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CD Review
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North County Times, CD Review >>
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the 10-voice Zulu powerhouse a cappella ensemble, has recorded 40 albums since the group was formed in 1960 and this may its most ambitious yet in that, as the title implies, Mambazo's musical explorations take it outside expected boundaries.
Rather than offering an album of a dozen selections without accompaniment, the Grammy-winning Mambazo, which up for another Grammy for "Raise Your Spirits Higher" released last year, is joined by the English Chamber Orchestra for a program that ranges from American hymns to South African gospel to selections by classicists J.S. Bach, Mozart and Schubert.
And the combination proves to be as spirited as it is spiritual and endearing as it is enduring.
The responsibility of leading the way falls to Mambazo founder Joseph Shabalala, the group's principal soloist whose voice has the same husky quality of Harry Belafonte's. And though his voice is distinctive, it also blends beautifully with the balance of the cast.
Highlights include the choral group's gospel version of Mozart's memorable motet "Ave Verum Corpus," Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," sung as an unusual duet by Shabalala and operatic tenor Robert Brooks, and a third entry, Schubertís "Sanctus," featuring Brooks, which provides the mystical juxtaposition of a European tenor voice over a unique form of Zulu vocal accompaniment.
From Mambazo's native land comes the jewel "Jabulani ---- Rejoice," delivered as a worship service; a rousing take of "Ngingenwe Emoyeni (Wind of the Spirit of God)," a Zionist church hymn; "Walil'Umtwana (A Child Is Crying)" a Zulu lullaby; and "Lifikile Ivangeli," a Scandinavian song that Mambazo transposes into a baroque setting.
Also on the menu: the moving "Homeless," penned by Paul Simon; the classic Simon-Shabalala arrangement of "Amazing Grace "interwoven with "Nearer My God to Thee," and a highly rhythmical "Dona Nobis Pacem" clothed in gospel garb.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo performs Feb. 11 at UC San Diego's in Mandeville Auditorium; (858) 534-8497.
--Cam Miller 02/09/05 >> go there
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