“Harmonia Ubuntu” a comparison to Songs of the Underground Railroad -

“Sweet Chariot”

Musical Links InvestigationAccess Code: gzj488

Harmonia Ubuntu- This piece was written by

Bongani Ndodana-Breen as a

tribute to Nelson Mandela

- Both were born in South Africa

South Africa Population: 55.91 million

Size: 471,010.46 square miles

South Africa has three Capitals:

(One Capital for each branch)

1. Pretoria = Administrative 2. Cape Town = Legislative 3. Bloemfontein = Judicial

QueensTown, South Africa

- Founded in 1853 by Sir George Cathcart, a British General

- Named after her Majesty, Queen Victoria

- “The Rose Capital of South Africa”

BONGANI NDODANA-BREEN

- Was born in Queenstown, South Africa in 1975

- He is a member of the Xhosa Clan

- Rhadebe is his Xhosa clan name or his Isiduko

- He is a composer and cultural activist

BONGANI NDODANA-BREEN

- In 1998 Ndodana-Breen was the first Black classical composer to be awarded

the prestigious Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Music

- He was one of Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans

- He was on CNN African Voices for his work Harmonia Ubuntu

- He attended St. Andrews college and Rhodes University in Grahamstown

where he graduated with a PHD in composition

- He also studied composition in Stellenbosch under Roelof Temmingh

BONGANI NDODANA-BREEN

- The New York Times stated that his “delicately made music – airy, spacious, terribly complex but

never convoluted – has a lot to teach the Western wizards of metric modulation and layered rhythms

about grace and balance.”

- He has been commissioned by Wigmore Hall, Vancouver Recital Society, Madame Walker Theatre,

Hong Kong Arts Festival, Luminato Festival and Haydn Festival

- He has written a wide variety of symphonic work, opera, chamber music and vocal music

- His Music combines Western Classical with traditional African

BONGANI NDODANA-BREEN

His music has been performed by groups around the world, and include groups such as:

1. Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra2. Vancouver Opera Orchestra3. Symphony Nova Scotia 4. Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra5. Belgian National Orchestra6. Kwazulu-Natal Philharmonic7. Johannesburg Festival Orchestra8. Johannesburg Philharmonic9. Cape Town Philharmonic,

10. New York City’s Vox Vocal Ensemble 11. Ensemble Noir12. Chicago’s Cube Ensemble13. Avalon String Quartet of Chicago and Ossia

BONGANI NDODANA-BREEN’S MOST NOTABLE WORKS

- Orange Clouds, music by Ndodana-Breen and libretto by filmmaker John Greyson- Winnie The Opera- Safika, piano quintet commissioned by Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival- Uhambo/The Pilgrimage, opera/oratorio based on the epic poem by Guy Butler- Zulu gazing at the Rising Sun commissioned by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra- African Kaddish for orchestra- Rituals for Forgotten Faces, chamber music cycle in 6 parts- Apologia at Umzimvubu, string quartet- Miniatures on Motherhood, string quartet- Flowers in Sand, piano solo- Visions, flute solo- C'est tres Noir, piano duet- Two Nguni Dances, piano trio commissioned by the Haydn Festspiele for the Haydn bi-centenary- Hymn and Lament for the Sudan from the chamber opera Threnody & Dances- Intlanzi yase Mzantsi, piano quintet based on Schubert's Trout Quintet [15]

- Hani, short opera, commissioned by Cape Town Opera and the University of Cape Town- Mzilikazi: Emhlabeni, commissioned by the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival- Credo, oratorio with libretto by Brent Meersman based on South Africa's Freedom Charter

Links to Exampleshttps://soundcloud.com/ndodanabreen/safika-3rd-movement

https://soundcloud.com/ndodanabreen/safika-3rd-movement

https://soundcloud.com/ndodanabreen/safika-3rd-movement

https://soundcloud.com/ndodanabreen/hymn-threnody

https://soundcloud.com/ndodanabreen/credo-opening-1

https://soundcloud.com/ndodanabreen/credo-opening-chorus-2

https://soundcloud.com/ndodanabreen/apologia-at-umzimvubu

https://soundcloud.com/ndodanabreen/rituals-no-4b-string-quartet

Harmonia Ubuntu- Tribute to Nelson Mandela

- By, Bongani Ndodana-Breen

Harmonia Ubuntu

- Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term for humanity

- Promoting the idea of bettering oneself in order to help others; and promoting

harmony between cultures

- It is often translated as “I am because we are,” or “humanity towards others”

- Ubuntu was a key aspect of Nelson Mandela’s beliefs

- “Harmonia” derives from the Ubuntu focus on harmony between cultures

Harmonia Ubuntuhttps://issuu.com/classicalmovements8/docs/harmonia_ubuntu_-_full_score

- Full Score (sheet music)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X-oJujyMsI

- Excerpt of the World Premier

Harmonia Ubuntu- Features a solo vocalist with a wide range of classical orchestra instruments:

1. Violin 2. French horn3. Tuba4. Bassoon 5. Clarinet6. Harp7. Cello8. Snare drum- Along with other orchestral instruments

Harmonia Ubuntu: Instruments

Harmonia Ubuntu- A key feature of Harmonia Ubuntu are the lyrics from the vocalist

- The music features solo soprano vocalist singing the melodic line the majority

of the piece

- One singer with a full orchestra is not often seen

- The lyrics (english) focus on the principles of Ubuntu: “I am because we are,”

or “humanity towards others”

