Hippo Man
Fanshawe recording Bwala dancers
Masai Girl
0W-153 Choir.JPG

  • “Afro-Latin, tribal choral masterpiece.” - The Observer

  • “A work of pure vitality and excitement in which two distinct worlds meet.” - The Australian

  • "AFRICAN SANCTUS is a highly original work in which very different cultures have been imaginatively and ingeniously fused. The music is as fresh today as it was when first heard in 1972 and its message of peace, goodwill and understanding between nations just as relevant." - Sir David Willcocks

  • “Fanshawe’s Sanctus, electrifying, stirring.” - South Africa, Pretoria News

  • “These performances have the size and feel of a millennium turning event. The significance of AFRICAN SANCTUS hardly stops at its being a symbolic meeting of two worlds. The work deeply engages its audiences... AFRICAN SANCTUS has infact become an unintentional Requiem.” - Philadelphia Inquirer

  • "The effect was spellbinding and won an ovation from a capacity audience." - London Times, (Royal Albert Hall)

  • “A very engrossing, musically rewarding piece.” - Washington Post

  • “Throughout AFRICAN SANCTUS, Fanshawe provides… effective juxtaposition of African music and his own choruses the humanity and reverence we share with the Africans who Fanshawe recorded shines through... an uplifting piece… exhilarating with its strong rhythmic drive.“- Register Guard, Eugene, Oregon

  • "Mass meets Maasai - majestically ecofriendly." - Melbourne Age

  • "Literally unique, both in conception and completion." - Antony Hopkins, BBC Radio 3

  • “I have performed in innumerable ways over the past fifty years in both music and drama. “AFRICAN SANCTUS” was, however, the most deeply moving and fulfilling of any performance in which I have ever been involved.” - Choir Member

  • “It seems clear that Fanshawe was inspired to write this work in the belief that music unites us and builds bridges, not only between cultures but, with the increasing passage of time, between our shared present and our shared past.” - Paul Gray, Birmingham Symphony Hall, 2022

  • “I heard David’s AFRICAN SANCTUS at the age of 13 and was so deeply moved by it. His music opened up a world to me, literally and he left us with the most perfect LORDS PRAYER which 30 years later moves me still.” - Ruthie Henshall, 2010

 

History

Musical Overview

Technical Details

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African Sanctus

African Sanctus is a universal work whose impact is immediate and whose message is simple. The driving force is one of praise and a firm belief in One Music - One God. It informs both listener and performer about African music and its relationship to Western polyphony, and captures the eternal and spiritual soul of music. Performed live all over the world, it is an aural, visual and multi-cultural event, a celebration of power and energy.  For David Fanshawe there are no musical barriers.

The work is an unorthodox setting of the Latin Mass harmonised with traditional African music recorded by the composer on his legendary journeys up the River Nile (1969-73). The taped music from Egypt, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya is heard in counterpoint with the live chorus, soprano soloist and instrumental ensemble.  The thirteen movements reflect the geography of the composer’s cross-shaped pilgrimage.

The Sanctus Journey

The Sanctus journey, from the Mediterranean to Lake Victoria, and from the mountains of West Sudan to the Red Sea, became the framework of the composition - a symbolic cross-shaped pilgrimage.

Armed with one rucksack and a stereo tape recorder, David Fanshawe succeeded in recording music from well over fifty tribes. He achieved a close rapport with many local communities and they gave permission for their performances to be specially recorded.

