Page 144 - FINAL_CBSO Media Highlights - Sept 2021 - Jan 2022_Neat

The thought that many of the recorded voices might now no longer be with us, added a

further contrast: that the living people singing, playing and dancing so magnificently before

us, and delivering such a joyous, life-affirming and vibrant performance, were somehow
duetting with ghosts of the past.

Indeed, joyous and vibrant this performance was. The Keneish Dance Company,

choreographed by Keisha Grant, formed an exuberant dramatic bridge between the recorded
and live material, referencing traditional and modern dance vocabularies. One could not but

be delighted by the obvious enjoyment between the outstanding Keneish percussionist,

N’famady Kouyate and the CBSO percussionists.

Singers from Ex Cathedra and the highly talented group, CBSO SO Vocal, part of the

CBSO’s Arts Champion work, combined rhythmic precision with a certain jazzy swagger.

Katie Trethewey soared in the stratospheric soprano solo passages. One also doffs a cap to

Jeffrey Skidmore for the sheer technical virtuosity involved in conducting a live performance
around recorded music.

Fanshawe’s African Sanctus was created at a time when we were in a very different place in

terms of our conversation about cultural ownership. There are those who have taken issue

with what they perceive as an imperialist harvesting of audio artefacts. On the evidence of
this performance, we must disagree. It seems clear that Fanshawe was inspired to write this

work in the belief that music unites us and builds bridges, not only between cultures but, with

the increasing passage of time, between our shared present and our shared past.

This was an excellent performance by all involved – engaging, exciting, musically tight and

ultimately uplifting. A wonderful fiftieth celebration of the life and work of extraordinary

composer-explorer, David Fanshawe.

Jeffrey Skidmore – Conductor

Katie Trethewey – Soprano

James Keefe – Piano

Keisha Grant – Choreographer
Ex Cathedra