Considerations About Classical Organ Music in Africa

Abstract

African related pieces in the organ Repertoire is a question not often challenged even if few scholarly studies exist; most of them concerning Afro-American composers. Practically, this means that in order to schedule a concert, “usual” organists will not give many names and these names won’t be the same in New-York, Lagos or Paris, where the “reputation” of Jean-Louis Florentz, for instance did not go as far as the landscapes he used to dream. Because of a specific project (Myrelingues, born in Lyon, but involving international partners); this question of Organ Repertoire became a pragmatic issue, including the opportunity of commissioning new works. This article gathers information from various sources related to the expanse of this field. In connection with this experience, Africa is considered a very large connecting topic including non-African composers. In addition, it also opens questions of inter-textuality, the importance of figures and consequences of dialog between musical works during the process of a kind of “birth” of such a Repertoire.