Sonata for Viola and Piano by Octavio Vazquez

Sonata for Viola and Piano by Octavio Vazquez as I see it

by Viacheslav Dinerchtein


For many this will be the first hearing of the Viola Sonata by Octavio Vazquez, and to speak of a new composition before its first hearing is always dilemmatic. One tries to not unveil too much, for that would be tantamount to giving away the content of a new film before its release. As for what can be unveiled, it is painfully challenging to verbalize musical matter, presuming music begins where words end. (And, being myself a reserved-in-speech sort of individual probably does not help either). Enough said of my ample justification for being vague, if not brief.

The Viola Sonata by Octavio Vazquez was selected a piece-winner at the prestigious Prokofiev International Competition for Composers in St. Petersburg in 2003 – a victory, which hardly surprised me: years earlier, when the Sonata was undergoing its embryonic stage, Octavio revealed me the drafts of the first two movements, which left me flabbergasted and, quite frankly, aware of what to expect as far as quality of music is concerned.

Several attributes of the Sonata tend to attract people's attention. Perhaps, among the first ones is the Sonata's imposing proportions for its genre: four large-scale movements with a short epilogue amount to 40 minutes of unremitting musical statement. But let us not be bedazzled by the size alone – after all, the maximalistic predilections come in different shapes. For an example, the reader is advised to consult The Gothic Symphony by the British composer Havergal Brian, a work which lasts over hundred minutes and requires four vocal soloists, four large mixed choirs, a children choir, an organ, ninety strings instruments, seventy brass and woodwinds, thirty drums, to no forget diverse percussion devices such as the wind machine, the thunder machine and the rattling chains. Surely enough, one begins to appreciate Octavio Vazquez's simplicity of means and ability to pare things down to the essentials. The point, however, lies beyond sheer comparison. It is the initial motivation for writing large-scale that makes the difference. In the Viola Sonata's case its size came out of a necessity, and not out of a strive for the heretical. In this regard, Octavio's Viola Sonata stands as an antipode to the quirky mannerisms, in spite of its imposing proportions.

The Sonata is written with great imagination and is susceptible to enormous amount of interpretations – in fact, one's perception of its diverse sections can vary on almost daily basis. As if that were not enough, the viola and the piano parts are oftentimes intertwined, depicting two entirely different characters at the same time. Independently from the interpretative choices, this music clearly does not tolerate any sugariness, nor crocodile tears, nor saliva bubbles, nor any form of sentimentality that comes cheap. It requires full engagement on performers' behalf and also does not tolerate the careless playing-notes-at-people sort of attitude – although, I guess, that could well apply to any piece of music.

Quite befitting the composer's own personality, the Sonata's strong musical content beclouds a certain dimension of enigma and even allegorical symbolism, of which we only get a glance. For instance, it may not come obvious (and indeed, perhaps not intended to come obvious) to the first-time listener that the closing monologue of the first movement is the actual opening line of the piece put in reverse, going against the flow of time to the original point of departure – that is, nothingness.

The Sonata features a number of musical references: some – camouflaged, others – unambiguously exposed. Moreover, the piece quotes itself rigorously, and so, one never knows which phrase or even motivic cell may reappear when, or grow into what... or just fade away. An omnipresent motif may dissolve into nihility, while a solitary merely passing-by motif may later become the driving force of an entire movement; such is the 'Law of the Jungle.'

While the tonus and musical language follow a conservative line of writing, the composer does make occasional use of novel techniques and sound effects, always keeping them to serviceof the musical message at hand. As far as technical difficulty is concerned, the Sonata is far from being a walk in the park, as anyone who has performed it can readily testify. It will suffice to mention that the performer – or rather, her/his left hand – must be exempt from vertigo.

The fact that Octavio Vazquez decided to dedicate the piece to me, also entrusting me with its first performance was, of course, a source of pride and great joy, even though not only in pink colors. After all, the first performer carries the responsibility to introduce the piece, and to defend it. The official première took place in late 2003, shortly after the Sonata's completion, at the Weill Hall of Carnegie Hall in New York with the pianist Eldar Nebolsin. Since then, several violists have performed the composition, bringing forward new versions of it.

