SOME UNDERGEE BUT PRO KEYBOARDISTS IN GHANA

I have always wanted to bring out hidden talents and expose the expertise of many keyboardists who are hidden from the spotlight either intentionally or because of the groups they are associated with. Some of you may know these keyboardists but they are not known by the majority. Look at the list below and let's fish them out.

1. Ransford Addae

Ransford Addae

Ransford is an old student of St. Peter's Senior High School. He was the organist of the school choir at that time and proved himself as an instrumental figure in changing the phase of music produced by the choir. He bought into the dreams of his predecessor, Kwabena Asante (now tenor part leader of VocalEssence Chorale) and implemented his (Kwabena) plans to make St. Peter's School Choir what it is today. He is now a member of the Tema Youth Choir.

2. Dominic Andrews

Dominic Andrews

According to research, Dominic began to play the keyboard when he was 10 years old. He is a former organist for the Korle Bu Youth Choir. He was chief organist of the school choir of Pope John Senior High School and Minor Seminary. He is now an organist with Dansoman Youth Choir.

3. Presley Joe Black

Presley Joe Black

Presley is an all-genre pianist; he mostly performs jazz and classical music. He is the CEO of the School of Piano and Keyboard Playing, SOPAKP, (a rather difficult acronym to pronounce. It's pronounced with a silent 'P' at the end). This initiative happens to be mostly online on WhatsApp groups. Through this medium, he has trained many pianists through his write ups and articles. He is a fan of Chopin and can play almost all of Chopin's etudes.

4. Elijah Gyasi

Elijah Gyasi

Elijah happens to be the award winner of the Ghana's Favourite Love Song Competition which was organised by Choral Music Ghana in February this year. He is a very brilliant pianist who graduated as a music student from the University of Education, Winneba. He is currently the music director and organist at the St. Bakhita Catholic Church.

5. Elikem Seake-Kwawu

Elikem Seake-Kwawu

ESK as he is commonly known as is a Mozart advocate and a student of Presley Joe Black. He is also a member of the Allegro classics. He is also a very brilliant pianist with a large repertoire of pieces at his fingertips. He has some compositions which includes his "Stay with me" which he composed to compete in the Ghana's Favourite Love Song Competition.

6. Seyram Yawo Afealete

Seyram Yawo Afealete

You thought she was only a violinist. Haha! The violin is only her second instrument. Her first love is the piano and she is a guru. She was an organist for the school choir when she was a student at Arch Bishop Porter Girls. She has been one of my motivations when it comes to piano music. She is a student at the University of Education, Winneba and currently a member of the Heavenly Jewels Choir and Orchestra and I'm sure they didn't know she is a pianist.

7. Constant Ahadzi

Constant Ahadzi

This is one pianist who dares to play what other pianists fear to play. Not much is known about him, but looking at some of his personal videos, I can testify that he is at the level of virtuosity.

8. Francis Yankey

Francis Yankey

Sorry I used your graduation pic Francis, but I did anyway. Dear reader, Francis is a keyboardist who can easily be undermined because of his extreme humble nature. Having studied under Eyeson and Kwame Appiah Jnr of Harmonious Chorale, he is very agile on the keys despite his big fingers. I'll call him Ghana Rachmaninoff or better still the Black Rachmaninoff. He is currently a keyboardist of Catholic Philharmonic Choir. Oh yeah, I failed to mention that he was also an organist of Pope John Senior High School Choir.

9. Prince Charles

Prince Charles

Allah Fresh Boy! This is another One-Man Orchestra who has succeeded in hiding himself from the spotlight. Choral Music Ghana got hold of one of his videos and shared it on their page. It was a video of him playing Michael Mieza's arrangement of "Daa mebor me sanku daa". It's funny how we saw the video but his face wasn't clear.

10. Emefa Anku

Emefa Anku

Here is a serious culprit who has been in hideout for so long. She is an old student of St. Roses Senior High and was also the choir's organist. When I was in SHS, I watched her play Newlove Annan's "But They That Wait" in a grand classical style. She has also performed with the Symphonic Kings Choir and finally gone into hiding again.

Anas names, shames and jails but I name, expose and popularize. If your name didn't appear in this list, it is because my eye hasn't caught you or you are already in the spolight and also, there is a part two. I will find you and name you. I urge every reader to share this article. If you know any keyboardist, let's name him or her and expose them. I have also place a hyper link on the names under the pictures. Click on it to see the profiles of these keyboardists who want to hide. The Black Handel. Face The Music.

MINISTRY OF TOURISM DO YAWA

On the 16th of July, the ChoralDem group, Choral Music Ghana Team and fans of Harmonious Choral waited at the airport to welcome Harmonious Chorale warmly from South Africa and congratulate them. Most of us have been following the successes of HC during the World Choir Games - Tshwane 2018 organised by Interkultur. They were acknowledged by some of the media groups and Choral organizations.

