Customer Reviews

Senku - Piano Music by Composers of African Descent

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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.

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.