A text message about a school song competition has grown into a 14-track musical anthology documenting the history, traditions and musical heritage of Mfantsipim School as the institution marks its 150th anniversary.
The Mfantsipim Old Boys Association (MOBA) has launched the Mfantsipim Sesquicentennial Anthology, a collection of historic school anthems, hymns, highlife songs and other compositions that have shaped the identity of the Cape Coast-based school across generations.
The project was recorded and produced by lawyer Ace Anan Ankomah, an old boy from the 1984 year group, in collaboration with sound engineer Herbert Ebenezer Crassie.
What began as an entry in a competition to compose a jama song for the anniversary eventually developed into a wider effort to recover, record and preserve songs associated with the school’s history.
Ankomah said the project took shape after Alfred Prince Gyan, an old boy from the 2013 year group, contacted him about the competition.
The two developed a composition into a medley and brought together fellow old boys from Joyful Way Inc. to record a demonstration. Their entry won the competition, but the idea soon grew beyond the original assignment.
The anniversary planning committee later submitted a winning choral composition by Flora Adokoh, which became the foundation for the official Sesquicentennial Anthem. Ankomah subsequently engaged Crassie to orchestrate the piece.
The project took another turn after Dr Ernest Addison, an old boy from the 1979 year group, suggested recreating the Mfantsipim Ode, which had been adopted as the school’s Centenary Anthem in 1976.
That suggestion prompted the team to look beyond the anniversary’s new compositions and recover older songs that had become difficult to find or reproduce.
One of these was the Mfantsipim Mfeha Ndwom. Kakra Essamuah, popularly known as Brazos, had preserved handwritten historical texts, while fellow old boy Timothy Andoh helped reconstruct the song from memory.
The anthology also features Dwin Hwɛ Kan, the Sesquicentennial Anthem, Jama, and two historic highlife songs released in 1976 by Kwadwo Donkor, an old boy from the 1955 year group.
Another contribution came from Emmanuel Dadson, known as Aezor, who sent Ankomah the lyrics to Ahotsewfo, the Fante version of the hymn For All the Saints.
To capture the music as it is performed within the school, the recording team made two visits to the campus to record live performances by the choir and regimental band. Old boy Jonas Anterkyi handled the videography, while Professor Alfred Patrick Addaquay of the University of Ghana contributed an organ rendition of For All the Saints.
Beyond celebrating the anniversary, the anthology documents the origins and evolution of songs that have become part of Mfantsipim’s institutional identity.
The hymn For All the Saints became the school’s official hymn in 1910 in honour of Reverend Alfred Thomas Robert Bartrop, whose contribution helped save the institution from collapse in the early twentieth century.
Dwin Hwɛ Kan, composed around 1910 by Reverend Gaddiel Robert Acquaah and Charles Emmanuel Graves, was adopted as the school’s official anthem in 1963.
The Mfantsipim Centenary Highlife and Kwabotwe Highlife, composed by the late Kwadwo Donkor, were adopted for the school’s centenary celebrations in 1976.
Bringing these works together gives old boys, current students and future generations an opportunity to engage with the music that has accompanied the school through different periods of its history.
The project also relied on contributions from several other alumni, including Anselm Ransford Sowah, Poku Donkoh and Dr Nana Dadzie Ghansah.
Albert Ocran produced the accompanying booklet without charge, while George Pabi designed the booklet and vinyl sleeves.
Ankomah served as executive producer, with production and arrangement shared with Crassie.
The anthology is dedicated to the MOBA 1984 year group and to the memory of the MOBA 1957 year group, which included Ankomah’s late father.
As part of the preservation effort, Ankomah presented 1,000 pen drives containing the music, alongside booklets documenting the lyrics and history of the songs.
A further 100 limited-edition red vinyl records have been produced for sale to old boys, with the proceeds intended to support the school.
Several accompanying music videos have also been released on MOBA’s YouTube channels, extending access to the collection beyond the physical recordings.
The combination of audio recordings, historical notes, video and vinyl reflects an effort to preserve not only the songs themselves but also the stories and traditions behind them.
From a single competition entry to a 14-track anthology, the Mfantsipim Sesquicentennial project has become a collaborative effort to safeguard the school’s musical heritage.
As Mfantsipim marks 150 years, the collection offers a lasting record of the songs that have helped define its identity and connect generations of old boys to their shared history.