Movement IV Hatsiatsia: Ghanaian Waltz, Five West African Rhythms for Akin Euba, With Full Score

I met Akin Euba when I was a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh. He was vibrant and energetic teaching his seminars on African music, and I think his positive, playful energy was what first encouraged me to take every course he taught. He epitomized much of what I hoped to be after graduate school: an ethnomusicologist who uses his knowledge of music to inform his compositions and how he performs his own music. In my final year of classes at Pitt I would notice that Euba would start to doze off while students were reporting on readings or giving presentations. It wasn’t much just a quick head nod here and there or his eyes would start to droop. I didn’t think much of it at the time, he must have been close to 70 and I figured he was staying up late composing music. A few weeks later Euba suffered his first stroke and had to stop teaching classes. I was heartbroken, I composed movement III “For Euba” shortly after his stroke and used Yoruba praise drummer in the piece to play homage to the influence he had on my development as a composer. This five-movement suite is dedicated to him because without his encouragement and example I would not be the musician I am today.
Movement IV Hatstiatsia: A Ghanaian Waltz
This movement plays with the perception of a West African 3/4 meter. Although a three-beat pulse is not commonly found in the traditional music of West Africa, it can be drawn out of the six-against-four cross-rhythm found in many West African dance rhythms. Ghanaian Waltz is written as a six-beat pulse and emphasizes the six side of the six-four cross-rhythm in a 12/8 meter. I use the Hatstiatsia rhythm from the Ewe of southeastern Ghana as the underlying pattern and draw most of my rhythms from the multiple bell patterns of this drum ensemble. The ensemble alternates the traditional Ewe rhythmic feel with a common jazz waltz rhythm throughout the song.
I would like to give a special thanks to all the musicians who performed on this recording, Mike and Will put in an incredible amount of effort learning the grooves. Their solid foundation made it possible for the other musicians to feel at home fitting in their own parts. Reid, Joel, and Levi all played brilliantly and contributed so much originality to the music. Finally, these compositions would not have been possible without the work of ethnomusicologist and drummer Royal Hartigan. I came across Hartigan’s dissertation while doing my own research in graduate school and his work has been an inspiration to my own composition style. This recording was made possible by a Virginia Wesleyan University Faculty Development Grant.