Zimbe! Come sing the songs of Africa! is the 40-minute choral fusion of African song and jazz for SATB chorus, childrens choir and jazz quintet which established composer Alexander LEstranges name worldwide and spawned a hugely successful series of large-scale works for the same forces. The addition of the childrens choir provides an opportunity for adult or secondary school SATB choirs to team up with local primary school or youth choirs, bringing communities together through singing, something for which LEstrange has long been a passionate advocate.
The work opens and closes with an attention-grabbing Njooni Zimbe*! Nyimbo za Africa! imploring us to Come, sing the Songs of Africa!; by the time youve heard the vibrant sequence of twelve songs, which includes playground, wedding, funeral, drinking, protest, worship songs and lullabies, you will want to do just that. Zimbe! is the ideal piece for choirs who have enjoyed performing LEstranges Songs of a Rainbow Nation, works by Karl Jenkins or David Fanshawes African Sanctus. (* Zimbe is the anglicised version of the Swahili word Ziimbe)
Conductors score and band parts available for hire (contact: hire@fabermusic.com); Childrens rehearsal CD available on request; SATB part-learning CDs available; Childrens choral part available as sheet music download. Ideal for projecting or printing copies. Full CD also available.
