![]() ![]() I can think of no greater cause for joyful celebration than the fulfillment of God’s promise to lovingly provide for mankind’s redemption. Finally, I arrived at this paraphrase of Luke 1:68, “Asifiwe bwana, kwa ame wajia, watu wake ili, awakomboe” which means, “Praise be to the Lord, for He has come to redeem His people.” I searched through the KiSwahili translation of the Bible and extensively studied as much information as I could gather about the syntax and pronunciation of KiSwahili. Then I realized that one of the things that makes African choral music sound distinctively “African” is the language.Īlas, I embarked on a transcontinental search for KiSwahili lyrics that would perfectly complement Van Dyke’s classic hymn text. So the exuberant joy I sensed in the African choral genre reminded me of Henry Van Dyke’s words: “Joyful, Joyful we adore Thee.” Although 5/4 meter is not exactly common in western music, it seemed to give Beethoven’s familiar melody the sort of rhythmic vitality it needed to make sense within this ethnic style. And so as I considered the pros and cons of writing in a variety of multicultural musical styles, the African choral style seemed like a perfect match for me. ![]() I experimented with this style in my own choral composition, I Am the Resurrection. But I have always been attracted to the unadulterated joy of African choral music. I don’t find many up-tempo sorts of compositional styles that appeal to me. Randy Edwards, the director of YouthCUE, asked me to compose some new choral pieces in multicultural styles. So here is the story behind this unique arrangement. ![]() Recently, I had a director ask me how my and Heidi’s unique setting of Joyful, Joyful with Asifiwe Bwana came to be. ![]()
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