A theoretical review towards a compositional model for creating African musical drama: “Anansegorndwom

The creative aspect of art music in Ghana and Africa as a whole has focused primarily on the composition of either choral or few instrumental forms. Apart from Blege‘s Kristo and Mereku‘s Asomdwee Hen, there is, however, comparatively less compositions that combine theatrical elements to an eventual performance. This article therefore sought to establish a compositional model – Anansegorndwom - for creating musical dramas which would be characteristically African to give directions to modern art music composers to create such works intended for wide audience. Through theoretical reviews, the study brings into existence a compositional model for creating musical dramas that convey Ghanaian existing indigenous stories other than the sound elements in our folk traditions through choral and instrumental forms. Indeed, the model established is an explicit demonstration of easy ways of using traditional idioms in one composition without losing both Western and African musical identities. The implication is that, it sets the pace for the creation of more African dramatic works that are significant to generate employment opportunities in music and theatre. Indeed, the modern society craves for a refreshing mode of recreation beyond work and life pressure, thus, the extremely emotional artistic form of Anansegorndwom is likely to grasp the inward emotions of this world of modern audiences as it conforms to the aesthetic demands of the Ghanaian cultural heritage. It is, therefore, envisaged that art music composers begin to use the model to add to the paucity of repertoire of African musical dramas in the 21st Century.