“Sheer joy and love emanates from their beings.” – Paul SimonPORTSMOUTH—
The Music Hall, the landmark Victorian theatre in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire will be welcoming South African musical group Ladysmith Black Mambazo to the stage on Friday, March 4, 2011 at 8 p.m. For more than 40 years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has married the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. The result is a musical and spiritual alchemy that has touched a worldwide audience representing every corner of the religious, cultural and ethnic landscape. Their musical efforts have garnered praise within the recording industry, but also solidified their identity as a cultural force to be reckoned with.
Assembled in the early 1960s in South Africa by Joseph Shabalala – then a young farmboy turned factory worker – the group took the name Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Ladysmith being the name of Shabalala’s rural hometown; Black being a reference to oxen, the strongest of all farm animals; and Mambazo being the Zulu word for axe, a symbol of the group’s vocal ability to “chop down” all things in their path. Their collective voices were so tight and their harmonies so polished that they were eventually banned from competitions – although they were welcome to participate strictly as entertainers.
According to Therese LaGamma, Programming Manager and Curatorial Associate, “Ladysmith Black Mambazo is back by popular demand - their live performances do not disappoint and will have you wanting to kick off your shoes and dance!”
Ladysmith Black Mambazo will perform at The Music Hall on Friday, March 4, 2011 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $38; $26. FMI: 603-436-2400 or www.themusichall.org.
Photo caption: South African musical group Ladysmith Black Mambazo comes to The Music Hall on Friday, March 4. (Photo by Lulis Leal, courtesy www.mambazo.com)
The Music Hall, the landmark Victorian theatre in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire will be welcoming South African musical group Ladysmith Black Mambazo to the stage on Friday, March 4, 2011 at 8 p.m. For more than 40 years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has married the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. The result is a musical and spiritual alchemy that has touched a worldwide audience representing every corner of the religious, cultural and ethnic landscape. Their musical efforts have garnered praise within the recording industry, but also solidified their identity as a cultural force to be reckoned with.
Assembled in the early 1960s in South Africa by Joseph Shabalala – then a young farmboy turned factory worker – the group took the name Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Ladysmith being the name of Shabalala’s rural hometown; Black being a reference to oxen, the strongest of all farm animals; and Mambazo being the Zulu word for axe, a symbol of the group’s vocal ability to “chop down” all things in their path. Their collective voices were so tight and their harmonies so polished that they were eventually banned from competitions – although they were welcome to participate strictly as entertainers.
According to Therese LaGamma, Programming Manager and Curatorial Associate, “Ladysmith Black Mambazo is back by popular demand - their live performances do not disappoint and will have you wanting to kick off your shoes and dance!”
Ladysmith Black Mambazo will perform at The Music Hall on Friday, March 4, 2011 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $38; $26. FMI: 603-436-2400 or www.themusichall.org.
Photo caption: South African musical group Ladysmith Black Mambazo comes to The Music Hall on Friday, March 4. (Photo by Lulis Leal, courtesy www.mambazo.com)
