The British are Coming!

Available for 29 days

Donald Macleod begins a week on Fela Sowande and Nigerian art music by tracing its roots in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Nigeria. With Alexander Douglas, he explores the impact of European missionary education, the introduction of Western musical training, and the tensions this created with indigenous traditions. The programme follows how Nigerian musicians responded, from the 're‑Africanisation' of church music led by figures such as Josiah Ransome‑Kuti to the emergence of a new art-music tradition in Lagos. Alongside this story, we hear music shaped by both worlds, from piano works drawing on traditional drumming to Sowande’s blending of spirituals and Yoruba materials. Music featured: High Life Fela Sowande Talking Drums Joshua Uzoigwe William Chapman Nyaho, piano Go Down Moses Fela Sowande Kevin Bowyer, organ Obángíjì Iwo Lo to Sìn Josiah Ransome‑Kuti, voice African Suite: I-III Fela Sowande CBC Vancouver Orchestra Mario Bernardi, conductor Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio Wales & West.