While some organizations updated their social media pages with Welcome Messages for Harmonious Chorale, an institution rebranded the popular faces we know and gave us a Harmonious Chorale without a James Varrick Armaah. 😕 Below is the post which is now trending and has made the institution a laughing stock.

😂😂 I'm wasted out of laughter. I'll always be your Black Handel. I'm out.

TOP 10 COMMON PIECES YOU'D HEAR AT EVERY CHORAL CONCERT

10. Yensi den kamfo wo

This piece was composed by Newlove Annan. It contains a lot of counterpoints where by the parts sing different phrases simultaneously. The pieces has a lot of elements of contemporary music.

9. Arm! Arm ye brave

At almost every concert, there is always a bass soloist who wants to perform this bass aria from Judas Maccabaeus composed by George Frideric Handel. In the performance of the oratorio by VocalEssence Chorale on the 2nd of July, a lot of people sang along with Bass soloist, Francis Nyamekeh. This is an evidence of how common this aria has become.

8. Nya Gyedzi

This was composed by J. W. Sey. After Harmonious Chorale popularized it during the Festival of Praise and Worship concert in 2017, many choirs have replicated the arrangements keep on singing it during each and every concert.

7. Owenfo

"Owenfo" was composed by the late Ellen White. This piece was dedicated to one Mr. Bello Justice in Sunyani and sang for the first time by the Orion's Gate Chorale in Kumasi. Today, it is one of the most requested pieces by many music directors.

6. Dzidzorm

Forget the stigmatization against Voltarians. This piece is one of the local dialect pieces in which so many people have pleasure. It was composed by Kenn Kafui. The piece was almost consigned to neglect until it caught the attention of many Ghanaians when the keyboardists of Harmonious Chorale arranged a splendid accompaniment for it.

5. Mensi den

This is a breathtaking piece composed by James Varrick Armmah, music director of Harmonious Chorale. It is piece of thanksgiving to God and hence, its popularity at many concerts.

4. Mida akpe na Mawu

Also composed by Kenn Kafui, it was a piece that was very popular in the Volta Region and was adopted by the Police Brass Band. The Abibimma Youth Choir in Suhum popularized it in Eastern Region and now, almost every choir sings it.

3. Gyata bruwa

It was composed by Osei Boateng. This piece has become so popular that it is used as voice training and sound check. One beautiful part of the music is the counterpoint the alto part comes in with at the cadences.

2. Homma y mbo ose

This highlife was composed by Prof. Yaw Sekyi-Baidoo. It has some kind of serious groove that gets every listener on their feet. Also, many keyboardists play it in their solo works and it's either the first or the last.

1. Oye

A concert will never come to an end without this popular piece composed by James Varrick Armaah. Today, contemporary musicians have adopted the piece and sing it at gospel rock shows and during praise medleys at Charismatic Churches.

COMMON TUNES AND THEIR ORIGIN

All the time, we hear some tunes that we enjoy so much and we sometimes use as as our ringtones or signature tracks. A very common example is the Nokia Ringtone. But did you know that this cute fancy tune is a classical piece? Just as I thought, you didn't. Read the article to find out more.

1. The Nokia Ringtone

This short passage was taken from the piece "Grand Vals" by Francisco Tárrega for guitar. Originally, "Grand Vals" was taken from Chopin's waltz "Grand Valse Brilliante" which he composed in 1834. The vice President of Nokia in the person of Anssi Vanjoki and Lauri Kivinen who was then Head of Corporate Communications selected bars 13-16 as the common Nokia Ringtone we hear now.

2. The Cat Concerto

The Cat Concerto is the 29th episode of Tom and Jerry. It was an episode where Tom was a concert pianist, playing a classical piece and doing it with enjoyable flair. Unfortunately his playing awakes Jerry, who sleeps inside the grand piano. This leads to a chase in and around the piano. The piece was originally composed by Franz Liszt and named as "Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2", a very challenging piece dared to be played by virtuosic talents alone.

3. The National Maths and Science Quiz Them Song

This sound track has rung in our minds for more than 10 years now. It has brought good and bad memories to students who either won or lost the competition. This theme is an excerpt of "Voi che sapete" from the opera "Figaro" composed by Mozart

4. Thine Be The Glory

This is a hymn sang by most Orthodox churches all over the globe. It is mostly used during Easter to commemorate the Rising of Jesus Christ on the third. The origin of this hymn is from a chorus entitled "See the conq'ring hero comes" from Judas Maccabeus. It was composed by George Friedrich Handel. This piece was also included in his oratorio, "Joshua".

