Ever wished you knew how to sing the South African national anthem? The hard part, and the most beautiful part is the african hymn Nkosi Sikelel' Iafrika that is also the anthem of Zambia and other African countries.
Buy this CD or downloadable MP3 with the unique "Teach Yourself to Sing Nkosi Sikelel' Iafrica" line by line study. It makes an excellent gift for someone who is traveling to South Africa, be it to attend the 2010 Fifa World Cup, or just to visit this stunning country.
The tutorial is great entertainment during a car or train journey, and the whole family can participate. You listen to the track while following the text from the inside CD cover (or the PDF supplied with the download).
- A reader reads each line of Nkosi Sikelel' Iafrica, so that you can hear the correct pronounciation. You follow by reading the line in the supplied text.
- A singer sings each line, so that you can hear the melody, then,
- The accompaniment plays without singing, so that you can try.
- At the end the choir sings the whole song and you can sing along.
Within a few times of playing this tutorial, you will be able to sing Nkosi Sikelel' Iafrica properly.
The History of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrica
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was composed in 1897 as a hymn by Enoch Sontonga, a teacher in a Methodist school in Nancefield, a township near Johannesburg. The words of the first stanza were originally written in Xhosa as a hymn.
In 1927 seven additional Xhosa stanzas were added by the poet Samuel Mqhayi.
The hymn is also the national anthem of both Tanzania and Zambia, and was formerly the anthem of Zimbabwe and Namibia. Outside of Africa, the hymn is perhaps best known as the long-time (since 1925) anthem of the African National Congress (ANC), as a result of the global anti-apartheid movement of the 1970s and 1980s, when it was regularly sung at meetings and other events.
Each part has its own unique tune and words, and is not a different verse sung on the same tune. Like many African songs, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika makes use of the call and response technique - the sopranos or tenors sing one line and the other voices respond.
