By Innocent Anoruo
Senior Copy Editor
Soon, Catholic choirs in Nigeria and even beyond will no more rely on the hymnals of other orthodox churches for standard music arrangements, as the Catholic Hymn Book now has staff and tonic sol-fa edition.
Many thanks to Music for the Catholic Hymn Book (Choir Edition in Staff and Tonic Sol-fa) compiled and edited by Ikechukwu Eseka, a University of Lagos (UNILAG) law graduate. It is published by dBQ Music Publishers.
Till date, Catholic choirs are known to rely mainly on the hymnals of other denominations like Baptist and Methodist for scored music of popular songs.
Launch of the new work comes up in three phases. The first will be on Saturday, August 6, 2016 at the Catholic Church of Ascension, Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, by 11am. It will be followed by the Lagos launch on Saturday, August 20 by noon at St. Thomas More Catholic Chaplaincy, UNILAG; and the Abuja launch on Saturday, August 27, at the National Press Centre, Radio House, Area 10, Garki, also by noon.
According to the Abuja-based barrister, the compilation took over 13 years of extensive research.
Officially approved by the Bishops of the Catholic Ecclesiastical Provinces of Lagos and Ibadan through the St. Augustine Regional Pastoral Institute (SARPI), Ede, Osun State, the book’s foreword is written by the Vicar-General, Archdiocese of Lagos, Msg. John Aniagwu.
Eseka’s passion for music seems to be stronger than that of law, which he spent many years in the university and law school to study. He has been leading choirs for over two decades now. From being a church choirmaster, he formed Chorale de la Magnifique (CDM) in Lagos with the likes of Benneth Ogbeiwi (now Project Fame West Africa music director). CDM now has Lagos and Abuja branches.
Before his transfer to Abuja from Lagos, he was the First Assistant Director of the famous Laz Ekwueme Chorale and orchestra which performed at the 2003 All African Games (AAG) in Abuja organised by COJA, and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) chaired by Queen Elizabeth same year in Abuja.
He co-founded De-Clique Vocals and The Chordwebs, and also sang with Lagos City Chorale, Steve Rhodes Voices and Heritage Chorale.
CMD, as Eseka is fondly called by his choristers, is versed in various musical genres, including choral, classical, contemporary, highlife, rock, hip-hop and jazz. He has organised and conducted various operas like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar, both by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, as well as A Night in Bethlehem, by Laz Ekwueme.
A composer and arranger of many musical works, Eseka, through dBQ Music Publishers, has published several musical books such as: Music for Twelve Masses, Chants for Advent and Christmas Seasons, Chants for Lenten and Easter Seasons, as well as Chants for Sundays in Ordinary Time. On invitation, he gives lectures on Church Music and a part-time lecturer of Church Music at the St. Augustine’s College of Education (PROJECT TIME) in Akoka, Lagos.
