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Concert Mention/CD Review
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Lancaster Online, Concert Mention/CD Review >>
HARRISBURG - There is no figure in Zulu history more celebrated than Shaka.
This early 19th-century warrior and cultural visionary single-handedly transformed the Zulu people from a disorganized band of less than 2,000 South African natives into a proud, powerful empire.
The son of a chieftain, Shaka served as a warrior for about 10 years, then creatively applied his combat experience in a rise to power. During his two-decade rule, he exercised sophisticated military tools and strategies — sometimes using diplomacy, other times striking ferociously and efficiently — and brought neighboring tribes into the Zulu fold. Today, Zulus comprise the largest ethnic group in South Africa.
Since his assassination in 1828, Shaka has become a potent symbol for the more than 10 million Zulus in South Africa. The Zulus held him up as an example of courage and pride as they weathered state-sanctioned oppression during the apartheid era in the second half of the 20th century.
Today, the legendary a cappella singing group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, itself a monument to apartheid resistance, pays tribute to the memory of the famous Zulu father with its latest album, "Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu," which was released worldwide Tuesday. The group will perform selections from "Ilembe," as well as other uplifting traditional music and dance from its 30-year career, at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg.
Ladysmith rose to fame in South Africa in the late 1960s but did not achieve global success until 1986, when Paul Simon featured the group on his groundbreaking album "Graceland."
Eight years later, after the fall of apartheid and establishment of democracy in South Africa, the Grammy Award-winning group was invited by Nelson Mandela to join him as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. In the years since, the group has represented South African musical traditions in performances for royals, leaders of state and the pope, and has lent its spiritually charged music to soundtracks, commercials and 40 albums.
On "Ilembe," Ladysmith sketches intricate sound portraits that illustrate ways to incorporate the best of Shaka's celebrated traits — creativity, faith, perseverance, cultural loyalty and an indomitable spirit — into modern life.
"There have been so many generations that have come and gone since Shaka was king of the Zulus, but ... there are still many people who need to be filled with the spirit of unity and hope that Shaka embodied," said Ladysmith founder and leader Joseph Shabalala in a press release for "Ilembe." "We are trying to remind people of the importance of what this man did."
On the album, the group sings almost exclusively in its native tongue, a naturally syncopated language that flowers into smooth, nuanced rhythms and cadences.
Per the norm, their songs transcends the need for lyrical translation, but the liner notes do provide insight. In "Let's Do It," for example, the band warns that politics is "a dirty game" that we must rise above, as Shaka did. In "Kuyafundw' Osizini (Ilembe)," the group sings more directly about Shaka's steadfastness in the face of obstacles, asking, "If you don't know who God and your parents are, what is it that you know?"
The album also includes broader references to Shaka that trumpet his values. The opening track, the meditative "O Mmu Bdenu Mmu," advises all people to come together and work for the greater good. One of the album's most delightful, rhythmically complex pieces, "Asekhon' Amatshitshi," advises young people to take good care of themselves, and the multilayered "Hlala Nami" explains that to do this, the young must listen to their elders and take pride in their culture.
Some of the more overtly spiritual tracks mingle the band's South African melodies, form and philosophy with a gospel flair, accented lyrically by the band's Christian beliefs. This is especially true of the English-language songs, including "This is the Way We Do," which begins as a simple message of praise ("I love you, oh God, more than anything on this earth") and finally distills into a warmhearted directive aimed squarely at young, wayward listeners: "I urge you to go back to school, learn to love yourself."
The album sparkles with the intricate harmonies, hushed dynamics and dexterous, expressive melodies of the isicathamiya (is-cot-a-ME-ya) vocal tradition of 19th-century South African slaves. It is a welcome stylistic return for Ladysmith, which had in recent years experimented with elements of chamber music ("No Boundaries," 2005) and a more obviously Westernized sound ("Long Walk to Freedom," 2006).
The music is rich with fluid, insistent rhythms, seemingly effortless vocal precision and a panoply of percussive elements: subdued tongue trills, guttural punctuations, dental clicks and other traditional ethnic intonations. Combined, these elements create a sound that, for many American and European fans, sets the standard for world music.
Add to this a message of unbridled hope and you've got an emotional album imbued with the enduring cultural identity of the Zulu nation.
- by Maryalice Bitts 01/20/08 >> go there
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