South African Choral

Songs of the Alexandra Youth Choir (Naxos World 76025-2, 2002)

Even in the darkest days of apartheid, some of the most defiantly beautiful music came from South Africa. Today, the nation remains troubled and the music remains beautiful. Alexandra Township, just outside Johannesburg, is a place where music has long flourished despite poverty, oppression, limited resources and nothing like the same level of dubious fame affiliated with places like Soweto (though Nelson Mandela once went into hiding there). Listening to the Alexandra Youth Choir (first established in 1988), the feeling of gospel-fervor faith in the face of adversity is evident, along with the enduring power of traditional Zulu, Sotho and Xhosa songs. The 20 selections here showcase considerable range, from glorious call-and-response to sweet surrender spirituals and foot-stomping testimonials. There's some perfectly suited instrumental accompaniment here and there, but the majority is just harmonious voices singing as one mighty force. A perfectly wonderful CD, full of passion and power that gets to the very core of you. The Naxos World label hasn't been in existence for very long, but quality releases such as this show that their future is likely to be very bright. (www.naxosworld.com)