The African Sanctus journeys were sponsored by the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

History

African Sanctus (originally known as African Revelations) was first performed by the Saltarello Choir in July 1972 at St. John's Smith Square, London, and later broadcast on BBC Radio on United Nations Day. In 1974, BBC Television's 'Omnibus' made a documentary film of African Sanctus on location in North and East Africa. This film, directed by Herbert Chappell and nominated for the 'Prix Italia', was first screened on Easter Day, 1975, and coincided with the release of the original Philips recording. The African Sanctus score was first published in 1977 and premiere performances were given in Toronto, at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester Cathedral (1978) and at the Royal Albert Hall (1979), conducted by Sir David Willcocks. Since then the work has gained steady momentum in the choral repertoire and hundreds of live performances have taken place worldwide, notably:

  • The South African Broadcasting Choir in Johannesburg

  • The Los Angeles Master Chorale conducted by Roger Wagner

  • The Sydney Philharmonia Choir, Sydney Opera House

  • Nairobi Choral Society, Kenya

  • The Paul Hill Chorale at the Kennedy Centre, Washington

  • The Commonwealth Arts Festival, Usher Hall, Edinburgh

  • International Choral Competition, Liszt Academy, Budapest

  • Danish National Radio Choir, Copenhagen

  • The Bach Choir, for VSO, Royal Festival Hall, London

  • Carnegie Hall, New York

  • Taipei Philharmonic Hall, Taiwan

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In 1994, when producing the new Silva Classics recording (Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Choristers of St George's Chapel, Windsor, conducted by Neville Creed), David Fanshawe composed an additional movement, Dona Nobis Pacem - A Hymn for World Peace, which completed the Agnus Dei. Using this new recording, BBC TV commissioned Herbert Chappell to make a further film, African Sanctus Revisited, which contrasts the original Sanctus journey with live performance, providing stirring and poignant images of Africa today, and projecting the global relevance of a work that has become a landmark in our musical lives.

1997 marked the 25th anniversary of the first performance of African Revelations and performances that year included ACDA, American Choral Directors' National Convention and the Bach Choir's tour of South Africa. By popular demand, selections from African Sanctus (Sanctus, Kyrie, Et In Spiritum Sanctum, The Lord's Prayer and Dona Nobis Pacem) were published as single sheets.

African Sanctus now appears on many educational syllabuses, including GCSE and the International Baccalaureate. Fanshawe's stunning African photographs are frequently used to augment performances, and the work is often accompanied by dancers.

The work has also been performed at many international festivals, and educational and fund raising events, including Orlando's Regional ACDA (Master Chorale of Tampa Bay), Europa Cantata, and premieres in Zimbabwe, Brazil, Taiwan, Denmark, Israel, Switzerland, Newfoundland Spain, Germany and Hong Kong.

Movements

  1. AFRICAN SANCTUS
    Acholi Bwala dance, North Uganda

  2. KYRIE: CALL TO PRAYER
    Mu'azzin from the Muhammad Ali Mosque, Cairo

  3. GLORIA: BRIDE OF THE NILE
    Egyptian wedding, Luxor
    Islamic prayer school, East Sudan

  4. CREDO: SUDANESE DANCES
    Courtship dances, Kiata trumpet dance
    Koranic recitations, Marra mountains

  5. LOVE SONG: PIANO SOLO
    Hadandua cattle boy with Bazenkop harp
    Desert bells, East Sudan

  6. ET IN SPIRITUM SANCTUM
    Frogs, Zande refugees of South Sudan

  7. CRUCIFIXUS: RAIN SONG
    Dingi Dingi dance, rains & thunder
    "Rain Song" by Latigo Oteng, Uganda

  8. SANCTUS: BWALA DANCE
    Bunyoro madinda xylophone
    Acholi Bwala dance, Uganda

  9. THE LORD'S PRAYER
    Lamentation, Lake Kyoga, Uganda
    The Offertory (in English)

  10. CHANTS
    Masai milking song, Kenya
    Song of the river, Karamoja, Uganda
    Turkana cattle song, Luo ritual burial dance, Kenya

  11. AGNUS DEI
    Hadandua war drums in the desert, Sudan

  12. CALL TO PRAYER: KYRIE (reprise)
    Mu'azzin from the Muhammad Ali Mosque, Cairo

  13. FINALE & GLORIA
    Acholi Bwala dance, North Uganda


    DONA NOBIS PACEM (optional)
    A Hymn for World Peace (short or long version)

 
 

Text of the composed music taken from the Latin Mass and Anglican Liturgy (The Lord's Prayer).
Field recordings made by the composer in Egypt, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya (1969-73).

