Abibirimma • Ahobrease • Akwaabadwom

Amswo dzife yîgba • Animia • Enne ye anigye da • Ennys yen Nyame

Gbele he dwenmo hewo • Kae s owu reba • Meto me ani mehwe nipa asetra mu

Me were akyekye • Mewo yaa le • Mi katãe le kpo dzom • Minya zozo

Momma yenko Betlehem • Mo Amen • Monyi moho adi, mmanin mma

Mmerante ne mmabaa bre • Nkradi Nofesno je Ataa Nyonmo • Odiewoe!

Ofori nkoa Gyanadu • Onipa da who so • Oseebo • Ow domankama Obades boo ade no, boo no kronkronkron • Ado ye wu

Wop& Onyame ass no a • Yesu awoda ys akysde da • Yesu ne nhweso a Eso nni

Yen ara asase ni • Yen Wura Yesu anim obi nni ho

The music in Volume 1 is comprised of songs for mixed chorus that Dr. Amu composed while living in Akropong and working at the Scottish Mission Seminary. As such, many of the lyrics are in the Akuapem Twi language (26 songs). Yet, there are also songs here in Ewe and in Ga.
These songs are Dr. Amu’s first experiments in writing what he called his “African Songs.” Many were included in his first published collection: Twenty-five African Songs, a volume that was conceived to be a collection of songs for worship. These differ significantly from the typical songs for worship that Ghanaians would be used to singing in church at the time. Amu’s compositions are novel in that they follow the tonal contours and speech rhythms of the local languages. The tunes for the hymns brought by the missionaries were retained even after the texts were translated into the local languages, and often the tune and the language tone were mismatched. Amu felt his new compositions would encourage more participation.  He also incorporates rhythmic features typical for traditional song — a rhythm he describes as consisting of “…duple and triple time mixed, occurring either in alternate bars, or in a number of duple time bars followed by one or more triple time bars, or vice versa.” (TFAS, Introduction) Further, limiting voices to two or three at various points in the music, often moving in running thirds or sixths, reflects traditional singing practice as well.