On August 1st , Luis Magalhães and I will present Octavio Vazquez's Viola Sonata the way we come to understand it at this time. The piece, it seems to me, has a strong potential of heading towards longevity.

WELCOME FROM THE TRAVEL DESK/GHOEMAROUTE

27 July 2009

Dear Viola '09

After months of anticipation, we are delighted to welcome you to Stellenbosch, in the heart of the Cape Winelands. We trust your stay will be a memorable one and that the South African hospitality will exceed your highest expectations.

We have made a summary of the questions you might need answers to – our numbers are attached – please do not hesitate to contact us should you require our assistance or simply need a word of advice on matters pertaining to your stay.

TRAVEL DESK@ INFO DESK
The hospitality team consisting of Ann Heyns, GP Wentzel or Richter Rust will be available at the Endler from 08h30 until 14h00 every day. We are there to give logistical or informational assistance - these include Shuttle vouchers, meal vouchers, accommodation enquiries, tours, airport transfers, shopping trips and general tourism-related enquiries. Please also pop in daily to have a look at the General Notice Board for updated information.

TOURS
Liesl from Southern Destinations will be at the Endler on Monday, from 09h00 to 13h00, to take bookings for tours both during and after the congress. Consult your program and register with Liesl to make a booking. Six (6) or more participants will be more cost effective and will ensure that any tour option will be made available on any day. If you have already confirmed a booking through Liesl, please pop in to make sure all your details are correct.

SHUTTLES
We have two 14-seater shuttles available for the duration of the Congress. Special Congress rates have been negotiated in order to offer extremely low fares (Example: airport transfers cost R350 pp average – the Congress rate is R150 pp single trip).
The shuttles will be stationed in front of the Endler. Please purchase your Shuttle voucher and present it to the driver. Vouchers can be purchased at the Travel Desk.

RATES:
Airport transfer: R150 (single trip) per person
Shuttle within Stellenbosch and surrounds: R20 (single trip) In case you have forgotten something in your Hotel room or wish to explore town.
Shuttle to the Somerset-Mall (shopping excursion): R150 return trip (20 km from Stellenbosch)
Shuttle to Cape Town: R350 return per person

Important:
Morning Pick Up and Final Drop off at night Free Of Charge

MEAL VOUCHERS
Opposite the Endler, the Student Campus restaurant Vlambojant”, will provide all the outreach students and UK students with Breakfast and Lunch. Please collect your vouchers from the Travel Desk and present the appropriate voucher.

For anyone else who wishes to enjoy a meal at the campus / do a take-away:
A full English Breakfast (includes a fruit and juice): R 25
Luncheon (2 types of meat, 3 veggies and 2 salads): R 40

RESTAURANTS
For those who prefer less boisterous surroundings, Stellenbosch is renowned for its excellent Café fair and its superb cuisine – the choice of adding award-winning wines to complement the meal, is yours. The restaurants and Cafés are mostly clustered around
Church -, Ryneveld - and Andringa streets.

COFFEE/ TEA BREAKS
Coffee, Tea, Beverages and refreshments will be on sale on the mezzanine level during the whole week. Remember to bring smaller change along.

All the best with the performances – we hope the entire experience will be a memorable one.

Warm regards

Ann Heyns
CEO
The Ghoema Route
http://www.ghoemaroute.co.za/
083 3671778

Scrutinizing the Songs of Madosini COLLOQUIUM

Colloquium presented by STIAS and the US Conservatory of Music
Stellenbosch Instiutute for Advanced Study, Marais Street
Monday, 27.7.09, 15h30-17h
Composition as a catalyst for intercultural dialogue
Scrutinizing the Songs of Madosini by Hans Huyssen and Latozi Mpahleni
The reflection on and inclusion of elements of indigenous African music within contemporary South African compositions presents itself as an obvious, yet equally challenging option.

