South African Choral Music (Amakwaya): Song, Contest and the ...

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10.3 Phenomenology ofthe Sectionalised Repertoire 279 competition the following weekend. The contrast between the reception of Western and formally composed African compositions and that of neo-traditional songs was remarkable. Whereas the audience - carefully watched by the Master of Ceremonies - had kept fairly quiet throughout the serious part of a choir's presentation, they rose from their seats, and, bursting into song, stormed towards the stage as soon as the choir had fInished the prescribed pieces. The whole audience participated in this spectacular celebration of singing and dancing as the choir left the stage. It took the Master of Ceremonies a long while before he could calm the audience and persuade them to return to their seats so that the following choir could take their position on the stage. The desire of the audience to take an active role in the proceedings of the competition is palpable even in the most formalised and prestigious competitions, as in the Finals of the NCF, where the audience often joins in with the choirs when they are performing traditional songs. At such a moment, all persons present join in celebration: everyone becomes a performer. Henry Weman had an experience similar to mine in the early 1960s: ...the reaction of the general public, both white and coloured, was interesting. They all naturally received the European songs politely enough, but interest waned as the evening progressed, as the general hum of conversation indicated. However, as soon as some choirs broke with convention and produced a native song with its accompanying movements and dance, interest among both groups quickened; that choir had made immediate contact with the public, and everyone listened eagerly The scene took on life and movement, and the public responded. 29 Xulu has written about traditional African ceremony and celebration, using the example of Zulu culture: .. .it is not always easy to distinguish between performers and audience... it would fttst appear as if everybody present is a performer. This is because a Zulu musical event is not only the concern of a few selected performers. It is the concern of everyone present. Making music is not just singing. It is also ululating by the women (ukuf;ikiza), whistling by men (gash!Ja), war-like chanting by women and young girls, and general excitement which leaves room for spontaneous reaction to the situation. What is important is that nobody should feel out of place, and everybody does something to enjoy himself and to express his feelings about the ceremony. The only way people make sense out of a ceremony is to participate.3o When choosing set pieces for the competitions, the repertoire committee considers various factors: the choirs should enjoy the songs, the songs should not be too diffIcult, and the songs should be attractive to the audience. 31 In fact the desire to make competitions more attractive to the audience was a major motive for the introduction of own-choice pieces and traditional songs at the NCE Khabi Mngoma stressed the "popular acceptability" of the works prescribed for the competitions: "[T]he compositions must offer a musical challenge, some excitement, and it must be enjoyable at the same time, for both the performers and the audiences alike. If one is preoccupied with musical advancement only, one would have to choose more diffIcult works, especially in the Western repertoire section".32 In the following chapters, I will look at some important aspects of the sectionalised repertoire and give some direction as to where further research is necessary. I decided against a sequence of chapters that would mirror the current performance practice of amakwqya groups today, whereby a choir starts with Western repertoire, proceeds to African eclectic compositions, and fInishes with 29 H. Weman, 1960: 121-22. 30 M. Xulu, 1989: 35. 31 Personal communication with Sam Shabalala, Durban, SABC, March 07, 2000. 32 Khabi Mngoma, interview with Inge M. Burger, May, 1985; quoted from Inge M. Burger, 1990: 383.
280 The Sectionalised Repertoire ofAmakwaya the more relaxed neo-traditional African songs, accompanied by movement and dance. What made me reverse this order and put the discussion of traditional songs first was the fact that the historical development of neo-traditional songs was of essential importance in the development of composers of the amakwqya community, and that many of the issues dealt with in this section are relevant for the understanding of those discussed later when dealing with the Western and African eclectic repertoires.
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South African Choral Music (Amakway
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11 Preface
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IV 2.2.3 Employment and the Work Pl
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VI 8 Preface FROM SCHOOLS TO COMMUN
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VIII 12.2.5.2 Towards an African Op
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Introduction Amakwaya and the Aspec
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Introduction XVII mainly concerned
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Introduction XIX who had been expos
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Outline xxv group prioritised probl
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Outline XXVII Music (6.2). The part
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:xxx Preface fields, were a source
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6 The Mrican Native Choir (1892) an
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1.2 Communicating Identity and Diff
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14 The Mrican Native Choir (1892) a
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1.2 Communicating Identity and Diff
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28 The African Native Choir (1892)
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34 Becoming Amakholwa: Mission Comm
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2.1 Setting the Scene: Early Missio
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2.1 Setting the Scene: Early Missio
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2.2 Becoming Amakholwa 47 were abou
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2.2 Becoming Amakholwa 49 published
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2.3 Images ofthe Other 57 'Heathen'
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2.3 Images ofthe Other 59 aim to "e
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Shaping a New World: The Mrican Mid
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66 Shaping a New World: The African
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68 Shaping a New World: The Mrican
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3.2 The Applications for the Exempt
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3.2 The Applications for the Exempt
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3.3 Between Two Worlds: Exclusivene
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3.4 Summary 3.3.3 Isolation of the
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Negotiating Tradition and the Moder
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4.1 The Mrican Yearly Register: A D
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4.1 The Mrican Yearly Register: A D
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4.1 The African Yearly Register: A
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104 Negotiating Tradition and the M
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4.2 Emancipation and the Quest for
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4.3 Music of the Elite: Manifestati
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4.3 Music ofthe Elite: Manifestatio
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PART TWO Musi : The ntext of e.. rm
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5.1 Umculo amakholwa - "Christian M
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5.2 Early Musical Encounters: Missi
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130 Music at the Mission Station an
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5.5 Musical Innovations, Structural
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5.6 Summary 5.6 Summary I have trac
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6.1 The Establishment ofAdams Colle
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158 Music Education at Adams Colleg
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6.2 The Content ofMusic Education 1
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168 Music Education at Adams Colleg
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6.2 The Content ofMusic Education I
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6.2 The Content of Music Education
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6.3 Summary 175 More recently, Khab
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7.1 Organising and Moralising Leisu
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7.1 Organising and Moralising Leisu
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7.2 Choral Music, Performance, Disc
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7.2 Choral Music, Perfonnance, Disc
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188 Leisure-time and the Role of Ch
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7.2 Choral Music, Performance, Disc
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202 From Schools to Communities: Th
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8.2 School Choir Contests and the R
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8.3 Adult and Community Choirs then
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8.3 Adult and Cormnunity Choirs 223
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8.3 Adult and Community Choirs whic
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Page 297 and 298: 274 The Sectionalised Repertoire of
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12.2 Periodisation ofMrican Eclecti
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338 Mrican Eclectic Compositions (b
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342 Figure 12.28: Peiformance rif H
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12.3 Summary There is a small but i
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12.3 Summary 347 Western. It was on
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13.1 Reconsidering Repertoire: Khab
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354 Westem Repertoire interval is t
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356 Western Repertoire Judging from
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358 Westem Repertoire group's commi
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13.2 The Significance ofOratorio: M
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368 Western Repertoire George Mxada
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370 Western Repertoire creation of
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372 Western Repertoire form. Opera
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374 Westem Repertoire really suffic
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A) The Need for Critical Developmen
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A) The Need for Critical Developmen
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B) Some Perspectives on Future Deve
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4. Books and Articles 391 Benson, M
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4. Books and Articles 395 Mngoma, K
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398 Bibliography Reid, D. J. 1871.
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400 Phelelani Mnomiya Peter Morake
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402 Johannesburg; 7 - 9 December 20
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