Rebeca Omordia: African Pianism Volume 2
SOMM Recordings

After her first volume of piano music by African composers was embraced so enthusiastically, it was perhaps only a matter of time before the London-based pianist Rebeca Omordia would follow it with a second—and why not when the field of musical material is so abundant, fertile, and rich. Adding to the project's value is that most of its pieces will be new to many listeners, which makes African Pianism not only an immensely rewarding listen but the best kind of world music lesson too. No less than eight first recordings appear on this second chapter, which presents pieces by Girma Yifrashewa, Akin Euba, Salim Dada, Nabil Benabdeljalil, Mokale Koapeng, Grant McLachlan, Fela Sowande, and Florence Price and was recorded in January 2024 at The Menuhin Hall in Great Bookham, England.

No one is better qualified for this project than the award-winning Omordia, who's not only a virtuoso possessing boundless technique but also artistic director of the world's first-ever African Concert Series, in residence at London's Wigmore Hall. Further to that, she's toured Nigeria as a soloist and performed in Lagos and Abuja too. Born to a Romanian mother and Nigerian father, she earned her Doctor of Music degree at the National University of Music Bucharest and also studied at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Trinity College of Music in London.

The series title derives from a set of pedagogical studies composed during the ‘60s by J. H. Kwabena Nketia, who described African Pianism as a style that, in simplest terms, grounds its song-like melodic dimension with African percussion music and rhythms. Traditional songs and African popular music might be drawn upon in a style that's tonally and harmonically open to many forms. A prototypical example of the form couples fluid melodic lines and infectious, at times dance-inflected rhythms to give the music its distinctive character. The piano in this context is melodically expressive but its percussive potential is exploited too.

Elilta (Cry of Joy), the opening piece by Ethiopian composer and concert pianist Yifrashewa (b. 1967), is a perfect illustration of the style. Written in 2006, the material makes good on its title with seven minutes of radiant trills, sprawls, and flourishes, Omordia utterly engrossed in her rendering of the regal meditation and encouraging the listener to do the same. The style's receptivity to other forms is evident also in its forays into folk, blues, and jazz. Algerian composer Dada (b. 1975) follows with five Miniatures Algériennes, material initially created in 2010 for string orchestra and later scored for solo piano. Whereas “Aurore de Djurdjura” opens the work with a sombre, almost Debussy-esque rumination, “Danse Zaydan” and “Danse de la Jument” lighten the mood with rousing dance moves that could pass for Russian as much as African. Moroccan composer Benabdeljalil (b. 1972) is represented by four pieces emblematic of what might be called Afro-Art music. Just as Dada's “Aurore de Djurdjura” hints at the influence of Impressionism, so too do Benabdeljalil's two Préludes, “Magic Morning” and “Mirage et lumière,” in their harmonic design and evocative quality. His gift for musical scene-painting is even better accounted for in the incantatory Romance sans paroles and poetically expressive Frisson de la Nuit, the explorative latter the album's longest setting at nine minutes. Haunting chromatic phrases sprinkled throughout the piece intensify its intoxicating effect.

Standalone settings by four composers appear before a three-part group of studies by Euba brings the seventy-six-minute collection to a close. A pretty and rhythmically infectious Prelude in D flat by Soweto native Koapeng (b. 1963) encapsulates the African Pianism style in two enticing minutes, after which a chords-heavy solo piano arrangement by South African McLachlan (b. 1956) of the anti-apartheid protest song “Senzeni Na?”(What Have We Done?) adds a tender, hymnal tone in keeping with a song often heard at funerals and demonstrations. Nigerian composer Sowande (1905-1987) is represented by the gracefully blossoming lyricism of “K'A Mura” (Two Preludes on Yoruba Sacred Folk Melodies, 1945). If there's an outlier on the release, it's Price's “Fantasie Nègre in E Minor” for the simple reason that its tone is more African-American than more strictly African. Whereas the works by the other composers possess a strong folk character, her 1929 setting exudes a dramatic blues-gospel flavour consistent with its being based on the spiritual “Don't Let this Harvest Pass.”

The album concludes with Wakar Duru: Studies in African Pianism by Nigerian composer Euba (1935–2020), whose arrangement of three of Nigeria's most popular Yoruba songs also clearly captures the titular concept. It's present in the rousing dance pulse that animates the fourth study, the sweetly melodic lilt buoying the first, and the irrepressible tone of the singing second. African Pianism, Volume 2 captivates the moment Omordia introduces it with Elilta (Cry of Joy), but, as Euba's uplifting studies so resoundingly prove, it's hardly the only time. Omordia's deep understanding of the material is apparent in the sensitivity of her interpretations and her command of pacing, phrasing, and dynamics (witness the sweeping power of the climactic closing in her Price performance, for example). Combine evocative material by the composers and the pianist's indelible readings and the result is an eminently satisfying sequel to her stellar first chapter. Given the ample rewards supplied by the opening instalments, it wouldn't be unreasonable to think a third might materialize sometime in the not-too-distant future.

November 2024