Boundstone Chorus offer African Sanctus

The Boundstone Chorus will perform African Sanctus on Saturday, June 25 at 7.30pm at St Michael and All Angels Church, South Street, Lancing.
Aedan KerneyAedan Kerney
Aedan Kerney

“I love the world!” proclaimed David Fanshawe: composer, explorer, and creator of African Sanctus: the genre-busting masterpiece that fuses western choral music with the musical traditions of East Africa.

Aedan Kerney, musical director, said: “It’s a shout of joy – a song of friendship, inclusion and the life-affirming power of music. Recordings of traditional African music collected by the composer himself on legendary journeys taken on the River Nile between 1969 and 1973 are woven into the live performance which also includes the choir, soprano soloist, percussion ensemble and instrumentalists.

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“It is a universal work whose impact is immediate, whose message is simple. The driving force is one of praise and a firm belief in one music — one God. It informs both listener and performer about African music and its relationship to Western polyphony and captures the eternal and spiritual soul of music. It is an event, a celebration of power and energy, aural and multi-cultural, which has been performed live all over the world.”

Aedan added: “This is a performance which had to be postponed in 2020 because of the pandemic. It is so wonderful to be able to perform this amazing music now. It seems even more relevant today with the power of music silencing the sound of war drums. Our singers have learnt to perform some of the music in an open-air declamatory style as well as singing beautifully in the unaccompanied western tradition of Tallis and Byrd.

“In total contrast all the singers become extensions of the sound of the lead and bass guitars at one point. I can promise our audience an evening to remember – of joy, passion and cultural richness.”

Joining the choir will be soprano soloist Cheryl Enever and a specially formed band of pianist, guitarists and percussionists. Tickets are £10 (under 16 £3) www.theboundstonechorus.co.uk, [email protected] or telephone 01903 762793.

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