The African Kyrie (SATB Choir + Percussion + Piano)

Please note: Our Master score comes with four parts intended for use by four singers. If your ensemble is larger, please purchase one additional part for each singer

Product Content:
- Sheet Music
- Program Notes
- Performance Audio & Video Recording
- Pronunciation Audio

"Kyrie Africano" for chorus (S.A.T.B.), percussion, and piano, was commissioned and premiered by Àkójọpọ̀ for their 2023 African Art Music Commissioning Project. This distinctive composition merges African and Western liturgical traditions, featuring the ninth-century Kyrie from the Christian Roman liturgy translated into Yorùbá for the first time. The work begins with innovative piano techniques and integrates traditional African percussion to create a rich, cross-cultural soundscape. Structured into two parts, it contrasts a slow introduction with a lively, fast-tempo presentation of the theme, and includes unique elements such as "tongue clicks" from the Khoisan language and "parlato" vocal techniques. "Kyrie Africano" offers a rare blend of modalism, African religious rituals, and Roman Christian liturgy, making it a compelling addition to the choral and percussion repertoire.