Neo Muyanga, Emthini we Mbumba internationaal kamermuziekfestival Tivoli

Eind vorig jaar (30 december) is de wereldpremière van het nieuwe werk ‘Emthini we Mbumba’ van onze resident Neo Muyanga uitgevoerd in TivoliVredenburg tijdens het Internationaal Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht. De Zuid-Afrikaanse componist/filosoof heeft dit nieuwe werk voor strijkkwartet en stemmen geschreven in opdracht van het IKFU. Met dit werk boort hij een diepere laag aan over de invloed van onze koloniale geschiedenis en de rol van migratie. Emthini we Mbumba gaat over het samenkomen, welke verschillende perspectieven we ook met ons meenemen. Voor Neo was het van groot belang dat drie verschillende vrouwenstemmen de muziek zouden vertolken: klassiek geschoold, maar met kennis van de Zuid-Afrikaanse muziek, jazz en hedendaags. De Zuid-Afrikaanse Ashley Stapelfeldt is een van deze zangeressen, zij vertelt hoe zij het heeft ervaren om Neo’s muziek te zingen in een kort interview met ons.
Emthini we Mbumba is a Zulu phrase that means, ‘at the tree of our gathering’. In previous times, a grand old tree would invariably be one of the most important landmarks at the centre of an African village – the place that the local community has earmarked for staging communal gatherings and performing collective rituals.
Under the tree is a neutral terrain reserved for resolving any community disputes that may have occurred, or the perfect environment to mark auspicious moments in the life of the community such as weddings, graduations, and funerals.
It is a place to hold discussions on matters of law and justice, for instance. Or perhaps where the village school is located during the day, operated under its grand shade, to gain protection from the singeing noon sun.
Later on, at evening time, it may be the place where village gossip comes to find effusive, easy circulation. Or where young lovers come to flirt.
Under the tree is a place of belonging for each and every member of the community. A place where citizens gather to express their views on a shared existence and to expose themselves to the contrasting views of others.
I was inspired to compose this new work that is to be premiered on this occasion while thinking about how we, in South Africa, might attempt to describe the historic moment we are transiting through currently.
2024 has marked the 30th anniversary of our maturing democracy – South Africa held its very first democratic vote in 1994.
Now, three decades on, this seems a fair moment to reflect on how far we have come. Having personally lived first under the system of apartheid and then through our historic transition to political freedom, I am in awe of the profound shifts in social relations we have jointly enacted – our society now enshrines the right of everyone to enjoy free movement, autonomy, and fair treatment before the law, regardless of their race, their gender, or their bank balance.
The heights our society has scaled over these three decades have been nothing short of immense. Yet we still have much work to do.
South Africa remains plagued by grossly high income inequality – one of the most iniquitous in the world – and, therefore, the country continues to suffer the social ills which correlate with this social reality.
Reflecting on our state of affairs has led me to admit that there is much about our systemic gridlock that we still need to dismantle. To do this effectively, we need to become better innovators and consummate collaborators. We need diverse voices and capacities to enter into a conducive call-and-response together that permits us to reach well beyond our own parochial confines.
The historic ties between the Netherlands and South Africa have been informed by much strife, particularly during the colonial period. And although relations between our peoples can be said to have normalized substantially, I suspect we also need to enact a deeper recalibration of how we collaborate and exchange across various dimensions – be they cultural, social, or otherwise.
Therefore, our joint presentation of this new work today represents, for me, an expression of just such collaboration across national and continental boundaries.
This is an invitation: let us imagine better together. Let us (re)produce and share more possibilities of proper belonging for everyone under the nourishing and vast shade of our communal tree.
I am elated to have visited the beautiful city of Utrecht over the past years, thanks to the generous hosting of Residenties in Utrecht, and now am highly honored to have received an invitation from the Internationaal Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht to offer this as a contribution to this year’s edition.
I am also deeply proud and grateful to have this new work presented to you by such incredible performers.
Enjoy!
Neo Muyanga,
December 24, Cape Town
You have been educated in classical music which is wonderful! Now you did this piece of Neo Muyanga which is a very different style, A combination of South African music, Jazz and Classical. You were specifically asked to take part in this piece of this South African composer, because he wanted to work with an artist who is also South African. This so the artist could understand the meaning of his piece. How did you as an Artist with South African roots experience this?
It was an honour for me to be asked to work on this project, both as a South African (who had the opportunity to work with a South African composer) and as a musician who was able to perform a piece of new music for the first time.
Before your first rehearsal on this piece you had an online meeting with the composer Neo Muyanga. We came to understand that you normally perform pieces of composers that have died already centuries ago, so this was a first for you. How was it to talk with a composer about his vision on the piece you were going to perform?
(On a personal level) I love hearing artists speak about their work; it’s always inspiring to me because I get to learn about their artistic process and gain a deeper understanding of the work itself. Oftentimes, I look at a piece of music that I may be working on, and outside of/in addition to the conventions of the music and the expectations of how it should be written – I sometimes wonder about why the composer/writer chose to create the work in a specific way, or what motioned them to make certain artistic choices. Speaking with composer Neo Muyanga was special because we were given extensive insight to the piece and his artistic choices. The conversation was also special because when he spoke, he reminded me of cultural + musical history that I’d forgotten about but that still resonated with me ; during the time that he spoke I found myself saying (internally) “ah yes, this is true. Ah yes, I remember this from home (South Africa)”The conversation also felt liberating because he gave us the space to explore and have freedom when we performed the piece.
We are wondering what this experience did for you and if you would like to experiment more with different kinds of music styles because of this?
I was inspired by this experience: witnessing the beautiful music that composer Neo Muyanga has written reminded me that it’s also possible for me to create and share the work that I do. I would love to experiment more with different kinds of music.