Compositional militarisation of Nigerian art music for the orchestra in Ovaborhene Idamoyibo’s “Colonel Eru March”

Abstract

A musical composition would be more appreciated if the inspirational, sociological, philosophical, and creative influences that informed its creation were elucidated and understood through analysis. This author contributes to knowledge growth in the foregoing perspective through a sociological and creative study of “Colonel Eru March”–an orchestra piece composed by Ovaborhene Idamoyibo through the creative utilisation of military ideologies, imageries, and rhythmic nuances. Through a combination of sociological, literary, and descriptive statistical analysis methods, the inspirational, philosophical, and creative premises of the piece are divulged. The composer’s style of intercultural creativity is also disclosed through a critical examination of the indigenous and foreign musical materials, idioms, and media synthesised in the piece.