchange. The new 4 manual pipe organ cost $1.6 million [US dollars].
I discussed the fund raising exercise in my book on TKE Phillips in
the chapter titled “The Cathedral Organs” in which I traced
the history of pipe organs at the church from the very first
harmonium in late 19th century to the present one.
you’re correct to note that the organ tradition is vibrant in
Nigeria. In fact, I just shipped my complete organ work and other
compositions to the author of one of the articles you cited, an
organist and choir director at Ibadan. He has been asking for my
compositions for over a year. He finally got them this week and he
has started practicing, getting ready to start playing the pieces at
services, weddings, and concerts. I also heard from another young
organist in Lagos who asked for my organ music last year. He reported
to me this week that he has been playing my music at concerts,
weddings and services. In fact, he is getting ready to play another
recital very soon. I made sure that I have some individuals with my
complete published compositions in Nigeria and the cathedral church
in Lagos is one of them. So when organists write me that they need my
music, I simply refer them to those people or the cathedral.
a great weekend!
[Godwin Sadoh, D.M.A.]
‘Teddy’s Tantrum’ on ‘Roosevelt’s summary 1906 dismissal of 167 black infantrymen,’ Later Exonerated
black American soldier is one of the themes in a new ebook about Teddy
Roosevelt and the 25th Infantry. In TEDDY’S TANTRUM, author Tom Durwood
argues that Roosevelt’s summary 1906 dismissal of 167 black infantrymen
was a significant point on a timeline that includes the Battle of
Lexington Green, Henry Flipper (the first black West Point graduate),
the 761st tank battalion, and Colin Powell, among many, many others.
Perhaps even more significant was the exoneration of those black troops
in 1972, the direct result of a book, The Brownsville Raid, written by a
largely forgotten and overlooked writer named John D. Weaver.
Associate Professor of English at Valley Forge Military College, has
written an ebook based upon Weaver’s little-known work, recounting the
epic tale of the 25th Infantry’s tangle with citizens of Brownsville
Texas and the almost century-long campaign to straighten the official
record.
this is a story worth telling. Robert B. Edgerton, UCLA Professor of
Anthropology and author of Hidden Heroism: Black Soldiers in American
Wars supports Durwood’s efforts. “The Brownsville Raid is
little known and the critical role played by Theodore Roosevelt needs to
be understood by Americans just as the role of the 25th Infantry is too
little understood,” he says of TEDDY’S TANTRUM.
The Ultimate Guide to Playing Piano
I haven’t even begun to check out all the links yet, but just check out this treasure trove of piano playing-related links over at the Artiden blog! This looks like a fabulous collection for any piano teacher, piano student, and piano performer.
And if you’re looking for great music resources, visit the Community area of this blog for hundreds of links!
Record-Breaking
Can you name who is the youngest soloist to record the violin concerto of two legendary composers? How about the most Oscar nominated songwriter for Best Original Song? For over 50 years, the Guinness World Records has carefully documented every imaginable world record there is, from the inspiring to the bizarre. In the world of music, there are many composers, musicians and performers who hold a certain record to date; here are some that you may find interesting.
This Day in Music History: 1826 – Against the advise of his wife, composer Carl Maria von Weber traveled to London to conduct the opening of his opera, Oberon. He was found dead in his room on June 5, 1826 due to tuberculosis.
Apple iPad + Akai APC40 controlling custom Max for Live Ableton performance software – YouTube
Great Performances – Contrabassoon Audition
Contrabassoon, self painted by Mezzofortist
For any of us who have ever given an instrumental audition for a band or orchestra, or for those who have had to sit on an election committe or adjudicators panel and listen to performer after performer for hours, I give you a memorable contrabassoon orchestral audition. The clacking keys, the gasping for breath, and the gutteral vibrations of the big horn blend sublimely with some of your favorite orchestral excerpts, including “Also Sprach Zarathustra”, the march from Beethoven 9, “Petrushka”, Holst’s “The Planets”, some Ravel, and ending with “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (during which I swear there is a snicker). I guarantee you’ve never heard those excerpts quite like this. I also love the auditioner’s classic audition lines: “Can I have another go?” and “Should I call you?”
Watch on YouTube
This article (c) 2012 Thomas J. West. All content on ThomasJWestMusic dot com is licensed under a Creative Contributions Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Please contact the author before publishing on or off-line.
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Get Classroom Maestro 3.0 for Free (a $69 value!)
