Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa

South Africa’s first music periodicals, King Hintsa’s children and Dia!kwain’s string

2026-01-12T08:45:48+00:00

No Abstract

Andalusi music in Africa: from collective memories of coexistence to nationhood

2026-01-12T09:13:27+00:00

Andalusi music refers to a tradition that originated in the Iberian Peninsula in the 9th century and has evolved to the present day across several Mediterranean contexts. This article adopts a comparative, region-wide perspective to examine how Andalusi music embodies diverse historical layers – pre-colonial imaginaries, colonial legacies and postcolonial narratives – within distinct cases in four North African societies (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya), each shaped by its own socio-cultural dynamics. The choice to address four national contexts entails using a broad analytical lens rather than an in-depth treatment of a single case study. While such an approach cannot capture the full complexity of each local tradition, it enables the identification of broader patterns through which Andalusi music has been reframed and mobilised across the Maghreb. Acknowledging these limitations, the article positions itself as a preliminary comparative intervention that opens avenues for more focused, context-specific studies in the future. From a musicological and interdisciplinary perspective, it thus contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how musical cultures are reinvented across and beyond national boundaries. Approaching this ambiguous setting from both musicological and cultural-historical perspectives, the following question arises: Can the revitalisation of Andalusi music serve as a means of advocating for the history of cultural coexistence within and beyond present-day state borders? This question is highly relevant to interdisciplinary studies on musical practices on the African continent and beyond, and it is particularly urgent for promoting collective memories of coexistence.

Circumstances and human relationships behind Dave Dargie’s academic and creative work

2026-01-12T09:31:38+00:00

Dave Dargie (b. 1938) is known above all for his work on Xhosa music and for his CDs and DVDs featuring a unique kind of overtone singing called umngqokolo ngomngqangi from Ngqoko, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. His way of presenting his findings at conferences – occasionally playing the uhadi bow while giving a paper – is legendary. Yet whilst getting absorbed in his fascinating academic and musical presentations, one easily forgets that these are sounding products of a person shaped by the circumstances of his time and by human relationships – thus, products of a product, if one wishes to put it that way. On the basis of publications (1982–2017), talks (since 2006) and interviews (since 2021), this article provides a biographical sketch of Dargie’s life and attempts to contextualise parts of his life and work by considering the circumstances of the period from the 1960s until the early 2000s, connecting these with people of personal and historical significance. In contrast to Dargie’s academic achievements, his creative work has drawn little attention. For that reason, the final section briefly includes and discusses some of his compositions and their background.

We are all human: music, diplomacy and the Tumaini Festival in Malawi’s Dzaleka refugee camp

2026-01-12T09:36:36+00:00

The Tumaini Festival is an annual refugee-led arts event that takes place in the Dzaleka refugee camp near Lilongwe, Malawi. According to Malawian law, refugees and asylum seekers are required to live in the camp and not permitted to work; most have been refugees for years and are unlikely ever to be resettled. Xenophobia and anti-refugee sentiment are also widespread in this South-East African country. This is the setting for the Tumaini Festival, ingeniously created by young artists living in Dzaleka to bring visibility to the vibrant talent in the camp, and to build empathy between those who are refugees and those who are not. Drawing on ethnographic research, this article analyses how the organisers strategically conceptualise and utilise the festival’s location, organisational structure, sequencing of events, spatial dynamics and the affective and expressive characteristics of music to effect change in international relationships, community formation and individual wellbeing.

Collaboration, creativity and care: pedagogical approaches in a South African undergraduate electronic music module

2026-01-12T09:53:38+00:00

Collaboration is a tool increasingly used in tertiary education, and a critical evaluation of it in this environment counters a culture of neoliberal transactions that may limit the creative process. This article reports the authors’ experiences during a decade of teaching the theory and practice of electronic music within an undergraduate curriculum at a South African university music department, and discusses the pitfalls and advantages of incorporating collaboration within a creative, practice-centred music classroom. The philosophies of the English composer Cornelius Cardew (1936–1981) formulated during his middle period were deployed to facilitate student
collaboration and served as guiding principles, providing a pedagogical model for advancing collaborative dexterity in teachers and students.

