Well then, this is bound to be the most informed review you’ll ever read. It being the job of critics – one of the jobs, anyway – of introducing, and explaining, to people works that they may not have otherwise encountered (although with music criticism this is less often seen than with film or theatre), inevitably there are moments in time when a critic may have all the enthusiasm in the world for a certain group, but not know the slightest thing about them. Such is the case with the Soweto Gospel Choir.
The foyer of the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House had many things for us, dear readers, to peruse in it, on the night I made my way there. There was, for instance, a stall selling CDs, T-Shirts, and other general merchandise. There was also, somewhat unexpectedly, a World Vision stall, trying to get people to sponsor children in dire poverty. (I say ‘dire poverty’ as if there’s any other type, for one when compares one’s own lack of funds – not getting enough pocket money to buy all the video games I wanted when I was a kid, for instance – to the lack of resources that World Vision makes one aware of, one realises how debased the word ‘poverty’ has become in this society of ours.)
What there wasn’t, however, was any program for sale. Nor were there any programs to be snatched from an usher as we walked into the Concert Hall. Nor were there any programs on our seats. I am, in general, a big fan of programs, and so I am always anxious when – on the very, very few occasions it happens – there are none to be had, especially when I’m to be reviewing the show in question. The Soweto Gospel Choir hailing from South Africa, and having a repertoire that includes a lot of traditional songs, songs that therefore weren’t in English, songs that were introduced by members of the choir as merely ‘traditional songs,’ one had as such very little idea what on earth was going on. My notes on the concert – for point of reference – have 24 songs being sung, and 16 of them have question marks where a title (or a snatch of the lyrics for me to look up later) should be.
But who needs precision when you have general warmth! What the concert was, was a panoply of colour, of movement, of joyful sounds and heart-uplifting wonder. It didn’t matter that I had no idea what was being sung for the most part – and neither did the rest of the audience, many of whom, from the conversations I heard around me, were great fans of the Choir’s work on YouTube. What mattered was the undeniable energy that radiated from the stage, whether it was through the superb choral voices, or the soloists themselves (although I think virtually everyone in the choir had their moment in the spotlight) or the manic dancing (slightly weird in parts to Western eyes, but difference keeps things exciting, after all).
Of course, there’s always a fly in the ointment, and as it was a very communal concert, there was the inevitable ‘everybody stand up and clap along!’ moment, which, as any regular reader would realise, falls under the category of ‘public displays of rhythm’ that this critic is loath to participate in, yet has to, because to stay seated while everyone else is standing would be even worse. But perhaps one needs a bit of the sour to make the sweet that much sweeter, and there was certainly a lot of sugary goodness to be had, including songs such as ‘This Little Light of Mine’, ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’, ‘In the Arms of an Angel’, and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’. Most of these were accompanied by a band – though sometimes it was only two drummers, and sometimes it was completely a cappella. The costumes were bright greens and purples and blues and oranges, and a marvel to look at. And the audience was more than appreciative of everything they saw, screaming out ‘more, more!’ to get their dessert.
Encore the first was ‘Amen’, which was quite a fitting song for an encore, in my very humble opinion, but was slightly marred when a second encore, ‘O Happy Day’ was had. I’m not entirely sure about the etiquette, but putting a P.S. at the end of a prayer (‘Amen’) probably isn’t exactly de rigueur, but ‘O Happy Day’ is such a fun song that they got away with it. All in all, this concert was a veritable guarana-boost for the soul, and can’t be recommended enough.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Soweto Gospel Choir
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
14 March
