If you have plans to be in Cape Town at the end of the month do yourself a favour and book tickets now for Zulu Song Cycle. Composer and cellist, Dr Thokozani Mhlambi, will perform a compilation of songs in a format inspired by the German Lieder form, where individual songs are performed in a sequence as a single unit.
Mhlambi, an NRF Postdoctoral Fellow, believes that isiZulu, as a tonal language, is ideally suited to this format of music, and effortlessly combines African and classical elements in his compositions to create a unique experience for listeners.
Mhlambi uses his skill as a composer to tell the stories of Africa in a contemporary format, while still accessing African traditions. His 2017 Tone Poem, Isililo esamboza Umhlaba, is based on Mazisi Kunene’s Emperor Shaka the Great, A Zulu Epic. In the piece Mhlambi talks of how King Shaka has lost his mother, Queen Nandi, who visits Shaka in his dream.
As a lecturer and published author (his paper on kwaito, ‘Kwaitofabulous‘, remains one of the most cited papers on popular music in South Africa), Mhlambi has travelled the world through his music, and he brings this wealth of experience to his ethereal performances.
Click here to book tickets for Zulu Song Cycle playing at the at the Baxter Theatre on the 26th May