Organ in Africa

Many people do not associate the organ with Africa. However, the overlap between classical music and African music is present. Thomas Sylvand discusses this in his article Considerations About Classical Organ Music in Africa. The organ’s widespread presence in Europe has allowed it to spread, with classical music, to many regions, including Africa. A project titled Myrelingues, which began in Lyon, France, helped deepen these connections by organizing concerts, musical commissions, and educational programs.

The performers for this program brought in lots of diverse repertoires including Errollyn Wallen, Florence Price, Ignatius Sancho, and Samuel Coleridge Taylor. While this program helped develop friendship across continents, it also exposed a critical problem among the organs of Africa. Most organs found in Africa and the West Indies are not in good enough shape to “defend great music”. This in turn raised the question of organ availability because of the narrow range of eligible instruments. However, performers did not prioritize a certain style of repertoire or change their performances, but continued to select diverse pieces. Through various collaborations expanding access, the program was thankfully able to sustain these concerts.

While Sylvand does not draw distinct conclusions in this article, he does speak about the exciting nature of seeing a distinctly classical instrument begin to flourish in a place with no traditional organs. The connection between Africa and classical music is an important one and many who thought the continent would remain lacking when it came to the organ have seemingly been proven incorrect by this project which demonstrates the potential for music that each and every one of us possess.

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