Methaka, Emang

(Friends, Rise Up)

R39.00

ISMN
979-0-804001-12-9;979-0-804001-13-6
Catalogue No
JPM 007
Notation
Dual notation (staff & tonic solfa), Staff notation
Scoring
choir SAATB
Edition
Joshua Pulumo Mohapeloa Critical Edition
Category

Mohapeloa wrote ‘Methaka, Emang’ in the late 1920s or early 30s, publishing it in Morija in 1935 as song No. 7 of 32 in his first song collection, Meloli le Lithallere tsa Afrika. It chronicles a common human experience – parting from friends – but among Basotho the song may particularly refer to the departure of young people from the tiny, landlocked kingdom of Lesotho to seek work in surrounding South Africa, often on the mines of the Witwatersrand. ‘Methaka’ is scored for five voices (SAATB) with Tenors subdividing in bars 17-24 and 33-40 to make six voices periodically, and the composer writes in a lively, hocketing style to convey a sense of the excitement, jostling and general ‘upset’ around any departure, particularly one made (as often happened in Mohapeloa’s day) by train.

Audio

Type:
Studio Recording
Performers:
Morija Training College Male Choir, conductor not specified. Original date of recording December 1937, Gallo Studios. Mastered and reissued by ACE on CD in 2014.
Location:
Johannesburg
Source:
African Choral Legacy: Historical Recordings of Joshua Pulumo Mohapeloa ACE CD001 Track 1 Track 1
Publisher:
African Composers Edition
Date:
2014