Afrikosmos is a cycle of 75 progressive piano miniatures by South African composer Michael Blake. Spanning approximately three hours, the work was conceived as an African counterpart to Béla Bartók's sixâÂÂvolume Mikrokosmos and integrates traditional subâÂÂSaharan musical elements with Western classical techniques and homages to a wide range of composers.
Blake first approached the idea in 2003 with the miniature "iKos'tina", commissioned for the ABRSM Spectrum series. A Rockefeller Foundation residency at the BellagioÃÂ WritersÃÂ Centre in JuneÃÂ 2015 provided the initial impetus for the full cycle, which he completed in JuneÃÂ 2020 and for which he gratefully acknowledged the Foundation's support.
Following Bartók's model, Afrikosmos is published in six volumes containing 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, and 10 pieces respectively, each volume sequenced by increasing technical and conceptual complexity. Blake described the genres included in each volume as "studies, pieces focusing on rhythm and texture, character pieces, dances, pieces exploring a mode or scale, folksong arrangements and variations, transcriptions and homages".
The cycle blends original neoâÂÂAfrican techniques using anhemitonic pentatonic scales, Xhosa bow harmony (hexatonic scales), interlocking rhythmic structures, polyrhythms, cyclic forms, and practices such as graphic notation, insideâÂÂtheâÂÂpiano techniques, whistling, and fingerâÂÂclicks, with direct transcriptions of traditional melodies and explicit homages to composers including Erik Satie, Percy Grainger, MichaelàMosoeuàMoerane, GyörgyàKurtág, Henry Cowell, RobertàSchumann, and OlivieràMessiaen.
The list of pieces is as follows:
The six volumes were published in 2022 by BardicàEdition (BDEà1281âÂÂBDEà1286), each accompanied by detailed programme notes on individual pieces.
Pianist Antony Gray premiered most of the cycle in Augustà2021 during a threeâÂÂpart soirée in Le Genesteix, France. On 24àSeptemberà2022, NewMusicSA presented selected movements at the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town, with Gray as soloist.
Gray recorded the complete cycle at Menuhin Hall, Cobham, Surrey, in Juneà2021, with Simon Weir producing, engineering, and mastering. The threeâÂÂCD set (catalogue number DDAà21374) was released by DivineàArtàRecordings in springà2023.
Colin Clarke of Fanfare hailed Afrikosmos as "truly different, truly engagingâÂÂsonic African food for the soul", praising its structural variety and Gray's "deep saturation in Blake's score". Barry Kilpatrick in the American Record Guide noted the cycle's "wide variety of levels of difficulty" and singled out movements such as "Walking Song (Homage to PercyàGrainger)", "Chaconne in Mbaqanga Style", and "Freedom Day Variation" for their rhythmic vitality and expressive depth. StephanusàMuller's analysis in Herri examined the work's intertextual dialogue with Bartók, its algorithmic compositional approach, and its material focus on sound and structure.