Premiered in February 2013, Emhlabeni (In this world) a sinfonia concertante for piano and orchestra by South African composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen, highlights the significance of African art music as a tool for understanding and appreciating the differences and similarities between diverse cultures and their music traditions. Situated in the long-established performance medium of Western art music (solo piano with traditional symphony orchestra), Emhlabeni also embraces thematic material derived from South Africa’s African choral tradition and compositional processes drawn from traditional African musicking. Here, African-styled interlocking figures, mbira patterning, pentatonic scales, uhadi chord progressions, and passages that treat the piano like an African mallet percussion instrument are interwoven with elements reminiscent of African jazz (especially Abdullah Ibrahim’s trademark tremolandi). Hence, Ndodana-Breen’s musical language is located largely in the African musical–cultural experience, although it is performed through a Western medium and formulated within the parameters of a Western genre: it represents the essence of African art music. Inspired by a popular African choral work, Bawo Thixo Somandla (‘Father God Almighty’), Ndodana-Breen chose a title that refers to a subsidiary theme in Bawo that contains the text ‘Emhlaben’ sibuthwel’ ubunzima’ (‘On this earth we bear many hardships’). An inspiring composition for those oppressed during apartheid—especially those suffering under the yoke of the brutal Ciskei homeland government, who were mere puppets in the hands of the apartheid regime—Bawo speaks of hope rather than defeatism, although it also reflects on the heavy burdens carried by ordinary citizens. This article emphasizes the artistic dialogue that transpires as Ndodana-Breen appropriates African and Western influences; the article draws attention to Emhlabeni’s political and social significance, especially the irony of a once-‘inferior’ choral work standing alongside the dominant Western art music tradition, and it provides commentary on the value of African art-music practice in a multicultural society.

中文翻译：

---

“比非洲的新音乐少非洲的新音乐”：对邦加尼·恩多达纳·布赖恩的埃姆拉贝尼的音乐分析

南非作曲家Bongani Ndodana-Breen于2013年2月首演的Emhlabeni（在这个世界上）作为钢琴和交响乐团的交响音乐会，彰显了非洲艺术音乐作为理解和欣赏不同文化及其文化之间异同的工具的重要性。音乐传统。Emhlabeni坐落在历史悠久的西方艺术音乐（带有传统交响乐团的独奏钢琴）演奏媒介中，还采用了源于南非非洲合唱传统的主题素材以及传统非洲音乐之声的创作过程。在这里，非洲风格的互锁人物，mbira图案，五音阶，uhadi和弦进行，与将钢琴像非洲槌打击乐器一样对待的段落和让人联想起非洲爵士乐的元素交织在一起（尤其是阿卜杜拉·易卜拉欣的商标tremolandi）。因此，恩多达纳·布赖恩（Ndodana-Breen）的音乐语言虽然主要是通过西方媒介进行演奏，并在西方音乐流派的范围内拟定的，但它很大程度上位于非洲音乐文化经验中：它代表了非洲艺术音乐的精髓。受非洲流行合唱作品Bawo Thixo Somandla（“全能之父”）的启发，Ndodana-Breen选择了一个标题，该标题指的是Bawo中的一个附属主题，标题中包含文字“ Emhlaben'sibuthwel'ubunzima”（“在地球上，承受许多艰辛”）。对于种族隔离期间被压迫的人，特别是在残酷的Ciskei国土政府的suffering锁下受苦的人，他只是种族隔离政权手中的p。鲍沃说的是希望，而不是失败主义，尽管这也反映了普通公民的沉重负担。本文强调随着恩多达纳·布雷恩（Ndodana-Breen）运用非洲和西方的影响而进行的艺术对话。这篇文章提请人们注意Emhlabeni的政治和社会意义，尤其是与曾经占主导地位的西方艺术音乐传统并存的曾经“劣等”的合唱作品的讽刺意味，并提供了非洲艺术音乐实践在多元文化社会中的价值的评论。本文强调随着恩多达纳·布雷恩（Ndodana-Breen）运用非洲和西方的影响而进行的艺术对话。这篇文章提请人们注意Emhlabeni的政治和社会意义，尤其是与曾经占主导地位的西方艺术音乐传统并驾齐驱的“劣等”合唱作品的讽刺意味，并评论了非洲艺术音乐实践在多元文化社会中的价值。本文强调随着恩多达纳·布雷恩（Ndodana-Breen）运用非洲和西方的影响而进行的艺术对话。这篇文章提请人们注意Emhlabeni的政治和社会意义，尤其是与曾经占主导地位的西方艺术音乐传统并存的曾经“劣等”的合唱作品的讽刺意味，并提供了非洲艺术音乐实践在多元文化社会中的价值的评论。