The
life and work of a British-born musical genius of African heritage who
died a century ago was the subject of a presentation at the WEB Du Bois
Centre in Accra on Thursday.
Entitled ‘Remembering Samuel
Coleridge-Taylor’, the presentation, which was organised by UK-based
voluntary organisation BTWSC and led by music industry and history
consultant Kwaku, highlighted some of the achievements in
Coleridge-Taylor’s short life.
Coleridge-Taylor was born in London in 1875 to a British mother and a
Sierra Leonean father. He died in 1912, aged 37. Within his short life,
he made a great impression within music, both in Britain and
internationally, especially in the US, where he successfully toured
three times. Within a year of completing his studies at London’s Royal
College Of Music, he created two popular compositions in 1898 – ‘A
Ballade In A Minor’, and ‘Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast’. The latter, a
choral and orchestral piece, was the composition that brought him to
global prominence.
In spite of his fame, he prided
himself in being African, and incorporated African themes within the
classical music genre. He was also a pan-Africanist - he was he a member
of the African Association, which organised the 1900 Pan-African
Conference in London, where he was in charge of the music programme.
The links with Du Bois and other African-American leaders such as the
educationalist Booker T Washingtion, were highlighted in the opening
speech by Mr BS Ato Keelson, director of the WEB Du Bois Centre. Other
speakers included His Excellency Mr KB Asante, who spoke of his colonial
education at Achimota College, where his British music mistress did not
only teach about Coleridge-Taylor’s compositions such as ‘Hiawatha’s
Wedding Feast’, but also tried to widen their horizons by stressing the
fact that the composer was African.
Dr DEK Baku, head of history at the University Of Ghana, spoke about
his discovery of Coleridge-Taylor in a book during the research stages
for his PhD, which also highlighted other leading pan-African thinkers
such as Mensah Sarbah and Kobina Sekyi, both Gold Coasters.
Professor Kwabena Nketia, who experienced performances of
Coleridge-Taylor’s music whilst studying in London, was on hand to fill
in the gaps regarding Sierra Leonean musicians who had some connection
to Coleridge-Taylor.
[Samuel
Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) is profiled
at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works
List and a Bibliography by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma,
http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com
Major observances of the Centennial of Coleridge-Taylor's death on
Sept. 1, 1912 are underway and are the work of organizations
including the Samuel
Coleridge-Taylor Foundation, http://www.sctf.org.uk]
The
life and work of a British-born musical genius of African heritage who
died a century ago was the subject of a presentation at the WEB Du Bois
Centre in Accra on Thursday.
Entitled ‘Remembering Samuel
Coleridge-Taylor’, the presentation, which was organised by UK-based
voluntary organisation BTWSC and led by music industry and history
consultant Kwaku, highlighted some of the achievements in
Coleridge-Taylor’s short life.
Coleridge-Taylor was born in London in 1875 to a British mother and a Sierra Leonean father. He died in 1912, aged 37. Within his short life, he made a great impression within music, both in Britain and internationally, especially in the US, where he successfully toured three times. Within a year of completing his studies at London’s Royal College Of Music, he created two popular compositions in 1898 – ‘A Ballade In A Minor’, and ‘Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast’. The latter, a choral and orchestral piece, was the composition that brought him to global prominence.
In spite of his fame, he prided himself in being African, and incorporated African themes within the classical music genre. He was also a pan-Africanist - he was he a member of the African Association, which organised the 1900 Pan-African Conference in London, where he was in charge of the music programme.
The links with Du Bois and other African-American leaders such as the
educationalist Booker T Washingtion, were highlighted in the opening
speech by Mr BS Ato Keelson, director of the WEB Du Bois Centre. Other
speakers included His Excellency Mr KB Asante, who spoke of his colonial
education at Achimota College, where his British music mistress did not
only teach about Coleridge-Taylor’s compositions such as ‘Hiawatha’s
Wedding Feast’, but also tried to widen their horizons by stressing the
fact that the composer was African.
Dr DEK Baku, head of history at the University Of Ghana, spoke about
his discovery of Coleridge-Taylor in a book during the research stages
for his PhD, which also highlighted other leading pan-African thinkers
such as Mensah Sarbah and Kobina Sekyi, both Gold Coasters.
Professor Kwabena Nketia, who experienced performances of
Coleridge-Taylor’s music whilst studying in London, was on hand to fill
in the gaps regarding Sierra Leonean musicians who had some connection
to Coleridge-Taylor.
[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) is
[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) is
profiled
at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works
List and a Bibliography by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma,
http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com
Major observances of the Centennial of Coleridge-Taylor's death on
Sept. 1, 1912 are underway and are the work of organizations
including the Samuel
Coleridge-Taylor Foundation, http://www.sctf.org.uk]
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