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Concert Review
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The Current, Concert Review >>
Some of the finest art, literature, and music has been created in the midst of turbulence and unrest. Music in particular has flourished among suffering people, giving them a way to both express their sorrow and mitigate it.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo can certainly claim to be part of this lineage, having performed their music for nearly half a century in their home country of South Africa.
This slice of South African history comes to our campus appropriately in February, Black History Month. The concert took place at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on Sunday, February 10.
In that time, South Africa has gone through immense changes and horrific upheaval. It is not the fact that Ladysmith Black Mambazo is singing that is surprising, but rather the fact that their music is so joyful. For the audience at the Touhill last Sunday, the continuing story of Ladysmith Black Mambazo came alive as the eight singers took the stage.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo began in the 1960s as a musical group that blended traditional South African songs and chants with gospel tunes and a progressive message. In its home community its music grew in popularity and the group began to sing at contests. Soon the group was so good and its sound so polished that they were banned from singing competitions. Hearing them four decades later, it is not hard to see why.
Its performance is so compelling and uplifting that it becomes a tangible demonstration of music's universal appeal.
Compared to most music heard today, Ladysmith's songs are an exercise in simplicity. There are no instruments, sound effects, or electronics. Instead there are chant-like tunes most often sung by seven singers while one lead vocalist steps forwards and sings a melody.
The songs are the kind of rich, repetitive, story-based folk songs that originated as something a group of South African miners would sing to pass the time.
Nearly all of the melodies were triumphant, even the songs that told of hardship, and the music generated an overall spirit of community. Many were infused with exuberant dancing and clapping. By the end of the night when the group performed its last song they invited audience members up on stage to dance.
The simplicity of the music and the uplifting lyrics do not lessen the impact of Ladysmith Black Mambazo's message. The group has performed through many hard years and its homeland still has a long way to go towards recovery. Because of this, songs that deal with sadness had a real potency to them, the kind of humanizing look at tragedy that can only come from experience. What is inspiring about the group is the way that they insist on never dwelling upon injustice but instead challenging it by offering their music to the world.
Of all the remarkable aspects of Ladysmith Black Mambazo's music and history, the most fundamental is its simple message: music is universal and change is possible. Lofty principles for a musical group perhaps, but then again Ladysmith Black Mambazo is no ordinary group. They are living history, folk entertainers, and distinctly talented singers all in one.
-- by Chris Stewart 02/18/08 >> go there
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