Resources for gaining a deeper understanding of Black South African Choral Music

Books on South Africa

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, by Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, (Little, Brown & Company, 1995)
Mandela’s beautifully written autobiography, much of which was written in secret during his 27-year imprisonment by the apartheid regime, traces his life from his childhood in the traditional, tribal culture of his ancestors, through his years of political activism, to his liberation and the creation of a free, multiracial democracy in South Africa.

A History of South Africa, by Leonard Thompson, (Yale University Press, 2001)
Thompson provides an exploration of South African history, from its earliest known inhabitants to the present.

Africa: A Continent Self-Destructs, by Peter Schwab, (New York: Palgrave, 2001)
Schwab examines the obstacles facing sub-Saharan Africa today, including ethnic conflict, AIDS, and its relation to the West, as well as the challenge to find a distinctly African approach to ensure the survival of the continent.

Country of My Skull: Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa, by Antjie Krog, (CA:Three Rivers Press, 2000)
Antjie Krog, a South African poet and essayist of Afrikaans descent, weaves together the testimonies of victims and perpetrators from the Truth and Reconciliation Trials.

South African Fiction

Cry the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton, (NY: Scribner, 2003), written in 1948
Paton tells the story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his search for his son, who is accused of murdering a white social reformer.

Disgrace, by J. M. Coetzee, (New York: Penguin, 2000)
Coetzee tells the story of the downfall of a 52-year old professor against the backdrop of post-apartheid South Africa, caught in the chaotic aftermath of centuries of racial oppression.

Looking on Darkness, by Andre Brink, (Minerva, 2000), written in 1974
Brink tells the story of a black actor awaiting execution for the murder of his white lover.  The book was originally banned in South Africa.

Mother to Mother, by Sindiwe Magona, (Beacon Press, 2000)
Magona writes from the perspective of the mother of one of the young men who murdered Fulbright Scholar Amy Biehl in 1993, illuminating how such violence is bred in a society crushed by apartheid.

Books on South African Music

In Township Tonight, by David Coplan, (New York: Longman Group Limited, 1985)
Coplan provides a rich history of South Africa’s black city music and theater.

Nightsong: Performance, Power, and Practice in South Africa, by Veit Erlmann, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996)
Erlmann explores isicathamiya performance practice and its relation to the culture and consciousness of the Zulu migrant laborer choirs (such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo).

Where is the Way? Song and Struggle in South Africa, by Helen Q. Kivnick, (New York, Penguin Group, 1990)
Kivnick presents an overview of black South African music (including church music, urban popular music, protest songs, and songs of everyday life), examining the social as well as political meanings of this music to the people of South Africa.

Films

Singing in Color, Bruce Weinstein (1997)
This video follows the Chicago Children's Choir on their 1996 tour of South Africa. The Choir's performances are blended with historical footage, views of South Africa's countryside, life in the impoverished township of Soweto, a visit with President Mandela, and commentary by South Africans and members of the Children’s Choir. 

Sarafina, dir. Darrell Roodt, written by Mbongeni Ngema & William Nicholson (1992)
This film depicts the struggles of youth in the townships under apartheid, and the school boycotts of the 1980s.  As students rise up against the Bantu Education System, their powerful protests are interwoven with choral protest music.

Amandla: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, Lee Hirsch (2002)
In this documentary, Hirsch explores the powerful role that music played in the struggle against apartheid.

Teaching DVDs

The Folk Rhythm, Volume I: South African Folk, Church & Protest Songs, arranged by Matlakala Bopape, edited by Patty Cuyler (2004). This project includes performance, and instruction DVDs.  For more information, visit www.northernharmony.pair.com.

Global Voices in Song, Volume 1: Four Swazi Songs CD-ROM, compiled by Mary Goetze (2000). This CD-ROM features songs and dances from South Africa.  For more information, visit www.globalvoicesinsong.com.

South African Language Dictionaries

A New Concise Xhosa-English Dictionary, by J. McLaren, (Maskew Miller Longman Ltd., Cape Town, 1963)

Speak Xhosa With Us: Beginner to Advanced, by Tessa Dowling, (Cape Town: Mother Tongues Multimedia, 1998)

Teach Yourself Xhosa: a complete course in understanding, speaking, and writing, by Beverly Kirsch & Silvia Skorge, (Hodder & Stoughton Ltd., 1999)

Teach Yourself Zulu: a complete course for beginners, by Arnett Wilkes and Nicholias Nkosi, (Hodder & Stoughton Ltd., 1995)

Recordings