Similarly its public perception is highly controversial, ranging from enthusiastic embrace to outright disapproval, with both positions seeking to defend musical as well as political ground. The Songs of Madosini presents a case study of such an inter-cultural collaboration, facilitating an immediate dialogue between western and African musical idioms. Taking the occasion of its performance at the opening concert of the 37th International Viola Congress the colloquium will provide background information on the composition and serve as an introduction to the evening’s concert performance (20h00, Endler Hall). Furthermore the discussion with musicologist Stephanus Muller, veteran Pondo musician Madosini and composer Hans Huyssen
will inevitably touch on the current musicological debate of the pertaining questions and relate them to the practical experiences gained during the performance collaboration.
r.s.v.p. by Friday, 24.7.09:
Maria Mouton: mmouton@sun.ac.za / 021 8082963 (8h30-13h15)
More information:
http://viola09.blogspot.com/
www.huyssen.de/Madosini.html

William Henry Bell: Rosa Mystica, Concerto for Viola and Orchestra

The "story" of how this came about is very simple indeed: Michael Ponder told me of it's existence and Lewis Foreman (who wrote the biog of Arnold Bax) confirmed he had a microfilm of the Bell and the original existed in Cape Town University Library. The rest was easy... easy to get it, that is. Putting it together was the massive labour of Michiko Otaki. She deserves all the credit and the thanks of the music loving world.

William Henry Bell: Rosa Mystica, Concerto for Viola and Orchestra Although we think of W H Bell – always known by his initials – as a South Africancomposer, he was actually born at St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire. He spentthe first thirty-nine years of his life in or near London, not going to South Africa until1912. Having been a chorister at St Albans Abbey, he won a scholarship to the RoyalAcademy of Music (RAM) where he was a pupil of Frederick Corder. He also studiedmodal counterpoint with Stanford at the Royal College of Music (RCM). “Corder’smethods were in direct opposition to those which I afterwards learned were practisedby Stanford,” he wrote, adding, “I am perhaps the only English composer who cameunder the influence of both men. To put the matter bluntly, I think Corder actually‘taught’ too little… Stanford on the other hand perhaps imposed too much.”Largely making his living as an organist – at one stage of St Alban’s Abbey – andfrom teaching harmony at the RAM, Bell needed a post and it did not come until hesuccessfully applied for the job of Director of the South African College of Music inCape Town. Jobs in the Empire, particularly in Australia, Canada and South Africa, werethen highly prized and graduates from the London colleges of music could expect notonly to make their names in such a position but also to achieve financial security.