Instruments

SCORED FOR:

Operatic Soprano Solo
Choir (SATB)
Piano
African Tape
Percussion (2 or 3 players)

 
 

Timpani
Bass Drum (large)
Congas (1 pair)
Bongos (1 pair)
3 Tenor drums
2 Suspended cymbals
Tam tam (large)
Tom Tom

OPTIONAL INSTRUMENTS:

Lead guitar (amplified)
Bass guitar (amplified)
Drum kit
Additional drummers for improv
Additional drums, gongs & tambourine

For The Lord’s Prayer:

Light/Gospel Soprano
Children’s Choir
Electric organ/keyboard

 
 

VISUAL EFFECTS:

Dance group
Original Fanshawe images available for hire

A performance of African Sanctus should ideally include the optional elements, but where resources are limited the work may be performed without them.

AMPLIFICATION:

Soloist and piano should he amplified.
Amplification of the choir is also usually necessary, especially in a large venue.

ENCORE:

David Fanshawe suggests The Lord's Prayer and/or Sanctus Finale & Gloria

DURATION

Without interval: approximately 1 hour

 

Technical Requirements

 

SOUND BOARD

Minimum 24 track desk (see Platform layout guide below).
The mixing console / sound desk should be centrally placed, in order to obtain the best stereo listening position, as recommended by your engineer, in accord with the facilities available.

SPEAKERS

Aim to have 2 main stereo speaker stacks on stage left and stage right, hooked up to side and overhead or rear speakers in order to bathe the audience in wonderful sound, as an aural experience.

Warning: Speakers should provide a full frequency range for music amplification, with no distortion.

HEADPHONES

Two pairs of headphones - for the conductor and drum kit player - are essential. We recommend the quality of the Sony Professional MDR/7506 dynamic stereo headphones, that enclose the ear fully.

  • Conductor: must have separate volume control with prefade of African tape only.

  • Drum Kit: : must have separate volume control with prefade of the African tape only.

Note: Some experienced percussion players also like to have a feed of the African tape in their own headphones.

MICROPHONES

  • Choir: 4-8 mics, as high as possible, angled at the choir so that their natural sound can be enhanced to match the level of the African tapes. The choir mics could also be suspended (flown). Note: the choir sound usually has no reverb, but in an outdoor venue, it is worth experimenting.

  • Children's choir: 2-3 mics, no reverb

  • Soprano solo: 1 mic, extra sensitive, suitable for operatic & close mic styles

  • Piano: 2 mics, in stereo, HI and LO, for this key instrument

  • Lead & bass guitars: (DI) Direct Injection into sound desk. Note: both instruments need to have some working stage sound from their own amplifiers (the less the better)

  • Drum kit: minimum 3 mics, 1 in kick drum, and 2 overheads

  • Percussion 1 & 2: suggest mics on the following, especially in outdoor or large venues:
    Timpani (2 mics); 3 Tenor drums (1 mic); Congas/Bongos/ Sus. Cymbal (1 mic); Bass drum/ Tam-tam (1 mic); Ethnic/ Other (1 mic)

  • Organ/electric synthesiser (if used) DI into sound board.

  • Lapel mic for pre-concert talk (optional)

MONITORS (FOLD BACK)

  • 4 stage monitors - choir to hear piano (essential) and soprano solo (prefade) and African tape (postfade)

  • 1 stage monitor - piano to hear African tape (postfade)

  • 1 stage monitor - soloist to hear herself, piano and tape (postfade)

  • 1-2 stage monitors - percussion area to hear African tape (postfade)

DAT Machine

Standard of Sony PCM2700A (not a portable). This will be the primary playback machine for the pre-recorded African tape

LIGHTING (optional, as desired for performance)

Back up CD player

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