5. UEFA Champions League Anthem

This anthem has proven to be one of the most inspirational anthems even to the ears of those who do not understand the languages used in it. It was composed by Tony Britten in 1992. This anthem was adapted from Britain's most popular coronation anthem, Zadok The Priest which was composed by Handel.

6. Millenium Prayer

The title may not sound familiar, but the song is one of the most popular songs on the Lord's Prayer. The musician Cliff Richard set the words of the Lord's Pray to this tune. Originally, the tune is a hymn composed by Robert Burns called "Auld lang syne" translated from old English as Old Long Since.

7. You Raise Me Up

Who composed the tune of this song? ...... I knew you'd say Josh Groban. I just busted his ass. The origin of the tune is from a funeral song entitled "Silent Story" composed by an Irish-Norwegian called Rolf Lovland. It was performed for the very first time at his mother's funeral.

8. Battle Hymn of The Republic

If you were thinking the tune in this piece was composed by a ManU fan, you are fatally mistaken. Manchester United fanatics decided to use it as the club's song. It surprised me when I found out that the original tune was from the song "John Brown's body". The lyrics were collectively written by a group of Union soldiers for John Brown.

So now we know the origin of some of the tunes of which we kept on wondering about their history. Feel free to share any other popular tunes and their origins.

WHAT IF GHANAIAN COMPOSERS HAD RUSSIAN NAMES

I keep wondering why Russian composers almost always have either 'ovich', 'nov', or 'sky' at the end of their names. There are composers with names such as Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and Polikarpovich. Let's see how the names of some of our cherished Ghanaian composers would sound if they were Russians.

1. James Varrinsky Armaahnovich

2. Alfredoff Addaqov

3. Newlovich Annansky

4. Georgiev Essiloff Mensky

5. J. H. Kwabenei Nketrov

6. Yawev Sekyi-Baidovich

7. Sam Asarechenko Bediansky

8. Augusky Sobenovich

That's all folks. Enjoy your day. Feel free to add yours in the comments.

WHAT TO DO AND NOT DO AS AN ACCOMPANIST?

Today, I’m going to be on accompanists for soloists; most of which are keyboardists. I watched a video of a lady playing a beautiful violin arrangement of Newlove Annan’s Your Grace and Mercy at an event that took place at Central University and sincerely, the accompanist has got to be the poorest I’ve ever seen. The keyboard was exceptionally loud and instead of following the soloist, he rather played to suit humself. At the end of the performance, one could notice that the soloist felt a bit devastated because she couldn’t express the dynamics of the piece because Mr Accompanist felt he needed some attention too.

I’m not saying the accompanist is not important, but in being one, you have got to realise that no one actually cares about you except for your lover who wants to come and watch you accompanying the soloist the audience really cares about. You are on stage because the soloist is and you shouldn’t expect even half of the spotlight. I heard J. V. Armaah actually asked the sound engineer to lower the velocity of the keyboard and Mr. Sound got annoyed. That’s a topic for another day… Sound engineers, I’ll be coming to you but now, accompanists, what is your responsibility?

1. Don’t rush nor drag the soloist.

This is very annoying to the soloist and the listeners. You never know when you will get to accompany a soloist who will crack your head with his or her instrument when you do this. Always remember one rule, follow the soloist and be attentive. Watch out for ad libs especially. Yes. Some ad libs are not rehearsed and they take you by surprise and makes you miserable. Please endure. That is why you are an accompanist. Your job is to FOLLOW THE SOLOIST.

2. Make sure the transpose is set to zero (0) before you start

This is very important especially at programs where contemporary bands are invited and they only know how to play in Key F (they never learn). This transpose functionality has been a major cause of disasters during performances. Don’t blame the poor Key F keyboardist because of your carelessness and negligence. End the piece, and restart in the original key when this unfortunate situation happens.

3. Do not be louder than the soloist

It wouldn’t hurt to keep your volume below that of the soloists. At times, there may be outbursts due to faulty cables but try to control the volume because some sound engineers are idiots and wouldn't care. If the piece makes it difficult for you to control the volume, just use the touch response. It wasn’t created to beautify the keyboard. USE IT!

4. Learn to turn pages faster or get a page turner

If you have to sight read to accompany a soloist, get a page turner. Yes. You are not Addaquay. Addaquay is a prodigy and you are probably just you. YOU!!! Failing to turn the page at the right time can be very disastrous and can crush the flow of a piece. In case you don’t get a page turner especially a sensible one, rehearse your page turning and memorize the notes at the end of the pages.

5. Keep eye contact with the soloist in case of any signals

Don’t focus so much on your instrument while playing. Within intervals, watch the soloist in order not miss anything he or she would like to communicate to you. The soloist cannot shout and call your name while performing, therefore it will be prudent to keep eye contact at regular intervals.

