1997 Articles

Kofi Agawu. African Rhythm: A Northern Ewe Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. xx, 217 pp., 19 plates; compact disc.

Temperley, David

Among the three branches of musicology-historical musicology, theory, and ethnomusicology it is the relationship between the last two that is most distant and tenuous.It is not difficult to see why. In terms of their subject matter, the theorist's domain (mainly Classical, Romantic, and twentieth century art music) is essentially a subdomain of the historical musicologist's (Western art music as a whole); and this, in turn, is non overlapping with the ethnomusicologist's (everything else). The more serious divide between ethnomusicology and theory, however, is in their philosophy and approach. This article discusses the rhythm and meter, and different aspects of African music through an analysis of Agawu's work.