New Book On African Music Launched

African Musical Symbolism in Contemporary Perspective : Roots, Rhythms and Relativity, a new book written by Prof. John Collins, Head of the Music Department,University of Ghana, Legon was launched last week at the Goethe-Institut in Accra.

The book, which took over twenty years to publish, examines the relation between Africa and the broader traditional African world view and how African music can provide insights and metaphors for the examination of some areas of modern science.

It dilates on African musicology, history and anthropology alongside the development and new discoveries in Western sciences - mathemathics,psychology and philosophy.It makes metaphorical links between quantum physics and the old rhythmic wisdom of Africa in the same way as recent scientific discoveries have been symbolically related to ancient Eastern philosophies.

Demonstrating aspects of the book with a metal bell,drums and shakers, Prof.Collins relates that sections of the book deal with the symbolic knowledge and intuitions of Sub Saharan Africa,which have been embedded into music from the region.

Furthermore, the book expatiates on musical and metaphysical relativism/audience participation, off-beat breaks that punctuate rhythmic and ritual order as well as cyclical modes and master performers who successfully combine improvisation,collective rules,freedom and order.

Dr. Henrik Bettermann, a German academic currently with the University of Cape Coast explained the aspects of a new publishing system in Germany known as ?Book on Demand?.

He said among others things, that books published by ?Books on Demand?, who are also the publishers of ?African Musical Symbolism in Contemporary Perspective - Roots, Rhythms and Relativity? are also available as ?Share Literature? on the internet.

Exposed to Ghanaian trdaitional music as a child, Prof. John Collins has a BA in Sociology and Archaeology from the University of Ghana and a Phd in Ethnomusicoloy from the University of Buffalo, New York, USA.

Also a performing artist,Prof.Collins was once the Technical Director of a University of Maniz(Germany) project that involved a digital re-documentation of the music archives of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana,Legon.