Siu Bo Sele

Following the previous songs in Mohapeloa’s 2nd songbook, which are about the sky clearing after a storm, or African nations waking up to their potential for independence, this one is literally about the early morning. It might be seen as a companion piece to ‘Ha Bo E-sa’ (At the Crack of Dawn) (JPM013). Such songs remind us that Lesotho is predominantly a rural country and that the composer grew up very close to nature and to the rhythms of the day and the seasons. The rising sun is portrayed by a rising imitative musical figure in a 7-bar slow introduction, and the crowing of the cocks represented by a syncopated rhythm in the fast main section, while the slow-fast opening is quite unusual in Mohapeloa. Perhaps all these features owe something to 18th-century styles of music with which he was familiar. The periodic very low Bass notes, on the other hand are reminiscent of Basotho men’s folk music.