African Suite

Available for the first time in print! Composed by 1960, this historic work was Philippa Schuyler’s first African-inspired composition, with each of its three movements - Sanga, Tweyanze, and Fumitta Embogo - based on African folk songs. Child prodigy, composer, concert pianist, war correspondent, and humanitarian Philippa Schuyler (1931-1967) documented her unique life through her musical compositions, written in the midst of world tours and war zones. A child prodigy in music and academics, Schuyler composed at least fifty short works by age ten. This suite is one of her first adult compositions, arranging folk music she heard on her extensive international travels. Schuyler spent her adult life touring as a concert pianist, composing, and reporting on violence and conflicts in Africa and Vietnam, until her life was cut tragically short when her helicopter flight crashed yards from shore in Vietnam. In the decades since her death, most of Schuyler’s compositions have remained in handwritten manuscript within her archived papers in Harlem. With the generous permission of the rights holder, this first edition of her African Suite is now available for purchase.