AfriClassical.com Update on 'Pastorale' of Samuel Ekpe Akpabot on 'But Not Forgotten' on Sono Luminus CD by Marcus Eley and Lucerne DeSa

[TOP: Samuel Akpabot: The Odyssey of a Nigerian Composer-Ethnomusicologist (Paperback) by Godwin Sadoh  BOTTOM: But Not Forgotten: Music by African-American Composers for Clarinet & Piano; Marcus Eley, clarinet; Lucerne DeSa, piano; Sono Luminus DSL-92156 (U.S. release date July 31, 2012)]


Samuel Ekpe Akpabot (1932-2000) is featured at AfriClassical.com, where his page has been updated with a new paragraph on Pastorale from Scenes for Nigeria:


Pastorale

The African American clarinetist Marcus Eley and pianist Lucerne DeSa, his duo partner, were invited to perform works for clarinet and piano at South Africa's premier National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in July 2009.  Along with works of African American composers,  Samuel Akpabot's Pastorale from Scenes for Nigeria (3:32) was included on the program.  After performing at the Festival, and before leaving South Africa, Eley and DeSa recorded the program at the University of Stellenbosch on July 13, 2009.  The recording is But Not Forgotten; Sono Luminus DSL-92156 (2012).  Marcus Eley writes in the liner notes:

"The composer has arranged this Pastorale section from his orchestral setting of Scenes for Nigeria for clarinet and piano. The Pastoral is essentially a lullaby in call response fashion.  The texture is somewhat sparse but is just right for this setting.  From its undulating rhythms and unique harmonies, this composition reminds one of an African 'pastorale' landscape."