The elites in music can add more but so far these are the five main things an accompanist should do or not do in order to make the lives of our soloists better. Kudos to accompanists such as Edwin Ferguson, Francis Eyeson, Augustine Sobeng, Kwame Appian Jnr, Sita Afriyie, and some few others whose accompanying skills are great. I wish everyone a Happy Palm Sunday. I am the Black Handel. I’m out.

THE CHURCH: DOES IT NURTURE OR KILL MUSICAL TALENT?

From medieval times till present, churches have been known to be places that cannot do without music. Both instrumental and vocal music are featured in church services and the structures differ from era to era or from church to church. Choral music in church started as male choirs during the medieval to the renaissance period and later, women were added in order to sing higher registers. Choristers went through serious training to enhance sacred music. As time went on, the organ was brought into the church and prodigies and people with promising musical talents were trained.

Till today, a lot of churches invest into their youth to ensure that their talents in music are nurtured so that they can serve their church alone. (SELFISH THOUGHT!!!) Some churches don’t invest in and motivate their youngsters and as a result, some youths who are promising lose interest. And then, gbam! Talent killed. I will be drawing some lines between two types of churches and how each of them treat music in their churches and I’m sure you’ll be able to relate, name fingers and point names… (That was definitely intentional).

1. A church where some instruments are not allowed and a church that is open minded when it comes to musical instruments.

Basically, I find any church that exempts some instruments as a church that has a problem. Why should one deem certain instruments as evil and others as good? Or why should some be permissible and others, non-permissible? It just doesn’t make sense. For those who don’t even allow the playing of any instrument at all, their problem is on a different level. I can imagine how boring church services would be like. Churches that allow variety of instruments are those that produce the most talented youths.

2. A church that employs professional music directors and a church that takes delight in using someone just because he or she is born again.

Music groups that are lead by people with less proficiency in music are dead musical groups and have no future. The musicians in such groups are made to think they are serving God but whatever they think they may be offering is unacceptable. Time for rehearsals is divided and most is used for prayers. This explains why there are noisier hymn champion orchestras than serious symphony orchestras in Ghana especially. I thought the Bible teaches that God wants the best. Well… Kudos to churches that employ professionals to train their youths. It is clear how music groups in churches outshine that of other churches.

3. A gender discriminate church and a church that uses all youths despite their gender.

Sadly, some churches don’t allow females to have anything at all to do with music in the church. Yes! Believe it or not! Nothing at all!! Not even singing. In some cases, certain instruments are assigned to a specific gender. I knew of a church which stopped their ladies from learning brass instruments because they heard a so called medical claim that brass instruments can cause barrenness. (Then I guess Alison Balsom, one of the most brilliant female trumpeters is barren too). Fortunately, as time went on, they let go of that notion. In that same church, a lady was stopped from conducting because they believed she was leading the men astray because she shook her butt anytime she threw her hand. I can imagine how weak the men are. A church that involves all gender in music is a shining church. What is the use in acting like a church in the medieval period?

4. A church that motivates musicians and a church that indirectly insults its musicians

A keyboardist in one church was told he plays hymns like he is playing for Chris Brown. How Pathetic! In the first place, how did the so called Pastor even know of the style of Chris Brown’s music if he doesn’t listen? There are good churches that motivate their musicians by tipping them with some “coins”, buying their costumes and linking them to high places. ICGC is one of the churches I admire so much when it comes to motivating their musicians. For their annual event Greater Works, the orchestra members reside in a hotel, they are provided with costumes, fed and paid after the event. I’m not saying churches should pay their musicians, all I am saying is; a word of encouragement is enough to motivate the youthful musician.

5. A church that judges its youthful musicians and a church that reasons with its youthful musicians

An instrumentalist was not able to attend his local church because he travelled with the orchestra to other branches of the church to minister and his pastor’s wife of that local church told him that he is exchanging his salvation with music. (The most heartless comment I’ve ever heard). One lady in a campus fellowship is being treated like an outcast just because she sings with a music band in another church. In my case, I was told God is not happy with me for being a member of the University Choir. They are judging. Are they not the ones that God is unhappy with? Then I guess God is probably unhappy with churches that allow their youths to shine in other places and learn new things because they know God is everywhere. Nope. I don’t think so. God is rather happy with churches that do not behave politically and not churches where leadership uses its position to dampen the musically enthusiastic spirit of its youth.

You may have a story of how your church is either nurturing or killing your talent. You can send it in the comments section. But remember, don’t let the activities of a church that acts like a corrupted government kill your talent. Build yourself and practice more. Don’t turn down invitations to perform. Go out and make someone smile with your voice or instrument. Your talent was granted to you to serve the universe and not a small group of selfish individuals alone. I want to give a big shout out to ONA Records and its CEO, Mr. Richard Densu for training youths who have promising talents and also their dedication to promoting them.

I am the Black Handel. I’m out.