FESPAD Opening Ceremony, Kigali, Rwanda
Music Sampler
In South Africa music is a given, permeating all aspects of life. Hugh Masekela, South Africa’s esteemed and internationally acclaimed musician and composer, has written a score that amplifies the sounds of a nation that has found a way to use music as it’s language of survival and celebration. At the TRC itself, when testimony became too overpoweringly painful, or when tensions were running high, it was often the spontaneous rising of music from the participants and observers that sustained and restored order. Music is part of this production from beginning to end. It rises from the memories of the characters and reflects their unspoken fears and yearnings. The lyrics, many of them based on actual testimony, create a chilling contrast to the beautifully modulated harmonies.