Until then he had enjoyed a growing reputation as a composer. Born the year afterHolst, when Bell left for South Africa he would probably have been thought moresuccessful than Holst. Bell had produced a succession of orchestral works, which wereheard, among others, at the Crystal Palace, at the Proms, in Beecham’s early concertsand at Bournemouth where notably Dan Godfrey produced Bell’s Walt WhitmanSymphony in 1902.However, Bell’s mature style did not really blossom until he went to South Africa,where for over thirty years he not only was a very successful teacher but also createda unique and substantial body of work still unknown by the wider public. This includedsix operas, five settings of Japanese No-plays (long before Britten thought of doing thesame), many orchestral works including five symphonies, tone poems and settings forvoice and orchestra including the deeply moving Walt Whitman cycle Songs of the LastPassage. As was the case for almost all British composers who worked abroad in theinter-war years, once they were personally no longer on hand to promote their musicin London they went unheard and were quickly forgotten in their homeland.The viola concerto Rosa Mystica was completed on 18 December 1916 andperformed in Cape Town on 8 November 1917. Unfortunately, we have not been ableto trace the programme for that concert and so the name of the soloist is not known.It would appear never to have been performed outside South Africa, and remainedunpublished. The present writer first explored this music on a microfilm sent fromCape Town; this performance has been made possible by Roger Chase, who securedphotocopies, and Michiko Otaki, who edited and created the full score and parts usingFinale computer software.As a musician associated with the RAM, Bell came under the influence of LionelTertis, who taught the viola there. Tertis was actively trying to develop the repertoireof the viola and encouraged all his friends and students to write pieces for him. In 1905Tertis and York Bowen (composer and pianist) included two pieces by Bell – Cantilenaand Arab Love Song – in their Æelian Hall concert. Thus, when Bell came to write forthe viola on a bigger scale there is little doubt that Tertis’s playing was the inspiration,even if the war and thousands of miles kept him from playing it.Bell prefaces his score with two verses from the fifteenth century carol The Flowerof Jesse by John Audelay. It was published in Edith Rickert’s pioneering collection‘Ancient English Carols 1400-1700’, which appeared in 1910, and presumably Bell tooka copy with him to South Africa. He thus suggests it is a Christmas meditation.“There is a flower, sprung of a TreeThe root of it is called Jesse,A Flower of Pryse“Of Lily white and Rose of RyseOf Primrose and of Flower de LyseOf all the flowers in my devyseThe Flower of Jesse beareth the prizeOf most of allTo save our soules both great and small.”‘Rosa Mystica’ usually refers to the Virgin Mary, but in wondering about thissuggestion of a programme it is also worth remembering that Bell would have beeneighteen when Oscar Wilde’s collection of poems entitled Rosa Mystica was published.However, Bell underlines his intent by quoting the first two phrases of Palestrina’sMotet ‘Assumption est Maria’.The Concerto is in three movements, though the second and third play continuously.Four horns in unison fanfare the opening of the first movement and a slow introduction,in which the soloist introduces a version of the theme of the allegro that follows. Avariety of themes and motifs are heard, constituting a first subject group, brilliantlyorchestrated. The lyrical, slower second subject that follows we might think of as the‘Rosa Mystica’ theme, and it will return at the end of the whole concerto.The strings are muted for much of the time in the elegiac slow movement, as isthe soloist when he first plays a long melancholy theme elaborated over some thirtybars. Indeed, the contrast between the soloist with and without mute is a feature of themovement. The use of muted trumpet calls – which carry over into the finale – are soreminiscent of distant bugle calls as to make one wonder if there is any programmaticintent on Bell’s part to acknowledge the distant Western Front where many of hisLondon friends then found themselves.At the opening of the third movement the strings are still muted, but once thescherzando mood returns (remembering a similar one from the first movement) themusic develops a considerable impetus and the long climax comes as the soloistrests. The return of the ‘Rosa Mystica’ tune from the first movement, all passion spent,presages the serene close. One has to say that it is a considerable comment on the waywe arrange our music that so eloquent a work has had to wait over ninety years foronly its second hearing, on this recording.W H Bell: a personal memoir by John JoubertMy first impressions of W H Bell were formed when, as a boy growing up in the 1930sin suburban Cape Town, I became aware of a framed newspaper cartoon hanging up onone of the walls of our family house. It was a full-length depiction of a striking if ratherunkempt figure with unruly hair, smoking a pipe and carrying a bundle of papers underone arm, which he seemed to be desperately trying to prevent from slipping to theground. I particularly noticed, as perhaps a small boy would, that his shoelaces wereundone. When I asked my mother who this was she told me that