MUSIC: Gwen Ansell
‘A CONCERT to celebrate being us” is Sibongile Khumalo’s only label for her new national tour programme. The Gwen Paterson lookalikes in the gallery may take that as a cue for self- congratulation — but any ambiguity is purely in the ears of the beholder.
For what Khumalo and her musical director, Themba Mkhize, have produced is a forthrightly Africanist programme which adds yet another substantial chapter to the reclamation of black history. The Baileys and Schadebergs have shown us one face of the processes of class formation going on under apartheid: the fedora-topped face which aimed to live fast, die young and have a good-looking corpse — the ”rough” end of the nascent working class.
But it was in the concerts and soirees of the less raffish members of that class that the musical tradition Khumalo is expounding was born. Take the song Della, originally a four- part choral arrangement, but sung solo by Khumalo with a string quartet. Della employs both classical and African inflections and conventions to produce a haunting melody. Its composer, MM Moerane, wrote it in the early 1960s, along with a whole sackful of other chamber and orchestral compositions for which South African orchestras have yet to provide any platform.
Moerane isn’t the only composer on the programme who deserves wider notice. Funda’s Motsumi Makhene provides three songs, including the challenging, folk-rooted Shango. Jazz pianist Moses Molelekwa offers a vocal version of his gentle Mountain Shade. And Mtunzi Namba has created material for Wendy Mseleku which fits her vocal range like a glove.
Which brings us to the music. Khumalo’s voice, as usual, mixes silk, silver and earth in magical combinations and this material — without the pop fussiness of some of her previous programmes — showcases it magnificently. Second vocalist Mseleku continues to mature; she’s using the resonance of her powerful lower registers beautifully and effectively now. Pianist Mkhize shows us how much we are missing when he’s tucked away in the back row of somebody’s backing band. His rippling, minor-key solos, foregrounded here, aroused nostalgic memories of Sakhile, who brought serious compositions into the popular marketplace a decade ago. Guitarist Louis Mhlanga is often the music’s anchor to the roots, right from the first ringing introduction to Namba’s Ngibisiwe. The whole ensemble is tight and disciplined, but without sacrificing lyricism.
Yet despite the weight of history, it isn’t a solemn evening. The gospel numbers provide blues shouting galore to rock the audience out of their seats. There’s also one ludicrous moment as five white pillars suddenly tumesce into an otherwise relatively inoffensive set.
Too often, the media have focused on Khumalo’s warm persona, almost to the point where they neutralise her very strong musical identity. This concert sets the balance right, through the politics of the music, and the power of the voice. Hopefully, it will also initiate some serious debate about why South Africa’s orchestras continue to ignore our rich black compositional heritage.
The Sibongile Khumalo tour is at the Baxter in Cape Town from April 11 to 13, and the Elizabeth Sneddon in Durban from April 18 to 20