Win 1 of 5 Signed Copies of Abel Selaocoe's Latest Album, "Hymns of Bantu"

Released on Warner Classics, the album features traditional Bantu music alongside works by Bach and Marais

 

In collaboration with Warner Classics, The Violin Channel is this week giving away 5 signed copies of South African cellist, composer, and vocalist Abel Selaocoe's second album, “Hymns of Bantu.”

 

The album shares the modal scales and overtone harmonic systems of South African music before Western four-part harmony was introduced. Exploring how cultural histories evolve, the works on the album were written for ensembles varying from African percussion to orchestra, solo cello, and electric bass.

The album includes Selaocoe’s Tsohle Tsohle; Emmanuele; Kea Morata; Tshepo - I; Tshepo - II (Rapela); Bach’s Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: IV. Sarabande (arranged by Fred Thomas for Cello and String Orchestra); and Dinaka.

More works include Voices of Bantu (an improvisation on Marin Marais’ piece Les Voix Humaines); Takamba; Giovanni Sollima’s LBFiles: Concerto and Igiul; and Camagu.

Among the musicians on the album include members of the Manchester Collective; pianist and percussionist Fred Thomas; electric bass player Alan Keary; as well as Sidiki Dembélé and Dudù Kouate on percussion.

 

Inviting a freeing and deep listening, “Hymns of Bantu” ultimately highlights the shared universalities of people, the healing power of song, and the drawing of inspiration and understanding from history.

“Emmanuele comes from a South African Hymn of the same name — Emmanuel being the name for Jesus or God — and is dedicated to people who work with their hands,” Selaocoe explained. “Often they can be dismissed, yet they make the world we are all a part of. The piece follows traditional Western four-part harmony but incorporates African rhythm, starting with a simple bassline and growing into something that makes you dance.”

A studio performance of Emmanuele can be viewed below.

 

 

Entries close on Sunday, March 9, 2025.

 

 

 

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