Coming Home is a cantata that explores the question of identity.
The jazz/gospel cantata’s evocative story of the return of the prodigal son draws on the musical form of old traditional spirituals.
It is composed by former South African Izak Roux and conducted by Kutlwano Masote, who will conduct a 60-strong orchestra and choir.
It is ably narrated by Sello Maake Ka Ncube and features Sibongile Khumalo and Timothy Moloi.
Sponsored by Momentum, the show will embark on a three-city tour beginning in Cape Town, at the Baxter Theatre, on Friday.
“I just love the word ‘cantata’. This is also something I have never done before. It’s uplifting narrating a live show with music. I love it,” said Maake ka Ncube.
Coming Home also features elements of African-American spiritual music as well as the Zulu choral tradition of isicathamiya. In-between these rich influences and poignant storyline, there is a vibe and beat reminiscent of 1960s rock. The show is in its fourth season.
“I was invited to perform in Coming Home when it was first staged,” Khumalo said. “I’m always up for a new challenge. When Kutlwano played this gorgeous piece of music called Evening Song from the show, I was hooked.”
Moloi added: “It is music that is based on African-American spirituals and I started my singing career in church. It connects to that part of me. It’s beautiful and moves the soul.”
Commenting on working with Khumalo, Moloi said with a chuckle: “She is so down-to- earth and loving. You would think she is a diva, but she is not. She has a wicked sense of humour.”
Roux said: “In Coming Home I celebrate Africa as the mother of all human beings. It is a homage to God the Father, too, and testimony to the endurance of man.”
Roux went into exile in Germany in the late 1980s after refusing to do camps for the SADF. The story is influenced by his life experiences.
“You don’t just write a story like this when you are 15 years old. I had to turn 50 to write this. It takes a lot of guts to lay out your own biography.”
“In the end it’s a narrative,” he continued. “Life is not a solo journey, although everyone believes that it is because they are so selfish. But there is help from above. The Prodigal Son was so desperate he had to ask for help. In the end it says we’re all there together.
lComing Home will be performed at The Baxter Theatre in Cape Town on Friday and Saturday, at Joburg’s Linder Auditorium on August 13 and 14 and at the Durban City Hall on August 19 and 20. Tickets range between R60 and R100 at Computicket.