he was ProfessorBell, affectionately known by her and her fellow ex-students as ‘Daddy’ Bell, the thenPrincipal of the College.I thought no further about the matter, but had I been older I might have registeredthat Bell must have been something of a celebrity to have been the subject of anewspaper cartoon. I might even have noticed that the papers under his arm boreboth his name and the titles of some of his compositions. He was, in fact, South Africa’sleading composer and the focus of not a little national pride, even if some people hadtheir reservations about what they saw as the ‘modernity’ of his musical style.Some years later, in my mid-teens, I was to meet Bell in the flesh. The year was 1942and the circumstances were these. I had become more and more interested in music,so much so that I began to develop a consuming ambition to become a composer. Mymother, understandably alarmed at this prospect, took some of my early, barely literateattempts at composition to Bell for him to have a look at and advise on whether or notthere was any basis for proceeding further with the career I had so rashly envisagedfor myself. To the intense relief of us both, Bell was most sympathetic. I think he wasimpressed less by any intrinsic merits my work may have had than by the evidence ofthe powerful motivation that lay behind the notes, and which had caused me to make myown manuscript paper by ruling out by hand the necessary number of staves to containan orchestral score (trying to run before I could crawl, as Bell put it). In any event, heoffered to take me on as his pupil provided I was willing to go back to basics and masterthe fundamentals of my chosen craft. He refused to take any payment for this.So began an intensive period of study involving meetings that had to be fitted inwith our respective commitments – he with his composing and other pupils (he wasalso teaching Stefans Grové and Hubert du Plessis at this time) and I with my schooling.We met either at the Bells’ house at Gordon’s Bay, a charming seaside village on theopposite shore of False Bay, where they had been living since his retirement, or at theSouth African College of Music when the Bells were up in town. (I need hardly add thatit was Mrs Bell, sister of Sir John McEwen, one-time Principal of the RAM, who did thedriving.) Sometimes our lessons were continued by correspondence. Bell began withthe process of melodic construction, either by analysis (I well remember his basingalmost an entire tutorial on the melody of the slow movement of Beethoven’s FifthSymphony) or by actually composing melodies on a purely linear basis, i.e. withoutaccompanying harmony. After a while I began to grow impatient to start ‘proper’composing and, without Bell’s knowledge, composed a little Siciliano for Strings thatwas performed by the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra at one of their Sunday eveningConcerts. Far from disapproving of my presumption, Bell was complimentary about thepiece and we were soon immersed in the more complex matters of harmony, rhythmand form. These sometimes involved attempts by Bell to improve certain passages hefelt didn’t work, improvements I felt didn’t really solve the problem simply becausethey weren’t by me. These I would re-compose in my own way, a procedure that taughtme that composition is a growing process in which everything must be consideredboth provisional and subject to revision until it reaches its final form.Bell was a great Wagnerian, doubtless influenced in this by his own teacher atthe RAM, Frederick Corder. He used to play me extracts from both Tristan and DieMeistersinger on the piano to demonstrate Wagner’s use of melodic expansion. Indeed,he considered Die Meistersinger the greatest of all operas, an opinion I have no difficultyin endorsing. It certainly embodies in its very essence the Wagnerian principle of‘endless melody’. What finer composition lesson could any aspiring composer wish forthan Sach’s wise and patient coaching of Walther in his struggles to mould the Priesliedinto the miraculous phenomenon it eventually becomes?I have always been aware of what a great privilege it was to be able to study witha significant and still practising composer whose early works had been performed,in company with those by Bantock, Bax, Delius and Grainger and many others, at thefamous pre-1914 Balfour Gardiner Concerts by some of the most eminent conductorsof the time. Bell had always been a productive composer, but in his last years he wasenjoying a veritable Indian summer of creativity. One of the most impressive worksof this late period is the orchestral song-cycle to words by Walt Whitman composedin memory of his son, Oliver, killed in action in the 1943 North Africa Campaignduring WWII. Bell himself died in 1946, and later the same year I arrived in Englandon a scholarship awarded by the Performing Right Society. The judge who had thecasting vote in the competition for its award was Erik Chisholm, who earlier in theyear had been appointed Principal of the very College whose first principal had beenBell himself. I like to think that one of the works that helped me on my way was theorchestral Threnody I composed in memory of my old friend and mentor, and firstperformed by the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra in the year of his death. Certainlyfew young composers could have possessed a more positive role model than thisremarkable man.

