Vumani KuYehova (Anthem)

Moerane subtitles Vukani KuYehova ‘Anthem’, which suggests that he wrote it for a church service, and in it he loosely adapts some lines from Psalm 105. Moerane’s setting is celebratory, with inflections of Handel in the short, declamatory phrases, sequences, fanfare-like motifs, and use of Sarabande metre, not to mention the hint of a quote from the aria ‘Lascia ch’io pianga’ from Handel’s opera Almira. The text is in isiXhosa, the language of the Eastern Cape region of South Africa where Moerane was born. A copy of the score in the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) in Johannesburg gives the alternative title in Sesotho: ‘Merabe, Rorisang’. In order to help choirs learn this song, a free mp3 of the lyrics spoken by Nosipho Rapiya is downloadable when the song is purchased along with a rehearsal mp3 of the song at a slow tempo.
Duration 1’35”

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