Soweto Gospel Choir UK Tour 2009

...I came to see The Soweto Gospel Choir recently. My friend had been more keen than I to attend, but I was interested enough to agree to go. I didn’t appreciate, until we saw the concert, that the Choir had such diverse musical scope. They mixed traditional African gospel and hymns with reggae and pop too.

The concert started at 8pm and finished at around 10.15pm with one interval of about 15 minutes.

===Who are they?===
...the biggest townships on the outskirts of Johannesburg, formed by the Afrikaner government in the late 1940's, in a bid to exclude the majority of South Africans from the legally segregated white areas.

The choir all hail from here, and I was surprised to learn it was only formed as recently as 2002.

===The Choir===

They have to be mentioned first! A total of 12 men and 9 woman were on stage at any one ... more

As much as people like to mock my part of London, it does have some good points, and one of the diamonds in the rough is The Fairfield Halls.

An eclectic mix of ‘artistes’ have passed through the corridors of this Concert Hall since it opened in 1962, ranging from Robert Cray to Mott the Hoople. A quick check of their website tells me that both The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Curtis Stigers are also due to perform here in the near future. Okay, so it’s not exactly the O2 arena, or even the Brixton Academy, but it’s not bad.

It was here that I came to see The Soweto Gospel Choir recently. My friend had been more keen than I to attend, but I was interested enough to agree to go. I didn’t appreciate, until we saw the concert, that the Choir had such diverse musical scope. They mixed traditional African gospel and hymns with reggae and pop too.

The concert started at 8pm and finished at around 10.15pm with one interval of about 15 minutes.

Who are they?

The South Western Township is one of the biggest townships on the outskirts of Johannesburg, formed by the Afrikaner government in the late 1940's, in a bid to exclude the majority of South Africans from the legally segregated white areas.

The choir all hail from here, and I was surprised to learn it was only formed as recently as 2002.

The Choir

They have to be mentioned first! A total of 12 men and 9 woman were on stage at any one time, and every one of them was fantastic.

The set up ranged from the entire choir singing together, to some songs where only the men or the women sung, down to a soloist stepping forward, with other choir members harmonising on the chorus. I think by the end of the evening they had all sung either solo or with one other person.

There was no conductor, but they really didn’t need one.

The Music

As I just mentioned, the range of genres took me by surprise, as I was expecting something, well, more old school gospel. Although most gospel singers I’ve heard have beautiful voices, it’s not music I listen to often.

The Choir probably spent a equal time singing traditional African hymns as they did songs that I or my friend already knew.

The first half of the concert featured some wonderful arrangements, including a rendition of Bob Marley’s One Love which then slipped seamlessly into Bridge over troubled waters by Simon and Garfunkel.

The second half featured what was probably my favourite song of the evening, Peter Gabriel’s Biko. They also sung a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace.

Sadly, I can’t remember all the songs or hymns they sang, but their encore has to be one of the longest I’ve seen, and featured amongst others, Oh Happy Days and The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

For sheer entertainment value, you won't find much better. At the start of the second half, one man came on and chatted about his love of food and music. This lead to him performing ‘the canteen song’, which involved three men, a table and making music with lots of cutlery. Okay, maybe you had to be there to understand, but it was both very funny and entertaining.

Around half a dozen of the members came forward to talk to the audience during the concert. They all spoke beautiful English which left me feeling humbled. Considering their rich cultural heritage and the varied ethnic groups and languages in South Africa such as Xhosa and Zulu I found their willingness to learn my particular language flattering.

We had great views in the Stalls, and tickets for all the seats were only £18. Disappointingly, the Hall was only about three quarters full, but it was pleasing to be in a crowd where the people were enjoying themselves, and encouraging the performers.

Lastly

The clothing the choir wore was all gorgeous. No two people looked to be dressed the same, but they all had similar patterns on their clothing. Loose fitting, but in vibrant golds, purple, red and green, it all went well together. The only downside, small as it is, is that I didn’t feel the attire was strictly typical or ethnic, in the sense that there was no feathers or leather. Still, this is showtime and the clothing had a glamorous look about it.

Along with the singing, I really have to mention the dancing. The women were great dancers, but a few of the men really went to town. How they could move so fast I will never know, but the audience loved it.

If you get a chance to see them perform on this tour, then I would wholeheartedly recommend you go.

This is the Choirs third tour of the UK, and they have already released three studio albums of their music, and a fourth one being live in concert in South Africa. The studio albums have won them two Grammy awards, amongst others.

Sadly, we were strictly forbidden from using flash photography, so I couldn't take any photos at the concert.

Website: http://www.sowetogospelchoir.com/

 

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