Various Composers - Piano Music by African Composers (Rebeca Omordia)

Information

• (01) Ayo Bankole - Variations for little Ayo
• (02) Ayo Bankole - Piano Sonata No. 2 in C-Major 'The Passion'
• (05) Ayo Bankole - Ya Orule
• (06) Fred Onovwerosuoke - 24 Studies in African Rhythms
• (14) Ayo Bankole - Nigerian Suite
• (19) Ayo Bankole - African Suite
• (24) Christian Onyeji - Ekele
• (25) Christian Onyeji - Echoes of Traditional Life
• (26) Christian Onyeji - Chineke Diri Ekele

Rebeca Omordia, piano

Date: 2018

Label: Heritage

https://www.heritage-records.com/shop/keyboard/heritage-keyboard/ekele-piano-music-by-african-composers/

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Review

There is a strong Nigerian theme running through this enterprising programme: Theophilus Ayoola ‘Ayo’ Bankole (1935 76) and Christian Onyeji (b1967) were born in Nigeria, and US citizen Fred ‘FredO’ Onovwerosuoke was born in 1960 in Ghana to Nigerian parents. The disc is a labour of love for Rebecca Omordia, whose father is Nigerian; the results of her research are appealing and pioneering in equal measure.

Ayo Bankole dominates the disc with over two-thirds of the playing time. A remarkable character, whose presence is still felt in Nigerian music, his Second Sonata (1956 59) was inspired by Christ’s Passion (his First is a ‘Christmas Sonata’). The first movement is a rather sectional sonata form, the slow second a depiction of the Crucifixion, picking up on the sinister traits of the first, yet ending with music of exquisite gentleness. The final Rondo is curiously undramatic.

Bankole’s skills as a miniaturist shine in the pieces for his children, Variations for Little Ayo and Ya Orule (1974), as well as the picturesque African Suite (1957) and Nigerian Suite. Onovwerosuoke’s intermittently Bartókian 24 Studies in African Rhythms has been hailed as one of the most important piano works to come out of Africa and has been recorded before. Omordia’s selection of eight is nicely contrasted, executed with her unfailing technical and expressive élan. The three pieces by Onyeji, including the title-track, seal a fascinating programme.

-- Guy Rickards, Gramophone

More reviews:
https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/instrumental/ekele-piano-music-by-african-composers/

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2018/Nov/Ekele_HTGCD188.htm

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Rebeca Omordia is a Nigerian-Romanian pianist who based in London. She studied at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Trinity College of Music in London with Mikhail Kazakevich. An "African classical music pioneer", in 2018 she released her CD "EKELE: Piano Music by African Composers" on Heritage Records, the first CD of its kind ever released in the UK. In 2019 she launched the world's first ever African Concert Series, London, a series of monthly concerts featuring music by African classical composers. In recent seasons Omordia has toured Nigeria as a recitalist and soloist. She is also a talented arranger.

https://www.rebecaomordia.com/

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