Balisa

‘Balisa’ was published in Morija, Lesotho in 1955 as song No. 2 of 29 songs by various composers in Hosanna: Lipina tsa Kereke (Hosanna: Church Songs), a collection of songs that celebrates the major Christian festivals, especially Christmas and Easter. The part writing in Balisa is technically more complex than anything Mohapeloa had written thus far, with imitative treatment of the opening motif, including diminution. This might reflect what he learnt suring his part-time studies in the Music Department at the University of the Witwatersrand in the early 1940s. The style of writing gives effect to the story of the angels telling the shepherds the good tidings, through frequently overlapping phrases and high notes. The text is adapted from the New Testament Gospel According to St. Luke chapter 2, verses 8-12.