The integration of synthetic scales and the African Dies Irae motif in Alexander Johnson’s Kahlolo, Letšatši and Vocalise Africa

2026-01-12T10:03:57+00:00

The South African composer Alexander Johnson frequently integrates diverse musical elements and post-tonal devices into his works. He employs distinct compositional techniques such as synthetic scales and the African Dies Irae motif (ADIM) to establish a recognisable signature. This is particularly evident in his organ pieces Kahlolo (2016) and Letšatši (2016), as well as in Vocalise Africa (2017) for soprano and piano. These three selected compositions clearly display Johnson’s individual interpretations of 21st-century compositional devices. Given the limited literature on the composer and his works, this article provides valuable insights into the nuances of Johnson’s
compositional language, particularly his use of synthetic scales and the ADIM. By defining the original and varied versions of Johnson’s scales and motifs, this research illustrates how he blends African melodic ideas with modern harmonic writing. The synthetic scales exhibit distinct pitch content, intervallic relationships and tetrachord structures, revealing their harmonic complexity and potential. The ADIM, a recognisable melodic motif based on the traditional Dies Irae, merges with these synthetic constructs, creating a sophisticated yet aurally recognisable balance.

Afro hip hop in contemporary Nigeria: stimulating alternative social identities among young fans

2026-01-12T10:16:45+00:00

This essay explores hip hop trends and their uninhibited stimulation of alternative social identities among young fans in contemporary Nigeria. This is an aspect that has not received much scholarly attention, and we believe that investigating it will deepen existing knowledge of Afro hip hop discourses. Audiovisual content of hip hop, accessed mainly through electronic broadcasting, DVDs, mobile applications and social media platforms used by fans in constructing alternative social identities, is critical to the discourse on social identity, fandom and alternative identity theories. We argue that parasocial interactions with Afro hip hop figures in contemporary Nigeria facilitate fans’ deliberate construction of alternative social identities as a mode of social acceptance, self-presentation and protest against dominant socio-cultural norms. The study links certain behavioural patterns, such as alternative hair and dress codes, and an increased desire for conspicuous displays of wealth among young fans in Nigeria to the media culture of hip hop.

Empowering communities through music education: an exploration of two non-profit music projects in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

2026-01-12T10:21:17+00:00

This article explores how two non-profit music projects, the Access Music Project in Makhanda and the Inkwenkwezi School of Artistry in Port Alfred, act as catalysts for community engagement and social change in marginalised communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Grounded in a participatory action research framework, the study draws on focus groups, questionnaires and observation to examine how these projects provide music education, while also promoting inclusivity, personal development and social cohesion. The findings highlight four key themes: inclusivity and representation, reciprocal relationships, community development and personal empowerment. Both projects demonstrate how community-driven music education promotes agency, builds identity and provides alternatives to the social issues faced by young people. Despite challenges such as limited funding and inadequate infrastructure, the projects succeed
in creating sustainable models of education through partnerships, mentorship and local participation. The study affirms the transformative role of arts-based, community-rooted education in promoting long-term development and advancing social justice.

Beyond the Atom (2020): composing music that creatively captures the elusive nature of quantum physics

2026-01-12T10:26:24+00:00

Beyond the Atom is a work for large chamber ensemble that explores the intersection of quantum physics and the Rumsfeldian philosophy of ‘known knowns’, ‘known unknowns’ and ‘unknown unknowns’. This work, initially performed by the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and subsequently by the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, won the inaugural South African
Composers’ Competition in 2023. This explication shows how the work uses musical mechanisms to create expressive links with the mathematical phenomena of five distinct subatomic particles, and how these mechanisms portray a broader sense of known and unknown environments that exist in the ever-changing field of quantum physics.

Review

2026-01-12T10:30:06+00:00

Lucia, Christine (2024). The Times Do Not Permit: The Musical Life
of Michael Mosoeu Moerane. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
ISBN (print): 978–1–77614–920–9, (e-book): 978–1–77614–922–3.
xxvii, 273 pp. ZAR 520.

Reviews

2026-01-12T10:40:00+00:00

Muller, Wayne (2023). Opera in Cape Town: The Critic’s Voice.
Stellenbosch: African Sun Media. ISBN (print): 978–1–991260–08–6,
ISBN (e-book): 978–1–991260–09–3. xi, 194 pp. ZAR 290.

Reviews

2026-01-12T11:00:19+00:00

Pooley, Thomas M, Naomi André, Innocentia Mhlambi & Donato
Somma (2024). The Music of Mzilikazi Khumalo: Language, Culture and
Song in South Africa. New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN (print): 979–8–
7651–1326–4, (e-book): 979–8–7651–1327–1. x, 287 pp. ZAR 1 300.

Reviews

2026-01-12T11:11:24+00:00

Agawu, Kofi (2023). On African Music: Techniques, Influences, Scholarship.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN (print): 978–0–197664–07–0,
ISBN (e-book): 978–0–197664–09–4. xvii, 210 pp. ZAR 400.

Reviews

2026-01-12T11:34:37+00:00

No Abstract

James William May (1939–2025): a portrait, in memoriam

2026-01-12T12:23:48+00:00

No Abstract