Program Notes & Translations
The concert begins with a medley of African folk songs. The first, Ngiagula, is a plea to the doctor for help. Sivela Kwazulu is a worksong from the sugar cane fields - watch for the workers' reaction when their work is disrupted by the appearance of a poisonous snake among the cane. The third song, Tscho Tscho Loza, is so popular in South Africa that it is commonly (although mistakenly) thought to be the South African national anthem. The song actually originated as a traditional mining song among the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe, and is sung in a call-and-response style that eventually found its way into a common form of African-American spiritual, as you will hear later in the concert. O Freedom is a call for the end of Apartheid in South Africa.
The next selection is a folk tune, this time one from our own country. Shady Grove dates back to the eighteenth century, and is likely derived from the melody of an old English ballad. Numerous verses for this tune have been penned - some estimates include as many as three-hundred stanzas of additional content. Whereas some of the verses indicate that "Shady Grove" is a location, the majority of these verses depict the singer's love for a woman referred to by that epithet. Whatever the case may truly be, Shady Grove represents a source of solace for the singer.
Traveling north to Canada's remote Newfoundland province, we arrive at Cape St. Mary's - one of the most well-known locations on the island, largely for its immortalization in the song Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary's. In this arrangement we are taken off the Cape itself, sitting aboard the first boat as the initial strains of the melody reach toward the shore. These notes are harmonized as more boats join in the day's catch, until finally the cliff sides of the Cape itself echo back the initial melody. The piece ends as it began, on a unison note that returns our boat to the shore.
The theme of fishing continues with our first Cuban selection, Pescar Camaron, or Fishing for Shrimp - the tone, however, is in sharp contrast to our sleepy little cape, with rhythmic action that transforms the choir into part storyteller, part percussion section. According to the text, an American asks the Cuban child "What is this song you sing, and what does it mean?" The 'Little Cuban' replies, "Let's go to the river to fish for shrimp. It's just a song to sing, nothing more; it's a song for fishing, and when I sing it, it makes me happy."
We return again to the U.S.A. for a traditional spiritual. Shine On Me was one of the songs Ragazzi took on its last tour to Quebéc, and the boys have developed a familiarity with the text and style that really lets the piece... well, shine. The metaphor of the lighthouse shining is common among spiritual texts, as it represents a guide both for the body and for the soul. Although the piano imparts a sense of vertical harmonic structure with its strong, block-chord style, the focal point of the music is in the horizontal interweaving of three separate melody lines that join into a single statement by the end of the piece.
The theme for Smile was written in 1936 by none other than Charlie Chaplin for his movieModern Times. Lyrics were added by other songwriters in the 1950s. The song has been covered by artists such as Nat King Cole and Michael Jackson, and speaks to the heart of what it is to be a performer - that the show must always go on, no matter the hardship, even going so far as to say that something as seemingly-common as a smile can impart great value to one's entire life.
The next arrangement is a combination of two songs: Rare Earth's I Just Want To Celebrateand Three Dog Night's Celebrate (Dance to the Music). The piece follows the most common structure for a mash-up. One song is introduced by itself. Then the second tune is introduced on its own. Finally, the two songs are sung simultaneously. Of course, no celebration would be complete without a little dancing...
We circle back to African-American spirituals with Get on Board This Train, featuring a sound effects section ("clickety clack, clickety clack, hear that train comin' down the track"). The "gospel train is comin'!" in this blend of two traditional spirituals, Get On Board, Little Children and This Train.
The text of Amor De Mi Alma draws from a 16th century Spanish poem: "I was born to love only you; my soul has formed you to its measure; I want you as a garment for my soul. Your very image is written on my soul; such indescribable intimacy I hide even from you. All that I have, I owe to you; for you I was born, for you I live, for you I must die, and for you I give my last breath."
As with most African-American spirituals, I'm a Rollin' has a double meaning. In its literal sense, it describes the hardship of life and invokes the community of brotherhood for spiritual salvation. In a deeper context, the text is a plea for the singers' community to aid in the struggle against these hardships. What is on the surface an evangelical invocation is actually a call for revolution, one which grows increasingly more fervent as the song approaches its climax.
The next selection is perhaps one of the most recognizable of American folk tunes.Shenandoah was first printed in 1882, but dates from before the American Civil War. The song likely originated as the story of a roving trader in love with the daughter of a Native American chief. It soon grew into a nostalgic remembrance of home for Civil War soldiers. The Shenandoah area was a center for manufacturing parts for wagons heading west. Lyrics were undoubtedly added to the song over time by the millions who heeded to call to go West.
El Paisanito is derived from the word 'paisano', meaning 'countryman'. In this case, the diminutive form is used, perhaps to indicate a poor social status. The text describes the song of the paisanito, sitting under a tree and plaintively recalling his love. He complains of his misfortune, and entreats his love to tell him if she loves him and return to his side.
Down In The Valley is another beautiful American folk tune, possibly with roots in England. It is also known by the title "Birmingham Jail" due to an additional verse that goes: "Write me a letter, send it by mail; send it in care of the Birmingham jail". It is likely that the song gained popularity among prisoners at Birmingham jail, as the song's message of longing for loved ones would have been especially poignant.
The next two songs draw from the wealth of American popular music, beginning with the doo-wop classic Come Go With Me and continuing with a medley of Ray Charles songs (Hallelujah I Love Her So, Georgia On My Mind, and What'd I Say). They represent American music's ability to incorporate folk traditions from a variety of countries in order to form fusion styles such as doo-wop, blues, and jazz.
The full choir reassembles for Juramento, meaning 'Oath'. The poem translates: "If love makes you feel deep pain and condemns you to live in misery, I give you this, my love, for your love: the blood boiling in my veins. If the supplier of these mystical troubles forces a man to drag long chains, I swear to drag by the black and endless seas of my sorrows."
Guantanamera refers to a woman from Guantanamo, the southeastern-most region of the island of Cuba. 'Guajira' means a peasant-woman, thus the refrain refers to a peasant woman from Guantanamo, asking for liberty for the people. The lyrics continue: "I am an honest man from where the palm tree grows; and before I die, I want to release my soul's poetry. My verse is of pale green and of flaming crimson; my verse is as a wounded stag that seeks sanctuary in the woods. I know of one profound sorrow among the nameless tragedies: the slavery of human beings is the great tragedy of the world! With the humble of the earth I want to cast my lot; a mountain stream means more to me than the ocean."
In Canada, the indigenous population is known collectively as the First Nations. From the Mi'kmaq people of Canada's Atlantic provinces, the Mi'kmaq Honour Song is an invocation and celebration of the Creator. This song weaves a vocal chant (in no particular language) among the sounds of nature, including the whisper of the wind, the cry of the loon, other bird calls, an owl, a chipmunk, and a wolf.
A Swahili song, Ni Jina Gani, is in the style of a "pambio," used at special gatherings such as weddings or funerals. Composed in the Kwaya music tradition of Tanzania, it features a Swahili call and response, a style often echoed in African-American music.
Toto's Africa brings us full circle – maybe full spiral: a U.S. rock band's song about Africa in a quintessentially American genre with deep roots in African music. Inspired by the droughts in Africa in the early 80s, the band at one point didn't think the song was good enough; Africa was almost left off the Toto IV recording. As one band member put it, "That tells you what can happen when we [think we can] pick our own singles!"
Program notes by Jesse Buddington
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Joyce Keil
Artistic Director
Ragazzi Boys Chorus
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