From Village Square to Concert Hall: Recasting Igbo Folk Music Through Conventional Art Music Techniques

Abstract

Igbo folk music continues to play a vital role in the cultural archive for the preservation of history, identity, values, and communal memory of the Igbo people. However, because Igbo folk music has a strong dependency on oral tradition for its transmission and preservation, it has become vulnerable in today’s world that is shaped by urbanization, digital culture, and the decline of communal performance space. This article, therefore, explores how Igbo folk music can be recast through conventional art music techniques without losing its cultural essence. It delves into the discourse of the musical features of Igbo folk music and considers how these features can be developed through thematic transformation, SATB choral writing, among other techniques. Drawing on recent African music scholarship and Nigerian art music studies, the article argues that Igbo folk music can be preserved and can gain wider cultural visibility, which will support artistic renewal and engage more academic study when recast for the concert hall. It concludes that this transformation can extend rather than erase the indigenous musical identity when handled with cultural sensitivity.