2009/09/02
IF HANDS COULD SING

If hands could sing, their vocal chords would be situated in the fingers of Swiss harpist, Andreas Vollenweider.

After a much anticipated wait, as Vollenweider entered the stage the Mbira rose and welcomed the harpists with applause.
Noticing that the once loud crowd had fallen to his enchanted blanket of silence, and concentration the gifted man played as though putting the crowd under a spell. Vollenweider woke the gods from their slumber and graced our ears with his famous song titled, Behind the Gardens- Behind the Wall- Under the Trees which broke the crowd’s shackles of silence. Coming from one of Vollenweider’s earlier albums, this song portrayed the artist’s natural skill.

What characterizes this artist’s music is its mystical aura, its ability to make the human mind escape and take a journey and it possess a sense of storytelling.

Vollenweider’s relationship with the harp is portrayed through his delicate hand movements. It also seems as though the harp becomes the artist’s voice, projecting passion and provoking the imagination. Though ancient, what was fascinating about this performance was the way in which Vollenweider was able to use the harp together with a fusion of new age sounds.

The supernatural sound of the harpist was suddenly interrupted by the rhythmical sounds of a young lady who Vollenweider calls, ‘the human beat box girl’, it was this that brought much familiarity to my young ears and to my surprise the jazz-matured ears received her with open arms. The young musician was given the opportunity to explore her talent and display her amazing breathing techniques and also her intonation as she became the percussion set for the heavenly sound.
This collaboration introduced a more revolutionized sound to the classics of the harpist, breaking into an unfamiliar territory.

Vollenweider was also joined by world African sensation, Pops Mohammad who infused an African element, through playing a variety of traditional African instruments.

Multi-instrumentalist, Daniel Kuffer also joined the array of sound, showing off his multi-talents. Kuffer portrayed brilliant technique on the wind instruments.

The touch of magic was the introduction of the unrecorded South African trio, Africapella, who presented a Ladysmith Black Mambazo inspired sound. The night ended with a collaboration of Vollenweider and his friends, depicting world class musical technique, brilliant intonation of a variety of sounds and the flexibility of music, creating a tapestry of music.

Issued for:
T Musicman

Issued by:
Lesego S Motshegwa

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