THANK YOU CHRISTINE RUTLEDGE!!

In context of the South African reality, developmental initiatives will be a main priority during the congress. Several established music developmental projects will be pro-actively included in the activities of the congress. The Soshanguwe Viola Octet launched eight years ago, under the auspices of the Unisa Music Foundation will perform in the opening ceremony. During the Congress Viola Café they will also have a prime time slot. Similar participants in the congress are ACOSA under the auspices of Sheila and Michael Masote from Soweto, Botchabello from Bloemfontein under guidance of Peter Guy, as well as members of the Cape Town Youth Symphony Orchestra.

On behalf of the SAVS I would like to extend my appreciation to Christine Rutledege for her kind gesture to donate a student viola to the SAVS we most certainly appreciate these gestures tremendously which is a welcome asset our developmental initiatives.

Hester Wohlitz (PRESIDENT SAVS)

COMPOSERS FORUM @ THE CONGRESS

Invitation to an open “ Composers’ forum ” at the upcoming
International Viola Congress in Stellenbosch,
27 July – 1 August 2009
http://www.miagi.co.za/viola%2009.html
http://viola09.blogspot.com/

COMPOSERS’FORUM & NEW REPERTOIRE
Friday 31 July 15h00-18h00 @ THE ENDLER

Your presence and valuable input will be highly appreciated at an open Composers forum at the International Viola Congress in Stellenbosch.

The discussion will mainly focus on the viola and its repertoire, with special emphasis on South African viola repertoire, as well as contemporary repertoire from elsewhere in the world.

The Forum will be chaired by Prof. Jeanne Zaidel Rudolph http://www.africancomposers.co.za/Aficomp/Zaidel-Rudolph,_Jeanne.html who will be assisted Mr. Max Savikangas (violist /composer, Finland) http://www.concertartist.info/bio/SAV002.html as co-chair .

This event will co-inside with performances of works by Savikangas(Fin), Elwood (USA) http://www2.brevard.edu/pelwood/, Jacobs (USA) , van Dijk (SA) ,Harding (SA) and Vazquez (MEX)http://www.octaviov.com/home.html as well as short introduction presented by South African violist Elmarie van der Vyver http://viola-in-africa.com/viola-in-africa/Bio.html about the oeuvre of South African repertoire for the Viola.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE ANY COMPOSERS WHO WOULD LIKE SELL THEIR CD'S AND/OR SHEET MUSIC AT THE VIOLA SHOP PLEASE CONTACT JANE MATTHEWS jane.matthews@alindigo.com

Regards

Marius

INTRODUCING :Max Savikangas, Composer, Violist

Max Savikangas’s bio (Finland)

Max Savikangas, composer and violist (b. 1969), received M.Mus. from the Sibelius Academy, Finland, in 1998 after completing studies in music theory, composition, viola perfromance and electroacoustic music. For several years now, Max has been working as a free composer, violist and lecturer. He has composed over 75 works of instrumental chamber music, vocal music, electroacoustic music and combinations of these. His largest work so far is a 7-hour electroacoustic sound installation entitled Hammer, Anvil, Stirrup (2005), which was nominated as one of the Finnish Composers' Copyright Society Teosto prise winner candidates in 2005.

Max is the President of the Finnish Viola Society, member of the Society of Finnish Composers and the interdisciplinary artist association MUU. He was appointed as the executive secretary of the International Viola Society Presidency for the three-year term 2008-2010.

In addition to composing and performing on the viola, Max has been involved in multi-disciplinary co-projects, often utilising technology. He is also very interested in developing the viola - Max plays on a viola model which he has been developing with the Finnish luthier Pekka Mikael Laine since 1998, utilising computer spectral analysis and new varnishing techniques.

www.uusinta.com/savikangasE.html
http://www.fimic.fi/
www.saunalahti.fi/pekklai/strings/laine-viola/laine-viola.html


Max Savikangas: Nordic Lights and Shadows for six violas (2008), dur. ca. 6 min.

Nordic Lights and Shadows was comissioned by and is dedicated to Matthijs Bunschoten of VioLabor ensemble, Switzerland. Matthijs found samples of my music online, ordered my cd and some scores and finally asked me to write a piece for six violas, to be performed by VioLabor in the Bratschenturbulenzen concert organised by Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur. Matthijs asked for a “short piece, quiet and very colourfull like your solo-viola pieces, with beautiful modern effects in it and with a nice melancholic taste to it”. Because Matthijs even provided the title of the piece for me it was a true comission indeed! I hope you enjoy the resulting short flash of Nordic images.


