Emmanuel Chukwuemenam Umezinwa

Ezenduka, an iconic pioneer composer for the Igbo Catholic liturgy for fifty years, wrote over one hundred and fifty works before and after studying music at the Catholic University of America. These works sung throughout Igbo land today are scattered in many sheets of paper, never studied and never catalogued. This work is an attempt to assemble all the works of Ezenduka, notate them and analyze the styles and forms which became a tradition. These works are significant for many reasons: indigenous languages were then discouraged in the Latin church of the 1960's in Nigeria; local instruments were considered fetish; even the local people still prefered latin to Igbo language. This original work brings together, ethnomusicology, history, ecclessiology, clash of cultures, Igbo language issues and the dialectics of musical laws of composition versus tonal demands. It will add to the existing body of knowledge.