Mans Choir „Umoya Munye“ is visiting Östringen (Germany) / Performance with the project choir under the direction of „Eva Buckman“
“If you want to walk speedy, walk alone. If you want to walk far away, walk together with others.”
This sentence is an African adage. Extremely far away from home have been the strong-voiced young men of the pan-African mans-choir “Umoya Munye” to take us with them on a journey of concerts. They started a two-hour acoustical and optical firework in the Catholic Church “Cäcilia” in Östringen and enthused the visitors with pure African feeling. 14 young men from Ghana and South-Africa, all in traditional clothing, formed a sounding body, which bonded all the visitors, also many kids, with rhythmic and spirited songs and delivered the African attitude of live in a singular manner on the stage. The head of the choir “Thabang Mokoena” comes from the Township “Ratanda”, which is a fringe area of “Heidelberg” near “Johannesburg” in South Africa and is regularly the head of the “Lesedi Show Choir”. The Ensemble from Ghana, the “Akoo Show Choir” is leaded by “Francis Baffoe”. Together – they are the “Umoya Munye”, what means something like “The same mind”.
On their concert tour through Germany, they are doing something which is normally not possible on the “black continent”: They perform together – so the head”Thabang Mokoena” and the “Lesedi Show Choir”. Only in this constellation they can shown the whole musical richness of the African Country.
The choir “Mokosheela” under the head of “Eva Buckman” - all the members of this choir are coming from “Östringen”, “Hambrücken” or “Bruchsal” - is building the Beginning of the concert in Östringen. “Eva Buckman” knows very much about the African culture – so she’s leading the choir.
“Samibonani” (which means “We want to say hello”), “Mmino” (which means “Music is the sense of life”), or “Hlonolofatsa”, are songs which are sung in the “Sotho” or in the “Zulu” speech, are affirming the richness on Spirituals and Gospels in Africa.
Afterwords the presenter “Alexander Bruder” announced the Choir “Umoya Munye”, which moved into the church together with “Mokosheela”, singing a song.
The Songs “Ahenfo Henno Orebo” (which means something like “The king is coming”) or “Kyere Me Kwan” (which means something like “Show me the way”) are songs from Ghana which are sung in the colourful speech, normally doesn’t need any translation. The music and the words are illimitable and are bounding the hearts and souls of the visitors.
That’s the reason why it is called “When we sing, the lions are quiet” in the sweeping play “Sa Rona Rebana”. Also “Baba Sikhelela” (which means something like “We honour our heroes and freedom fighters”), is one of these songs, which creates goose flash on our body, because it is a very extensive singing together with the spirit of Africa.
The acoustics of the Church is also underlining the African feeling in this concert.
At the end of the concert, the singers are including the visitors, which are dancing and singing in the middle of the Choir – the atmosphere is just exploding. Everywhere are only happy people, laughing and dancing.
It’s clear, that the drinks and music CDs, which the Choir is selling at the end of the concert, are sold out soon. Eva Buckman told us: “The young men from Africa are financing their tour on their own and are happy about every donation.”