‘Concept of Neo African Music as Manifested in Yoruba Folk Opera’, in The African Diaspora: A Musical Perspective

In the course of the twentieth century, many new types of music developed in Africa, and these coexist with the traditional types of African music. In African traditional culture, the relevance of music, or to put it another way, the function of music in society has always been an important factor and is, consequently, one that is also desirable in modern culture. The chapter attempts to show that the Yoruba folk opera is one of those neo-African types of music that derive their essential style from traditional culture. The folk opera is firmly rooted in Yoruba traditional culture and is a natural evolution from traditional sources. The typical composer of the folk opera has had little or no formal training in music but received a sound modern type of school education, followed in some cases by training in a profession, which is not necessarily in the performing arts.