Acting Director General of the National Troupe of Nigeria, Martins Adaji, partially fulfilled his promise to resuscitate the music department of the troupe on April 4 and 5 when the organisation held a chorale as part of the Easter festivities. Adaji had told reporters during his maiden meeting with the press earlier in the year that reviving the moribound music unit was going to be one of his priorities.
“I promised you some time ago that we will give you a musical, now it is here. This show is not the usual, we have a lot to offer you this evening. I don’t want to waste your time with a lengthy speech so let’s get started,” Adaji reiterated minutes before the command performance started on Sunday, April 4 inside Cinema Hall II, National Theatre, Lagos.
The supposedly ‘not the usual’ concert however flagged at some points as the evening wore on. The organisers would have done well to get better sound and musical instruments; assistants holding up music notes for the director, Femi Ogunrombi, while playing the keyboard wasn’t professional either. The beautifully costumed choir and guest artists including Yinka Davies, Afresh, Biodun Olododo and others nonetheless rendered some good music.
Opening numbers
An adaptation of ‘Ise Oluwa’ by Ogunrombi, Dan Aldridge’s ‘It wouldn’t be enough’, Bach’s ‘Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring’ and William Gaither’s popular ‘Because He Lives’ were the opening songs by the choir. Though ‘Because He Lives’ has since become a public song, the choir added some flavours to make their version unique and enjoyable.
The choir revved up their performance with the next set of songs. They added a touch of Highlife while doing ‘Yak Ikom Abasi’ by Benjamin Chukwu and a dash of Makossa to an adaptation of ‘Onu Odum’ by Fine Face.
‘Afresh’, an a cappella group comprising Austin David (baritone); Julius Adegoke (second tenor); Uche Osondu (bass) and Jackson Oshile gave a good rendition of ‘Old Gospel’, the group’s adaptation of popular Southern gospel, ‘Old Time Religion’. The audience happily obliged when the group asked them to join in singing Bobby McFerrin’s ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ but the quartet saved their best for the last. Their last piece was a Twi number from Ghana which Yinka Davies joined them in singing. Her effortless though playful mimicry of trumpet sounds while doing the Highlife song, drew laughter from the audience who also rewarded the group with a generous applause.
More entertainment came in the form of ‘Masu Kudi Gurmi’ a trio of Hausa musicians from Kano. Though the crowd didn’t hear all what they said because they declined to use microphones in order to play their goje and drums, their funny dances/gestures made people laugh. The occasional “Khaki no be leather” and “Orobokibo kibo rocky” part of their chorus which filtered into people’s ears, inspired even more mirth.
Baritone Uzor Enemanna did ‘Our God is Real’ accompanied on the keyboard by Ogunrombi, who also moonlights as an actor- he once played Papa Ajasco in Wale Adenuga’s popular series of same name.
One day song
“Thank you for allowing me mess up the stage. The choir just learnt this song for one day, don’t be angry with us if we mess it up,” singer Yinka Davies explained as she came on stage again with the choir. She was quite a spectacle as she skipped across the stage like a little girl while doing the fast tempo song. The songstress reaffirmed her rating as one of Nigeria’s great vocalists with the solo parts she took in the song.
Saxophonist Biodun Olododo sang ‘Ponmilodo’ before the choir now spotting beautiful Yoruba, Fulani, Efik, Igbo and Tiv costumes took the last set of songs. They did some popular tunes including ‘Oritse Mo Be O’ by Emmanuel Aringhinho; Fatai Rolling Dollar’s ‘Won Kere Si Number Wa’ and Loius Armstrong’s touching ‘What a Wonderful World’. They also sang national songs like ‘In One Accord’ and ‘Together as one’ adapted by Ogunrombi, and Arnold Udoka’s ‘Sonayan’. On the whole, it wasn’t a bad outing for the music section of the troupe currently being resuscitated
No comments:
Post a Comment