Yesterday, humanity lost a voice of exceptional depth and quality. The tenor voice of the late Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti struck, even in Kashikulu’s heart, that rare resonance of the understanding of human pain, anguish and sorrow that only music can relate, across diverse people, language and culture.
It struck me also, how music invigorates and soothes the troubled lives of so many people that live in poverty or oppression, around the world. In Zambia, the lyrics of Chibaya baya by the late P.K Chishala come to mind;
Nangu Bali nechlilo tukaya basansamunsha (even in mourning I’ll entertain them)
Oh how many hungry souls those therapeutic words have soothed to sleep, under the skies of those dark African nights, light up only by the brilliance of stars in the heavens.
Last May, my wife and I attended a concert given in Chicago, at the Allstate Arena by André Rieu a gifted Dutch violinist. It was evident at this concert that even here in the land of plenty, there are still many suffering anguish and sorrow that only music can help soothe.
Mwankole assures me, there has been a renaissance of Zambian music back home, this is very good news indeed. And I hope, even the Lusaka Music society that I was a member of, still manage that occasional concert especially for Christmas.
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