Zenph is one of the leading music technology organizations. I’ve been fascinated by them ever since reading an article last year about some of their projects. Their Classroom Maestro software sounds very interesting – and you can download it for free (a $69 value!) if you complete a brief survey. Classroom Maestro is described as being “musically intelligent” with a multitude of capabilities that enable you to demonstrate and capture notes, intervals, scales, and chords on your computer screen. Here’s a short video clip that will give you a better idea of what this great software enables you to do:
HT: Jennifer Foxx
A Field Trip To The Martin Guitar Factory
Yesterday, I served as a driver and chaperone for our high school guitar classes to the C.F. Martin Guitar factory in Nazareth, PA. I took over 100 pictures during the day which you are welcome to look at as I describe our experience.
C.F. Martin, an immigrant from Germany, opened his first guitar shop in Nazareth because it reminded him of home. The current factory was opened in the 1960′s and has been expanded four times. You can see the original facade of the factory as you enter the building. Read more about the history of the company here.
Our tour guide, a retired gentleman who worked in various positions in the factory for over 30 years, spoke to us using a wireless microphone. Each of us wore a wireless headset so we could hear his commentary throughout the factory.
The noise level in the factory ranged from a constant low-level background noise to the sanding area where constant high-decibel sound was being created. There were certain areas of the factory where employees wore protective ear plugs, but not nearly as many areas as I would have thought.
The first hallway we entered had displays ob the wall giving an overall view of the acoustic guitar assembly process. Each guitar has over 30 parts. The factory finishes approximately 250 guitars a day, six days a week, and the process to make one guitar spans anywhere from 6 days to 6 months depending on the quality level and customization required.
Some of the process is automted. The top and bottom faces of the guitars are cut using a programmed laser tool. The wooden beams used for guitar necks come pre-cut in the correct size. The necks are machine cut and shaped, yielding three necks from each piece of wood. Towards the end of the process, industrial robotic arms buff the guitar bodies on giant cotton wheels and robotic arms spray on seven coats of lacquer in a specially-sealed room.
Much of the process is still hand-crafted, however. Workers still apply decorations to the rosette inlays around the sound hole. Pearl inlays are still cut and placed by workers. Tuning machines, strings, and electronics are still installed by hand. There is a human touch all along the way, using tools and machinery of all kinds: machines that bend wood planks into the curved side body come into play, wood etching machines are used to stamp the Martin Guitar logo onto every guitar with the correct serial number, hot presses are used to glue the supporting inner ribs to the guitar back face and top face, and so on.
At the end of the tour, tour guests receive a circular cut of wood that was cut from the sound hole of a guitar which has been etched as a souvenir. The tour empties back out into the lobby with demonstration guitars, a gift shop, and the guitar museum. Company CEO Chris F. Martin IV was in the museum pointing out some of the rarities, such as a 7-string guitar built for guitarist Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull – it has a doubled G string, set up similarly to a 12-string guitar, which Ian made use of in many guitar solos. There were jewel-encrusted guitars with pearl inlays so elaborate that they were more a piece of art than a guitar. There were harp guitars with 11 and 15 strings. There was even a pint-sized custom guitar for Gus, “The Saecond-Most Famous Groundhog in Pennsylvania” and mascot of the PA Lottery.
The lobby area was featured artwork created for a line of custom guitars featuring the American Cowboy and a wall of framed LP jackets and CD cases featuring some of the biggest names in acoustic guitar performance on the planet. Our students really enjoyed the demonstration area where they could play Martin guitars, jam, and appreciate the difference a high-quality guitar can make.
Overall, the tour was a great experience. It really gives you an appreciation of the experience, skill, and detail that goes into each guitar created. It also demonstrated why Martin guitars have such a high market value. Despite the automation that saves time and wear and tear on human bodies, every facet of the Martin factory still has a family-owned, hand-crafted vibe. I highly recommend the tour to any music programs within a day’s drive of the factory in Nazareth. The group tour fee was negligable (as of this writing, $3 per person). You can request a group tour here.
This article (c) 2012 Thomas J. West. All content on ThomasJWestMusic dot com is licensed under a Creative Contributions Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Please contact the author before publishing on or off-line.
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Songs Inspired by Literary Works
Inspiration can come at any moment and in any form. These creative triggers may range from the simple to the sublime; such as a warm smile from a stranger or a breathtaking sunset. Composers, writers and other artists are no strangers to these unexpected blasts of inspiration. For example, the late singer-songwriter Dan Fogleberg’s song “Make Love Stay” was inspired by the novel Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins.
This Day in Music History: 1956 – Leo Fender patented the “Stratocaster,” a model of electric guitar that followed the popular “Telecaster” model.
Another tune – more vocal processing effects
Here’s another one of my relatively recent tunes (from a couple of months ago). In it, I’m chopping up a vocal sample and applying some autotune, then slicing it into MIDI and pitch bending a melody out of it. The actual vocal loop appears relatively intact about 2/3 of the way through the track. All done in Ableton like usual.