Celebrating 45 years of making music, LBM continues to brighten up the globe with songs of peace, faith and perseverance fused with their native South African Zulu sounds.  You may remember Ladysmith Black Mambazo from Paul Simon’s Graceland (an outstanding CD); they’ve been around a long time.

As an LBM groupie, I have a bunch of their CDs & thoroughly enjoy their acappella music that transports Africa to wherever the boombox (car player, itouch) is booming… but their “No Boundaries” collaboration with the English Chamber Orchestra is an absolute FAVORITE (of many favorites!)

Commissioned by the ICMF (International Classical Music Festival) of South Africa, Isak Roux arranged 12 songs that blend LBM’s isicathamiya sound with classical European orchestral music. The result: a compilation that plays beautifully over and over and over and over (again…)

LBM African favorites like Homeless, Jabulani – Rejoice, Awu Wemadoda, a tap-your-toes version of Umzuzu Nayi Ujesu and others stand out with new orchestra sounds, while classic choral works like Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus and Schubert’s Sanctus come alive with new African sounds.

The whole CD is AWESOME, but my favorite song (as evidenced by high frequency rotations on various playlists) is the original Dona Nobis Pacem (Latin for ‘Lord Grant us Peace’) premiered on this collaboration. Give it a listen & you’ll be humming lots of Dona Nobis Pacem(s) followed by “sing it brother, sing it sister, sing it brother, sing it sister…singing Glory –  Hallelujah to the Lord…Glory – HALLELUJAH to the LORD!”

Truly a brilliant, inspirational effort, LBM’s “No Boundaries” is just that – global praise of the highest sort to the boundary-less God of ALL creation (pink, purple, blue, me & you!)

grace, peace & globally-inspiring- grooves

Virginia

http://www.mambazo.com/index.php