Music and meaning: Some reflections through personal compositions
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Date
2010-08
Authors
Njoora, T. K.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Abstract
On 31 May 2007, with the cooperation of musicians from Kenyatta University1 and
Goethe-Institute; (German cultural centre) in Nairobi, I had the privileged opportunity to
share several premiere compositions with the audience in Nairobi as part of community
reach out with ‘art music’. Regarding music composition, Barret (2003) argues that
composition assists in expressive meaning-making for both the composer and the
audience. But then (he argues) meaning is ‘culturally mediated…and is most effectively
described as a dialogue between…the musician and the composer, the emerging
musical work, the culture that produced the composer, and the emerging work’. For
me personally, the compositions shared during the concert served several purposes –
(a) sharing my creative world with the audience; (b) responding to music enthusiasts
interests and academic requirements; (c) adding cultural capital to Kenyan art music; and
(d) exploring some fundamental issues in meaning-making through music compositions.
As Barret (2003) observes;
Specific practices and connections, traditions from which they emerge become the
cultural benchmarks against which other constructions and ways of communicating
meaning are judged – and are often found deficient.
In this paper I share some reflections of my creative exhibitions, my thoughts on meaningmaking
and its unavoidable cultural underpinnings. At the same time, I interrogate
some thoughts on the area of ‘creativity’, which is often considered abstract. Among
the ideas discussed are the five discreet stages of ‘creativity’ as advanced by Wallas
(1926) model of the process namely; (a) Preparation; (b) Incubation; (c) Intimation;
(d) Illumination and (e) Verification. Ultimately, I hope that sharing this information will
invigorate academic dialogue to contribute towards defining of current generation of ‘Art
Music’ compositions in Kenya and ultimately for the benefit of the region (East Africa).
Description
Publisher version (Taylor & Francis) available athttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/18125980.2010.486146
Keywords
African art music, composers, composition process, creativity, culture, meaning in music, music composition
Citation
Journal of Music Research in Africa, 7:1, 41-59