Voices From Heaven

The Soweto Gospel Choir | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 25, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Shanachie
• ASIN: B0006TRO6I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,210 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #42 in Music > World Music > Africa > South Africa

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

South African choral music is renowned for passionate singing and soul-stirring harmonies. The Soweto Gospel Choir is made up of top talent from throughout that hard-scrabble yet celebrated Township. All sixteen tracks were seemingly recorded studio-live with no overdubbing or after-the-fact prettying-up. Paradise Road is led by a powerful pair of female voices who sing in English about walking hand-in-hand toward a place where there will be no more pain. It is almost unbearably poignant. A ceremonial yet ecstatic version of "Amazing Grace" renews the power and grandeur of a seriously hackneyed hymn. The selections are either sung a cappella or accompanied by a guitar-led mbaqanga combo, plus drums, hand-clapping, stamping, exhortations, whistling ,and high-pitched ululations. There is even a taste of sacred R&B and hip-hop! The lord being praised here is obviously a robust but loving realist; the voices are redolent of humanity in all its fragile, undying splendor. --Christina Roden

Product Description

Soweto Gospel Choir’s Shanachie debut, Voices From Heaven, is a stunning recording that delivers the full range of the choir’s talent. The sheer aural beauty of the voices, both in powerful solo segments and lush choral harmonies, makes a memorable impact. But there also is an unquantifiable quotient of spirit—the heartfelt, sincere joyousness that cannot be taught or simulated—that infuses the Choir’s performances. It is this quality that enables them to make even very familiar material such as "Amazing Grace" or Jimmy Cliff’s "Many Rivers To Cross" sound fresh. The Choir moves easily from the traditional a capella Mbube, popularized internationally by Ladysmith Black Mambazo to straightforward church hymns to rollicking "township jive"-inflected numbers with band backing. The most universal, direct and powerful instrument is the human voice and on Voices From Heaven Soweto Gospel Choir revels in this "first instrument" as the essence of human musical expression.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking!, February 4, 2005

By 

R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voices From Heaven (Audio CD)

If you love Ladysmith Black Mambazo and have been longing to hear some female voices with the same kind of tight harmony and vocalizations, this is the CD for you. This is an amazingly talented group of people. Soweto Gospel Choir members speak 11 African languages and sing in 8 plus English. You'll also hear the 'clicks' and ululations which make African music so distinctive.

The choir is also touring in the US for a while. If you get a chance, a listen to this group is definitely an uplifting experience.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tribal, Caribbean, old-school gospel, and much in between, March 22, 2006

By 

Frank Camm (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voices From Heaven (Audio CD)

High quality and excitement throughout. Most are easy to recognize as gospel music, even when the specific form is unfamiliar. Songs vary in approach and language. Some are distinctly tribal in origin; others sound Caribbean, some are clearly American, old-school soul in origin. And much in between. But they tend to certain attributes. The core of each song is a steady, communal, simple chant. Songs feel like they are blocked out, and the chorus works through each song in blocks. Some have complex harmonies or even layers of separate parts of the chorus. Others seek the sacred in simplicity. One or two solo voices sing above the chorus in a much more individual, excited, complex, fervent spirit. Solos are mainly female; a few male voices. Individual leads effectively voice their wild devotion over the rock-solid steadiness of the community. Drums typically appear, usually in sparse, syncopated role, and always supporting the voices. Simple but stinging electric guitar accompanies a few pieces. Stand-outs: tr 3-Thina Simnqobile (Close, steady communal chant. Deep female voice above. Quick, light, syncopated drums. Precise clapping in complex rhythms. Ululating.) [56:33]

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A display of God's gifts, February 12, 2007

By 

Saviour Anyidoho "koshie72" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voices From Heaven (Audio CD)

I not only bought the CD i was blessed to watch them live on their current tour of the United States. When the concert was over it was obvious that everyone wanted more and i could hear a little voice behind me saying "encore". What a refreshing sound from such a small group and they sing with such passion and joy! I recommend this album to everyone who wants to hear real voices sing. An amazing display of God's gift to man.