keesan
|
|
response 50 of 53:
| 
Dec 10 03:42 UTC 2005 |
Jim and I sang in the choir at St. Thomas for a few years, and I think I know
what you mean about 'modern' pieces. We had some extremely boring ones (about
2-3 notes per part) where they stressed the text and the music was an
afterthought.
My piano teacher now has 3 students, one of whom is not going to play at the
recital, and the other teacher probably has 2-3, and my teacher is bringing
cookies and I might bring my young neighbors, one of whom is 6 and wants to
learn flute. She decided I should play my piece slower so I would get the
notes right. Bach did not specify tempo. I am supposed to wear dry shoes.
I once sang Khachaturian with the Boston Symphony. None of us understood a
word of it. Any idea what African language it might be - Swahili?
|
kingjon
|
|
response 51 of 53:
|
Dec 10 04:01 UTC 2005 |
No, unfortunately, by "modern" I often mean music that sounds like
the composer said "I'll make it ugly just because I can."
The African piece might be in Swahili, but I'm not sure. The title of the
piece is "O Sifuni Mungu," if that helps.
|
keesan
|
|
response 52 of 53:
|
Dec 10 04:29 UTC 2005 |
Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Na mfalme wetu
Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Na mfalme wetu
Pazeni sauti ili nasi mwimbe
Pazeni sauti ili nasi mwimbe...
-- First Call, "O Sifuni Mungu"
Heh. You're probably wondering what the above means in English. Good
question, 'cuz I don't know. I do know that the language is Swahili,
and I also know that it's a brilliant song. I'm even beginning to be
able to sing it. :)
I'm going to stick my neck out, though, and attempt to translate it
based on stuff I can find. First, here are [42]the full lyrics to the
song.
I'm also going to search for some pages that are relevant... for
example, [43]Bonn fra Uganda, which helps me get off to a good start.
It tells me a number of things:
* "Mungu" is Swahili for "God".
* "Imbeni" is Swahili for "sing".
* "Bwana" is Swahili for "Lord" (although it's not used in this song)
So at least I know that the "Imbeni, imbeni!" bit means. :D
I'll let you know how I get on with translating it...
Another site gave all the words, and says it means 'All creatures of our
God and King' (in three words, don't know how). I got over 300 hits on
this song from Google.
|