On Thurday 6th May the day of the UK general election Southbank Centre plays host to a very special event called REwind.
REwind – A Cantata for Voice, Tape & Testimony combines vocal soloists, chorus, and string octet with stunning projected images to celebrate the human spirit in South Africa that rose above the horror and evil of the deeds that were committed in the name of Apartheid.
Composer Philip Miller has endeavored to express in music the South African spirit as it manifested itself during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings that began in East London, South Africa in 1996. The songs in REwind, which mix operatic and traditional South African styles, are built around actual testimonies and weave recorded audio samples from the hearings into the music. The physical environment, designed by Gerhard Marx, creates a visual context that illuminates the full power of the cantata. Through the use of ingeniously animated projections of photographs and text the testimonies literally take form, enveloping the chorus on stage. And as the words and images settle onto the everyday world, the spaces between the victim and transgressor, those who deliver testimony and those who listen, merge.
REwind is a work with no real parallel: both an extraordinary piece of music and digital art and a historical document with tremendous topical relevance. Above all, it is a commemoration of the dignity of those victims who suffered under the regime.
‘An enduring masterpiece of diverse choral musical, cultural and oral traditions.’
- The Star, South Africa
‘The Cantata brought together the cry of our country – our pain and fears, our hopes and especially our triumphs and joys – in the way we as South Africans can best express these emotions – in music and song. It was a deeply moving, most powerful and uplifting experience. It is so much more than a concert. It is a wonderful vehicle for telling our history and a contribution to nation building.’
- Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus
Book tickets for this one-off concert at Royal Festival Hall here.
Filed under: Royal Festival Hall, Vocal | 1 Comment »
