AFRICA SINGS

AFRICA SINGS takes its name from a collection of poetry by Harlem Renaissance writers, the German translations of which were set to music by the post-Romantic composer Alexander Zemlinsky. These sparsely scored songs for baritone and orchestra are a fascinating window into the way jazz was becoming part of the musical language of Western composers. The album’s star is undoubtedly Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo, whose mighty, multi-tracked version of Togolese singer Bella Bellow’s “Senye” opens the collection on a powerful, defiant note. She brings that incredible energy to her performance with the Bruckner Orchester Linz and conductor Dennis Russell Davies of Philip Glass’ setting of three of her own poems. Glass’ music seems to defy time and place, its fluidity the perfect vehicle for Kidjo’s free-form verse and astonishing voice. At the heart of this album lies Duke Ellington’s 1943 orchestral suite Black, Brown, and Beige, a sprawling, often poignant story of the African-American experience in the US.