By Napoleon Ato Kittoe
The war cry of the Great Ashanti Kingdom of Ghana rang through the stanzas. “Asante Kotoko, wo kum apem aa apem beba,” meaning, “A thousand will come again if you kill a thousand of us.”
The entry of the Asantehene to the place was spectacular, in the usual fashion of a retinue of linguists, drummers, flute players, and protocol officers.
A choral music at the Great Hall of the KNUST in Kumasi gave a foretaste to the series of events to mark the 25th anniversary of the Ashanti Monarch in Ghana.
Emotions gushed out, and the finds were superlatives. The optics too were picture-perfect for the event; altogether, we may settle on the words colourful, solemn yet convivial, and sheer brilliance.
Collectively, the choral music groups filled the atmosphere with hymns of exhortation. The renditions reminded one of the proverbial “Florence Nightingale,” whose mellifluous artistry in music is etched on minds and celebrated timelessly.
Glued to their seats and their gaze fixed on the stage, the audience was left breathless from the intake of music. Indeed, if music is a nourishment to the soul of humanity, then it is also potent for seduction, as it mellows even snakes. Yet none of these two wonders is comparable to the biblical testimony in which Joshua led his flock to tear down the walls of Jericho with a loud sound. Typically, it is the sound of flutes that announces the approach of every Asantehene.
Many said the performance of soloists gave them goose pimples and welled up tears in their eyes, in the manner some would call tears of joy. “Ghana has shown one of her possessions that excites and gives glory to the country,” said three women in the watching crowd. The men were stoic, some of them obviously got their feelings out through their eyes. Psychoanalysts think the dilation in the eyes told the best stories in silence.
The Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Composers Competition, as the event was officially known, dug deeper to find the musicologists behind the music notes that fuelled the melodious voices. The choirs which extolled his achievements and prayed for him in their music really projected the light shone on humanity by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
These only go to reinforce the idea that the kite would fly higher if it is identity eponymous. Activities and products with such a brand could be the best marketing tool for projecting the triad of the Ashanti Kingdom, traditional rulers, and Ghana.
The occasion was held under the auspices of Lady Julia, the wife of the King. Obviously elated, as shown in her generous words to the music performers, she said that Ghana abounds in talent in areas the mind does not usually attend.
There is another window on tourism, and this one is choral music. One of the greatest writers the world has ever seen, Englishman William Shakespeare, said, “Trust not the man who does not like music.”
Ovations looked automated for these instinctively followed all the stages of the music fiesta, the best of them reserved for the end, a wild applause and cheers.
Winners
The Tamale Youth Choir toppled six of their contenders in the competition to carry the day at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
The seven competing choir groups included the Tarkwa Crusaders Choir, Tema Mass Choir, Tamale Youth Choir, Bantama Youth Choir, Obuasi Herald’s Choir, Kasoa Youth Choir and Amammereso Youth Choir.