The Underground Railroad

Underground railroad- Many songs were sung on the underground railroad to communicate

information - Origins of these songs are most often associated with Harriet Tubman, a

prominent leader of the underground railroad- While “slave music” often used a variety of instruments, the instruments

themselves would not have been practical for runaway slaves - Underground railroad songs were most often displayed only with vocals, and

the rhythmic pulse maintained with the hands or feet

Underground railroad - A network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States

during the early to mid-19th century, and used by African-American slaves to

escape into free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists

- By 1850 a estimated 100,000 slaves had escaped slavery through the

Underground railroad

Underground railroad

The underground railroad used many songs to communicate such as:

1. Wade in the Water

2. Steal Away

3. Sweet Chariot

4. Follow the Drinking Gourd

- Several other unnamed songs

- Each song had a different meaning to provide necessary information to runaway slaves

Harriet Tubman - She was born in 1820; Dorchester County, Maryland

- Abolitionist, cultural activist, and former slave

- She was born into slavery which she escaped from

- she then led about thirteen missions to help other slaves escape

- She was a huge leader among the underground railroad

- Known to many as, Moses or Chariot

“Sweet Chariot” - An underground railroad song

Sweet Chariot Swing low, sweet chariotComing for to carry me homeSwing low, sweet chariotComing for to carry me homeComing for to carry me home

I looked over Jordan, what did I seeComing for to carry me homeA band of angels coming after meComing for to carry me home

Swing low, sweet chariotComing for to carry me homeSwing low, sweet chariotComing for to carry me home

If you get there before I doComing for to carry me homeTell all my friends I'm coming tooComing for to carry me home

Swing low, sweet chariotComing for to carry me homeSwing low, sweet chariotComing for to carry me home

Sweet Chariot - This song was sung by Harriot Tubman

with the purpose of communicating when

she would be coming to take slaves to

freedom

Example of the piece sung by Etta James: https://youtu.be/Thz1zDAytzU

Etta James- Etta James was born January 25, 1938 in

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

- She died January 20, 2012 (aged 73)

- Her birth name was Jamesetta Hawkins

- Also known as “Miss Peaches” or the

“Matriarch of R&B”

Etta James- She was an American singer who was a

part of many different genres including

blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz and

gospel

- She won six Grammy Awards and 17

Blues Music Awards

- Was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall

of Fame in 1993

- Blues Hall of Fame in 2001

- Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999

Sweet Chariot- Etta James version of “Sweet Chariot”

captures the lack of instruments on

underground railroad

- James used primarily vocals along with

hand clapping and of course a few

background instruments including piano

and bass

Differences Harmonia Ubuntu:

- Solo Vocalist with Orchestral

accompaniment (versus a vocal chorus)

- Lead vocalist with diverse timbres from the

orchestra, including african instrumention

- Compound time signature

- Lead vocalist is stylized toward traditional

solo operatic arias

Sweet chariot:

- Utilizes a vocal chorus to accompany a

lead vocalist

- Lead vocal with additional timbres from the

organ and rhythmic hand claps

- Simple meter time signature

- Lead vocal is stylized to a blend of early

African American spiritual music and

popular music

Secondary link

Secondary Link- “Harmonia Ubuntu” and “Sweet Chariot” share isochronic rhythmic and stylistic similarities.

Isochrony is defined as: “..rhythmic division of time into equal portions by a language. Rhythm is an aspect of prosody (larger units of speech, e.g. phrases), others being intonation, stress and tempo..”1. The equal duration of syllables2. The rhythmic space between two accented syllables is equal

- The shared isochronic rhythms can be heard doubled in the percussive timbres of each piece:

1. background snare in “Harmonia Ubuntu”

2. bass voice and handclapping in “Sweet Chariot”

Harmonia Ubuntu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X-oJujyMsI (begin 30 seconds into the clip)

Sweet Chariot https://youtu.be/Thz1zDAytzU (begin 40 seconds into the clip)

Primary Link

Primary link Conext: both songs share a similar moral

- “Harmonia Ubuntu” spreads Nelson Mandela’s message of Ubuntu:

“harmony between cultures and bettering oneself in order to help others.”

- “Sweet Chariot” captures the humanity of Harriet Tubman as she puts

herself in a (dangerous) position to helping others - seeking to “carry”

runaway slaves home to freedom.

Primary linkThe primary link between the two pieces is contextual. The lyrics or message

behind each of the pieces can be basically defined as “freedom.”

- “Sweet Chariot” identifies Harriet Tubman’s efforts (and success) to help enslaved Africans

“Swing low, sweet chariot, coming forth to carry me home” Harriet Tubman was known as the

chariot coming to bring slaves “home” to freedom, emphasizing the Ubuntu quality of humanity

towards others

- “Unbuntu,” identifies Nelson Mandela’s efforts (and success) to bring mutual respect between two

cultures which would result in a free, democratic nation of South Africa.

Primary linkThe moral of both “Harmonia Ubuntu” and “Sweet Chariot” promote harmony

between cultures

- “Sweet Chariot” lyrics express the literal freedom the underground railroad provided Africans out of

slavery and to freedom.

- “Harmonia Unbuntu” lyrics express the value of freedom to those giving it to others: “I learned that

courage was not the absence of fear - but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does

not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. For to be free, is not to cast off one’s chains, but to

live in a way that embraces the freedom of others. “

Works Cited

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X-oJujyMsI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRbgxs8JkCE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bongani_Ndodana-Breen

https://www.ndodanabreen.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_philosophy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HED4h00xPPA

http://www.harriet-tubman.org/songs-of-the-underground-railroad/

Works Citedhttps://www.sporcle.com/blog/2017/10/what-is-the-capital-of-south-africa/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queenstown,_Eastern_Cape

Bongani Ndodana-Breen, Harmonia Ubuntu (2018) by Classical ...

https://issuu.com/classicalmovements8/docs/harmonia_ubuntu_-_full_scor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isochrony