Views And Reviews: Siyahamba
Paul Serotsky says that it comes as a pleasant surprise to learn that the Zulu, of all musical traditions, favours male-voice “a capella” singing. Paul introduces Alan Jenkins’s arrangement of Siyahamba, a traditional Zulu song.
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Alan Jenkins (arr.) – Siyahamba (trad. Zulu song)
I sought, but I did not find. There’s loads of information about performances of Siyahamba, but (as we say hereabouts) next to nowt about the song itself. Ah, but “next to nowt” is not quite “nowt”! The Zulus are best known as the proud tribe that, in 1879, so nearly drowned the invading British in a sea of their own blood. Typically, or maybe I should say stereotypically, we have come to expect the music of warrior tribes to be predominantly rhythmic chanting and pulse-raising drumming, so it comes as a pleasant surprise to learn that the Zulu, of all musical traditions, favours male-voice “a capella” singing.
The words “Siyahamba kukanyene kuenkos” (which translate as “We are Marching in the Light of God”) are substantially the entire text of this song. It is oh-so-tempting to imagine these words having been sung, as a battle-hymn to maximise morale just before stomping off to give those invading Brits. what-for. However, as we might already suspect from the faintly “gospel” turn of phrase, it transpires that the “tradition” of the song does not go far enough back. The fact is that it reflects the Zulus’ somewhat more recent struggle, against the wickedness of apartheid. Thinking about it, that’s all to the good, because this latter was a war that they won!
Siyahamba is usually heard in arrangements for mixed voices, so it is doubly pleasing when we get the chance to hear Alan Jenkins’ arrangement for a capella male voice choir. The final cadence perhaps seems more in keeping with a more European choral tradition, but nevertheless this strikes me as an unreservedly thrilling “authentic” arrangement, a simple but stunning progression through three phases. Firstly, the tune alone is intoned very quietly, sounding almost like the moaning of the wind in the dark before the dawn. Secondly, in a glow of sunrise, the original Zulu words are sung sonorously, with a rich, spine-tinglingly resonant bass. Finally, in a blaze of sunlight (and English translation), it is belted out in all its lusty glory.
© Paul Serotsky
