“Bridge the chasms that divide” – 30 years since the fall of apartheid in South Africa
The time for the healing of the wounds has come.
The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us.
—Nelson Mandela, Presidential inauguration, 10th May 1994
Thrirty years later, President Mandela’s words ring as true as when he spoke them at his inauguration as South Africa‘s new president, following the country‘s first free and fair elections in April 1994.
A sense of shared cultures has been central to the process of reconciliation and healing in post-apartheid South Africa, and the ideal of a “rainbow nation” has been a lasting inspiration to the global community.
The Signum Quartet celebrates this “glorious human achievement” and the conflicts contained therein by inviting some of South Africa‘s most original and powerful voices to reflect on their own experiences and journeys before and after 1994, weaving a rich musical tapestry as diverse as the country itself.
Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world.
Let freedom reign.
The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement! God bless Africa!
The Signum Quartet has asked the following composers to contribute to “bridge the chasms that divide”:
Abel Selaocoe
Denise Onen
Lise Morrison
Njabulo Phungula
Monthati Masebe
Supported by the
Thandi Ntuli
Neo Muyanga
Dizu Plaatjies together with Matthijs van Dijk
The first part of the project will take place in Bremen as part of SIGNUM open space. Two of the composers will be in attendance: Dizu Plaatjies, a professor at the University of Cape Town and specialises in traditional African music, and Neo Muyanga from Soweto. This visit will focus on public rehearsals, a workshop/ lecture, and a concluding concert in Bremen. The composers’ lecture will not only deal with aspects of musical style, but will also shed light on the historical background to apartheid and its impact on life as a black composer in South Africa today. Dizu Plaatjies will also perform some of his compositions on traditional South African instruments.
On South African Freedom Day, 27 April 2024, exactly 30 years to the day after the first free and fair elections took place, this first part of the project will conclude with a concert at the Kulturkirche St. Stephani. Three of the commissioned compositions will be framed by Joseph Haydn’s “Lark Quartet” and the String Quartet in F major op 41 No. 2 by Robert Schumann.
The second part of the project will stretch from September to December 2024. This will include the premieres of the further compositions at the Boulezsaal in Berlin and at the Kölner Philharmonie, as well as a tour of South Africa and a recording of an album of the works at the Sendesaal in Bremen.
Project Goals
Racism, anti-Semitism, marginalisation and the discrimination of minorities are more topical than ever and are once again all too prevalent. Not to mention that the various branches of art have are being misused for (hate) propaganda.
The musicians of the Signum Quartet want to draw attention to the abuses of the past and present. It is a matter close to their hearts to hear the stories of composers who themselves suffered under the apartheid regime and to share them with their audiences in Bremen and around the world in a musical way. The four musicians see it as part of their artistic identity to address social issues and socio-cultural questions in concerts, here in relation to South Africa’s history, and in general. They want to use their own means to sensitise their audience to these issues. The new and/or previously rarely heard sound language is an important point of contact that helps to open up to the unfamiliar and create new (listening) experiences.
The main idealistic goals of the project are to recall the history of South Africa to people’s minds on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the end of apartheid and thus set an example. In addition, the quartet would like to focus on the diversity of South African music culture and contribute to the dissemination of this cultural wealth. It sees music as an ambassador and bridge builder between the present and the past, between habit and rediscovery.
The Signum Quartet thanks the sponsors and supporters of this project:
and the Heinz Peter und Annelotte Koch Stiftung
Monthati Masebe (b.1996): LEFA
commissioned by Signum Quartet with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation
2024
I am born free well so they say
I am Madiba’s dream
Born after apartheid with a promise
of ended racism, except…
That never came, many of my people were robbed of their hope and live in a world of heavy storms with no rainbows.
Extending this to the rampant physical, psychological
and spiritual wars/ conflicts of our time, I wrote this
piece to reflect on the many lives who walk through
rubble and debris that was once called home. The imprisoned minds still waiting for systemic rescue and a generation of deep thinkers who are
rising above
and taking a stand
For the
The silenced
voices and loudest silence.
For the call to heal collectively
Lefa- inheritance in Sesotho.
For many it is merely trauma and wounded souls that get passed down from generation to generation.
(Note by the composer)
Monthati Masebe at www.ensemble-recherche.de
Lise Morrison (b. 1988): Unfettered and Alive
Commissioned by and dedicated to the Signum Quartet for “bridge the chasms that divide”
Made possible with the generous contributions of Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation
Duration: approximately 7 minutes
‘Unfettered and alive’ – titled after Joni Mitchell’s ‘Free Man in Paris’ – is a string quartet in five movements, composed in
celebration of three decades of democracy in South Africa.
Inspired by Gordimer and Krog’s end-of-Apartheid stories of redemption, remorse, resonance, massive change, deep pain, and humanity, with words “exhaled from the heart… each syllable vibrates with a lifetime of sorrow”.
