Ruri!

Ruri! was probably composed in the Eastern Cape, South Africa in the 1940s because Moerane’s eldest son, Mofelehetsi, who was a teenager at that time, recalled in an interview in May 2014 that his father ‘had a lot of trouble with it’; and Mofelehetsi knew the way his father composed. It is one of Moerane’s most mature and best-loved works, describing in a slow-moving arc of harmonies and soaring melodic lines the beauty of nature as a creation of God. Ruri! has frequently been sung at festivals and competitions in South Africa: the recording below was made during the Grahamstown Festival in 2000, for example. There are several versions on Youtube, including one by the Mompati Arts Chorus recorded live at a choral competition in South Africa in which the choir is accompanied. The pianist sometimes embellishes the vocal lines, showing how Moerane’s works can be interestingly re-imagined in modern times.

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: 3’36”

The image on the right shows the first page of the score.