Naleli Ka ’Ngoe

The words of Naleli Ka ‘Ngoe are by Bennett Makalo Khaketla, a leading Lesotho writer and political figure, several of whose poems Moerane set. As with so many of Moerane’s works, no information is available about when Naleli Ka ‘Ngoe was composed, or where. The slow tempo, dignified syllabic setting of the words and simple harmonic language seem almost ritualistic. They lay bare, somehow, the rather unfathomable message of the text, without interpreting it. The last two lines, Naleli ka n-ngoe e rata ho feta tse ling ka botle, boholo, ho khanya  (Each star seemed to move around others, to shine in its own beauty) sum up the feeling of remoteness that Khaketla’s poem so eloquently conveys. These lines also demonstrate the double ‘nn’ in Sesotho which is often abbreviated to ‘n. In order to help choirs learn this song, a free mp3 of the lyrics spoken by Mpho Ndebele is downloadable when the song is purchased along with a rehearsal mp3 of the song at a slow tempo.
Duration: 2’44”

The audio sample below was generated from the Sibelius file of the score and the image on the right shows the first page of the score.