Max Savikangas: Kranker Matthäus for flute and viola (2006), dur. ca. 9 min.

J.S. Bach rewrites in his St Matthews Passion a choral by Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612). The choral is sung several times during the passion. I heard the choral first time as a small boy in April 1976 at The Helsinki Cathedral, when popping in with my mother during an evening walk. Mother stayed in the foyer, but I, a curious boy, went in. Just then the choral started, and my body hair reacted to the music. Then, shortly after I got an uncomfortable feeling of somebody staring at me. And yes, there was a tall, dark fellow manicly, furiously staring at me from two meters distance. Soon I had to escape his burning gaze back to the foyer. When I told my mother what had happened, some lady commented from the side: “but didn’t you notice that you had your hat on?”.

Where does the experience of holyness disappear from an nonbeliever like me? I don’t think it disappears anywhere, it’s just transferred from religion into everyday life - into dishwater, as my artist colleque Teemu Mäki puts it.

The Songs of Madosini by Hans Huyssen ( to be performed on the opening concert 27 July)

Incidental music for a narration based on a selection of songsby Latozi Mpahlenibetter known as Madosini
Madosini (song, uhadi, umhrubhe, isitolotolo)with clarinet, string quartet and narrator
- commissioned by the ICMF 2002 -
(first performance: 15.8.02, State Theatre, Pretoria)

Madosini is a much cherished but little known amaMpondo musician. She ought really be treated a national living cultural treasure, instead her art is known only to a selected few. She has succeeded not only to preserve but also to continuously be creative in the unique style of traditional amaMpondo music. She is a singer, composer, storyteller and master player of three traditional instruments: uhadi (music bow), umhrubhe (mouth bow) and isistoloto (Jewish Harp).

The Songs of Madosini - a miniature oratorio - aims at celebrating Madosini's art (and thereby one of South Africa's unique traditions!). It is structured around a selection of her songs, which she herself performs live, 'setting' them for a concert situation with the necessary 'translation' or mediation for both audience and soloist, who would not meet under normal circumstances. For neither is Madosini's music originally intended to be performed on a stage, nor will the average South African hardly ever have the opportunity to hear her music - let alone understand it - within it's context.

Thus Madosini's music is complemented by a quintet of clarinet and strings and a narrator. The European instruments formally create a musical frame for the songs, by either accompanying, imitating, commenting or contrasting them. Obviously they also take up the given musical material at times to develop or interpret it in a Western musical idiom, mirroring as it were the two vastly different musical styles. These numerous and varied interactions let the focus change time and again, and thereby constantly offer new ways to access the unfamiliar form of expression, which most probably Madosini's music will constitute to first-time listeners.

Additionally, a narration leads through the piece, connecting the various songs and movements, touching on Madosini's biography and personal circumstances related to the songs. It also translates the lyrics, unveils the contexts of the respective songs and finally becomes self-reflexive, by drawing the attention on the precarious situation of this very form of music, which is on the verge of becoming extinct.

Madosini offers us one of the very last chances to catch a glimpse of Africa's prehistoric musical past. If we succeed to step out of our conventional listening habits and lend her our ears, she treats us with the invaluable experience of a musical expression, which, in its purity and stillness, can best be compared to the quality or athmosphere which untouched pristine landscapes might evoke - such as those, in which similar songs where originally resounding centuries ago. But best of all: Madosini is well and alive; her music is no artificial tradition or dry reconstruction of something gone by. She carries within her a spirit, which is rarely found anymore in these times of cultural reduction into majority-pleasing, artificial main-stream sell-outs, but which deserves all the more to be nurtured by those who care for life's fully abundant, varied and diverse expressions.

From Hans http://www.huyssen.de/index.html