Senku - Piano Music by Composers of African Descent

Various (Composer), William Chapman Nyaho (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: William Chapman Nyaho
• Composer: Various
• Audio CD (October 21, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: MSR Classics
• ASIN: B0000WZY5O
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,117 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ukom

2. Lulu

3. Egwu Amala

4. No.1

5. No.2

6. No.3

7. Scherzo

8. Deep River

9. Troubled Water

10. Variations on an Egyptian Folksong

11. Prelude: Night

12. His Song

13. Honey: Humoresque

14. Barcarolle: Morning

15. Dance: Juba

16. Earthbeats, Op.22

Editorial Reviews

William H. Chapman Nyaho, a Ghanaian American, was schooled in Ghana, and later received degrees from St. Peter's College, Oxford University, Eastman School of Music and the University of Texas at Austin. He also studied at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève. Following a four-year residency as a North Carolina Visiting Artist, Chapman Nyaho taught at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He was the recipient of the 1998 University of Southwestern Louisiana Distinguished Professor Award and the 1998 Acadiana Arts Council Distinguished Artist Award, and held the Heymann Endowed Professorship.

Chapman Nyaho's performing experience includes recitals in Africa, Europe, North America and the Caribbean. He has performed as soloist with orchestras across the southern United States. Among his engagements, which include performing chamber music, Nyaho performs regularly as duo pianist with the Nyaho/Garcia Duo which has released a compact disc titled "Aaron Copland: Music For Two Pianos". Chapman Nyaho has been featured on radio and television broadcasts in Ghana, Switzerland, and National Public Radio in the USA. He developed and hosted The Bach Show for the classical radio station KRVS in Louisiana.

Chapman Nyaho is presently an independent scholar, teacher and concert pianist residing in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. He is a regular guest clinician at colleges and universities, giving lecture-recitals and holding workshops advocating music by composers of the African Diaspora. He also serves as adjudicator for national and international piano competitions.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Colorful, Creative, Brilliant!!!, December 2, 2003

By 

Bradley Bolen (Austin, Tx United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Senku - Piano Music by Composers of African Descent (Audio CD)

Every now and then a recording comes along that is as important as it is unique.

This is such a recording.

I approached this CD with a desire to explore a back road of art music, in the hopes that I might find a hidden gem of inspiration, or even a piece to perform myself (I am also a pianist). What I found instead was a superhighway of talent and creativity that has somehow remained overlooked by the "mainstream" art music world.

Pianist Nyaho Chapman presents us with an astonishing variety of compositions, ranging from the more conservative "In The Bottoms Suite" of Robert Nathaniel Dett or Margaret Bond's Troubled Water, to the more abstract "Talking Drums" of Joshua Uzoigwe or Earthbeats of Gyimah Labi. Mr. Chapman's performance of Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson's Scherzo surely proves him as one of the more brilliant pianists on the circuit. The piece is as relentless as it is physically demanding. And, like the other works on this disk, it is recorded with clarity and precision.

I highly recommend this CD to anyone wishing to enrich their musical life.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An impressive collection, stunningly performed, April 7, 2004

By 

AfroAmericanHeritage (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Senku - Piano Music by Composers of African Descent (Audio CD)

Since others have addressed Nyaho's stunning performances, I'd like to address the collection itself. These are not merely works by composers who happen to be of African descent; they are inspired and informed by ethnic influences. Joshua Uzoigwe's (Nigeria) "Talking Drums" juxtaposes the rhythmic and melodic characteristics found in African master drumming on the Ukom, Iyalu and small slit-drums, and are based on the Ukom scale and harmonic system. Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson's (USA) "Scherzo" is inspired by Chopin, blues and jazz. Gamal Abdel-Rahim's (Egypt) "Variations on an Egyptian Folksong" is compelling and intricate.

But don't get me wrong...these are not intellectual exercises in nationalism. Each piece stands on its own musically, and the variety here makes this a compelling and wonderful CD from start to finish.