Role of Lovedale Press

The Lovedale (Mission) Press was founded as early as 1823, and remains the oldest printing press in Africa. “It had been started by the Scottish missionaries as a means of promoting Christian knowledge … for propagating their ideals of civilised norms of conduct and moral behaviour” (Shepherd 1971: 102-104). A literature committee that was established, comprising teachers from across the spectrum of missionary institutions, “meant that the Missionary societies had

tremendous control over the way in which ideas were to be disseminated. And they were in fact able to control what the African was to read” (White 1987:

79).

There were two functions which were central to the whole missionary ethos at Lovedale, that is, the idea of influencing people through the printed word, whilst also furthering the cultural ambitions of a foreign people (White 1987:

80). That Dr Shepherd, who was a chaplain and Principal of Lovedale Institution from 1942 to 1955, was put in charge of the Lovedale Press was deliberate so that he could guide the process and protect the interests of the missionaries with regards to “propagating their ideals” as alluded to earlier. In a letter written to him (Shepherd) by S J Newns who was an inspector of education, ensuring that the “right” books went to what he terms “Native”

schools, he argues:

For a long time I have had in mind the publishing of a book of three-part songs for Native Choir competition work. My idea is to write a short preface containing hints and suggestions about each song. There is a real need of songs that have been written with a knowledge of the technical weaknesses and strong points of the Native; these I know very well, as you can guess! It would be put on the Book List. (Letter dated 14 August 1944 from Cory Library).

Some critics of the Missionary education system believe that the missionaries were aware of the shortcomings of the tonic solfa system. Yet they did nothing to teach the Black children staff notation. In fact, even song books that were written in staff notation were transcribed into tonic solfa. This is clarified by another letter written by Dr Shepherd to Mr Newns when he writes, “The best plan will be to get the Ms in order as soon as possible and send it along to us so

that we may get on with typesetting, which in the case of solfa is a somewhat slow business” (Letter, 12th September 1944, Cory Library).

As the printing press was controlled, very little Black music got published.

There was one composer who had his songs published, Benjamin Tyamzashe.

Not that the road was smooth even for him. He had to plead with Dr Shepherd as well as Inspector Newns. For those songs which succeeded in going through to the printing press, Tyamzashe got very little in terms of royalties. This can be deduced from the letters that he wrote to Dr Shepherd in 1936 and 1937 respectively.

There were difficulties encountered with the printing press. Perhaps this is why so little isiXhosa music was published. As indicated earlier, the printing press was deliberately controlled by Dr Shepherd, the principal of Lovedale. This made sure that it was censored and monitored. Any material to be published would have to be approved by Dr Shepherd. The music compositions had to be

“screened”. This is confirmed by the letters written by Tyamzashe to Dr Shepherd in 1936 and 1937. From the letters, it can be seen that Tyamzashe was pleading with Dr Shepherd.

During his time, Tyamzashe was the only composer who had his three-part songs published. Apart from him, the other composer who got some of his music published was John Knox Bokwe, by virtue of having worked for the Lovedale Press.

Teachers in the training institutions were not happy about the emphasis on the Tonic Solfa notation. One such teacher complains at a music educators’

conference in Durban thus:

Tonic solfa, which can’t take students anywhere, which keeps them longer away from reaching a stage where they can claim to be on the same level as other national groups, which I consider as a DEVIL that has entered our arena as a black nation (Lucia 1986:

149).

Although teachers felt like this about tonic solfa notation, Huskisson seems to justify it when she says:

The invention of the Curwen system of Tonic Solfa in 1816 and the wide dissemination of a large corpus of music published in it, led both churches and schools in South Africa to follow the lead given them by the churches and schools in Europe and adopt it universally. The desirability of pupils being taught singing by means of the Tonic Solfa System and the Modulator was later specifically noted...The Tonic Solfa... has predominated in all music teaching in Bantu Schools and Training colleges ever since (Huskisson 1969: 14).

Most of the African composers are a direct product of this type of notation and all their compositions are written in tonic solfa.

In the Department of Education, in Black schools, even today, as it was when Huskisson wrote in 1969, what in the syllabus is called “music” is synonymous with “singing”. If it is put in the timetable meaningfully, not just to fill in the quota, as is the case in most instances, the teacher will do singing or just hang up the Modulator and ask the pupils to point to the notes.

It is no wonder that when there is need for a post to be downsized, often the music post falls prey. In most African schools music is treated as a non- examinable subject. At the training college students get examined in aspects like the modulator, key finding, musical expressions and singing. This was the case at Healdtown as former Healdtown scholar Joseph Coko tells us:

When the late Mr Farrington arrived to conduct music exams he spent two to three weeks at the institution. He examined us on every point of music en mass or individually. Mr Caley took us on the modulator. We stood up in a big semi-circle beside his house and took turns on the modulator. One boy said in an undertone,

“Chaps, I see no way of passing this, I know some tunes but the Modulator is full of D T L S F M etc., and I don’ t know whether I’ ll point a correct note” . His turn came and as the fellows were giggling the first note he shanked on was a d, and said, “What did I tell you chaps”. We all laughed except Mr Caley who threatened to write opposite each name “Failed” (Moyer 1973: 58).

Now that we have looked at the background to how the composers were trained, we turn to look at where their music was performed.

Before the advent of competitions in the 1950s, Xhosa choral songs were sung in concerts and festivals which were organised by the communities. The concerts were often used by the churches for raising funds through door takings, with never more than two rands (one pound) charged for a ticket. Music sung at these concerts was not the ordinary church music or hymns, but choral songs.

Because there was no competitive element, there were also no winners. These were festival-type events and the general purpose was to entertain people.

Youth both in and out of school played a prominent role in these concerts.

At the missionary institutions, concerts played a prominent role.

Healdtown taught me one thing as far as the concerts were concerned i.e. thorough preparation of musical items. Today I am a teacher who is responsible ... for music. Every time my choir is to render an item, I always prepare that item thoroughly… (Peppeta 1989: 178).

CHAPTER 3

COMPOSERS IN THEIR PERSONAL AND SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXTS

This chapter gives a biographical review of the chosen composers. Many of these biographries have, until now, not been researched in any detail. It is important to contextualise the music written by these men with their life experience.