Contrapuntal and Percussive Forms: A Comparative Analysis of Motet and Fújì Music

Abstract

This paper explores how contrapuntal motet and percussive fújì forms independently developed but similar structures and responded to variant social contexts. Motet originated from Medieval Christian liturgy known as Gregorian chant, while fújì originated from Islamic Religious Liturgy known as Wéré chant. Interestingly, fújì demonstrates a comparable and parallel evolutionary process with motet form. Therefore, this novel study represents the motet evolutionary form alongside the fújì developmental process. Leveraging on contrapuntal-percussive stratification theory that posits that both the Western polyphony motet and the Yorùbá percussive fújì achieve structural complexity not through tonal harmony, but through the vertical layering (stratification) of independent lines; vocal in the motet and instrumental/rhythmic in fújì. The new comparative musicology theory was adopted to structure the comparison of the motet and fújì music forms. Findings reveal that both genres exhibit layered evolutionary forms, vocal textures, adaptive formal structures, and a shift from religious contexts to broader social music functions. I conclude that netting of globalised motet musical techniques alongside fújì music facilitated the deeper understanding of fújì, its theoretical concepts, and the exposition of fújì techniques to a global audience. Therefore, this study contributes to comparative musicology by highlighting convergent evolutionary patterns of motet and fújì.