Feelings of tenderness and emotional depth are what listeners often seek from great classical songs, and that’s exactly what one finds in Annabel Joseph Ojoboh’s music.
By Abioye Damilare Samson
Nigeria’s rich history of classical music may not always command widespread attention, because mainstream focus often gravitates towards contemporary, commercially driven genres. Nonetheless, through the music of Nigerian-born UK-based singer, Annabel Joseph Ojoboh, this timeless classical heritage finds a convincing revival.
Annabel’s background includes membership in the Starz Ensemble Nigeria, where she contributed to winning ‘Choir of the Year’ at the 2023 Nigerian Choral Music Awards, and she has also been praised for her solo performances with The Harmonic Ensemble Nigeria.
Her artistic delivery on “Time”, “My Forever Song”, and her latest release, “Ave Maria”, invites listeners into intimate spaces, where her restrained emotion and angelic vocals are epitomised by delicate melodies and heartfelt expression.
On the Andy Ross-produced “Time”, the track opens with a retro guitar riff that immediately grounds the song in a familiar tender classical Soul and R&B groove.
The track captures the fragile uncertainty of love with heartfelt lyrics like, “The flame that’s inside only burns when I’m with you/ What more can I say/ I pray that you’ll stay/ But once my heart breaks/ Don’t know how I’d feel about you”. Her vocal delivery is measured and confident, gliding over the mellow keyboard lines with ease and subtle modulation that reveals a singer deeply attuned to the nuances of her craft.
While “Time” leans into doubt about the certainty of love and the fear of heartbreak, “My Forever Song” is more assured and more declarative. It’s a classical-pop ballad that honors the timelessness of genuine feelings. The mellow keys of the keyboard lay a soft bed for her voice to stretch, and there’s something almost poetic in the way she delivers, “Every star in the sky aligns/ To tell the story of you and I”. The chorus swells with choral backing that uplifts the song and gives it a near-cinematic feel.
With “Ave Maria”, her most recent offering, Annabel Joseph Ojoboh embraces classical pop fully. Layering her angelic vocals over the Charles Gounod melody and Johann Sebastian Bach’s exquisite keyboard arrangement, she transforms the traditional Catholic prayer into something deeply personal.
The vocal crescendos here are a standout as her vocal continues to soar with genuine spiritual yearning. It’s a reminder of classical music’s enduring capacity to connect the earthly with the divine, and Annabel’s interpretation is a graceful bridge between those worlds.
Feelings of introspection, tenderness, and emotional depth are what listeners often seek from great classical songs, and that’s exactly what one finds in Annabel Joseph Ojoboh’s music. Throughout her songs, what truly binds them together is not just the excellent production, but the clarity in her lyrics and delivery.
Annabel sings like someone who understands that every note must serve the emotion. From the tender ache of “Time”, the canonical love song that is “My Forever Song”, or the sacred delivery of “Ave Maria”, she navigates each track with grace, poise, and purpose.
Abioye Damilare is a music journalist and culture writer focused on the African entertainment Industry. Reading new publications and listening to music are two of his favourite pastimes when he is not writing. Connect with him on Twitter and IG: @Dreyschronicle