The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #93244   Message #1793380
Posted By: GUEST,Gwen
26-Jul-06 - 02:32 AM
Thread Name: Music of South Africa
Subject: RE: Music of South Africa
Dear Azizi:
I did not include Miriam Makeba because she is now an elderly woman whose voice is only a fraction of what it once was. She still makes token appearances here and there, but she is frankly long, long past her prime, and should not be performing at all, because I think she does herself a disservice by it. Also, her type of material is really much more conservative traditional - not at all in the same category as the other genres we have been discussing.
KAleea: I don't know what instruments those were, but they sound magical. I wish I could have heard it too.

Azizi,maybe something worth mentioning to you: there is a spectacularly talented woman called Sibongile Khumalo, who is - in my humble opinion - the most riveting artist to come out of this country in many decades. Her voice is unforgettable. She does not perform any of the genres above: she combines jazz with traditional African music, and also performs a lot of classical stuff, for which she is trained. She is a professor at a local university, chairing the Music & Opera department, but she does sometimes perform live, and these events are usually sold out months in advance. If you are able to, try to get hold of the soundtrack to the movie "Amandla: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony", which was very popular some years ago and tells the story of the role music played in the SA liberation struggle. On this soundtrack, you will find Sibongile Khumalo performing one of the anthems of that struggle - it is called "The Untold Story" - and she is accompanied only by a pianist. It will give you some idea of her power.

She has also released a number of albums, all of them splendid.

Sorry if this is untoward - I know this is a folk thread, but I cannot exclude her from my own view of SA music.
(On the same soundtrack, you will find Abdullah Ibrahim - now back in SA and still amazing, better than he has ever been. You will also find Joe Nina, and various other great artists.)

Thanks!!