The five short movements are:
1. Unfettered
2. Skull of my country
3. The heaven was hard…
4. …and it did not rain
5. Turn
(Note by the composer)
Neo Muyanga (b.1974): eMthini we Mbumba
for String Quartet
uMthi is the mythical Big Tree under which generations of South Africans have gathered to come to terms.
Whether these be settlements of long-standing conflicts, negotiations over new compromises or the securing of new bonds, the big tree always proffers equal amounts of shade, relief and protection to all who visit.
This work imagines the high and low moves involved in processes of settlement-making.
Enduring such processes appears to be a skill in short supply of late. Perhaps it always was scarce? And yet our time calls for the courage to withstand the many difficulties involved in coming to terms which are of benefit to all who seek a new, more just way. (Note by the composer)
Thandi Ntuli (b. 1987): “In the land where she is king”
In the land where she is king is a piece inspired by a book I am reading by Dr. Mathole Motshekga called:
THE MUDJADJI DYNASTY
The Principles of Female Leadership in African Cosmology
It speaks to the link between various ancient African Kingdoms, their organization of society and the societal values of balance and harmony thatwere prevelant therein.
This piece is my imagined iteration of what a society may be with a valuing of the feminine/maternal force and principles.
I imagine it as a society that would not downplay the importance of women, that would be more nurtured and therefore see people display greater kindness and respect towards their fellow man. A society where work, rest and play would be valued equally for their role and balance would be restored. A land that values the diversity of individuals and communities without the hyper-individualistic nature of today’s world. (Note by the composer)
Denise Onen (b. 1995): Demockracy – for String Quartet and Tape
commissioned by the Signum Quartet with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation
‘Demockracy” plays on the words ‘democracy’, ‘mockery’ and ‘demo,’ reflecting on our current state of governance and the enduring inequalities of post-apartheid South Africa.” The title further inspires the piece’s three-part structure: Demockary, A Demo in Crazy, and Democracy – with hope inbetween.
The tape segment weaves together speeches and pivotal moments from South African history. Drawing on voices of presidents like de Klerk, Mandela, Mbeki, Zuma, Ramaphosa, and others who frequent media reports, to capture the nation’s ongoing struggles and resilience —from Marikana and the Fallist movements to Nkandla and loadshedding.
The first section, Demockary, explores the ideals of freedom and the seeds of hope sown in the early days of democracy. This is followed by A Demo in Crazy, an uncomfortable reflection on the realities of injustices and that it takes decades to (re)build on a broken foundation. The final section, Democracy, is a personal reflection on shared ideals as someone born into post-apartheid South Africa, asking: how can we build a better future?
As we listen in the present to the past, let us imagine what makes a possible shared universal future. (Note by the composer)
Score Editor: Matthew Pratt
Njabulo Phungula (b. 1993): from the threads of our tears a dance is woven
commissioned by the Signum Quartet with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation
2024
The work’s title is perhaps a decent summation of what I hoped to illustrate through this music. I wanted to allude to the seemingly jubilant nature of South Africa’s collective trauma response. Our expression of our pain can read to those unfamiliar as unusually jubilant, whether this is in the context of struggle (or protest) songs or our boundless dark humour. My piece from the threads of our tears a dance is woven begins with a mournful music of wails and cries which defines the first half of the work. Out of this, emerges the work’s second half which is a more upbeat and dance-like music. Whilst I do not quote any struggle song either in material or style, I created this work as musical snapshot of one aspect of our nation’s personality. (Note by the composer)
Dizu Plaatjies (b. 1959) with Matthijs van Dijk: “21:30”
In “21:30”, Dizu Plaatjies has chosen three of his songs, two for mouth bow (umrhubhe) and one for uhadi, which Matthijs van Dijk (b. 1983) has adapted and arranged for string quartet in consultation with Plaatjies. The title is a tribute to Plaatjies’ paternal grandfather, who lived to be 112, and who, like Plaatjies’ father, was a traditional healer as well as a member of the Catholic Church. He predicted his own passing to the minute, and on the day that this was to happen, he was up at dawn, working in the garden. His family did not want to believe that this could be the day, and that night, the grandfather gathered his family around his bed, chatting animatedly until 21:30, at which moment he pulled the blankets over his head and was no more.
This work was commissioned by the Signum Quartet for their project “bridge the chasms that divide”, which marks 30 years since the fall of apartheid in South Africa. It was premiered in a version for quintet on South African Freedom Day 2024, with Dizu Plaatjies performing together with the Signum Quartet. (Note by Xandi van Dijk after Dizu Plaatjies)
Dizu Plaatjies on Wikipedia
www.mattvandijk.com
Abel Selaocoe (b. 1992): Umthwalo
commissioned by Signum Quartet with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation