{"id":4891,"date":"2022-07-03T11:30:48","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T10:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/?p=4891"},"modified":"2022-07-04T11:34:01","modified_gmt":"2022-07-04T10:34:01","slug":"the-sabbath-glorious-avant-garde-vigil-in-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/?p=4891","title":{"rendered":"The Sabbath: Glorious avant-garde vigil in sound"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gabi Motuba\u2019s The Sabbath<\/a><\/em> makes ears feel like they see, fingers seem to taste, and eyes listen to the world. Featuring compositions from the album released last year as well as new music, the live gathering of The Sabbath<\/em> at the National Arts Festival holds a tight communal vigil that contemplates the end of things and the vastness of the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death\nand life are raised by grand pitches and mined for their divine\nqualities. To say that the experience is sublime would be to miss the\ncontrast of the rapturous ebbs and the vibrations of anguish flowing\nthrough the arrangements. Motuba choreographs the movements of the\nmusic to take advantage of the weight of juxtaposing sounds in the\nbody. Two violinists, a viola player, celloist, and double bassist\nform a snug semi-circle around Motuba. They all seem to lean into the\nspace as though to listen for whatever sacred momentum is built up by\nthe combination of their presence. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Motuba\nstands at the center, but not like high priest or spiritual leader.\nShe is conducting the ceremony as though she is part of the\ninstruments. She listens more than she uses her voice.\nWhen she does release her warm delicate sound, it sussurates\nwith the strings, without any strain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At\nThe\nSabbath<\/em>,\nthe music is a channel for all who have gathered to spend time in\nlavish contemplation of the world and\nits\nmany beginnings and endings. The massive volume of the sound of the\nstrings creates an atmosphere expected of an orchestra in a large\ncathedral. Motubi combines different sounds to create a glorious\navant-garde form. The music swells like a gothic opera. The height\nand expanse of the sound is seamlessly stitched to the landscape\nvisuals that collaborator Zen Marie creates for the background. Palm\ntrees glisten in the evening light, only in silhouette. The sweetest\nimages of breezes and birds are always in tension. They are sometimes\nover-exposed or surrounded by looming grey clouds. Birds and palm\ntrees in the breeze are always like a shadow. There is no colour\nexcept a burning sun and too-blue sky. Motubi\u2019s arrangements also\nshimmer between light and dark, buoyancy next to scratching or sounds\nof supplication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nopening song of the live set is \u2018A Story Told in Sound\u2019. When her\ncrystalline vocals call into the space, she sings, \u201cWho do I pray\nto? Will you keep me safe in this life?\u201d The requiem begins with\nsolemnity as all other instruments surround her but the transitions\nthrough each of the pieces in the set are definitely arranged to\nquestion whatever was just raised, to bring the elevated religious\nfeeling to the ground again. After this opening piece, the double\nbass, played to its bare intestinal skins by Thembinkosi Mavimbela,\nis stretched and pulled using the fingers. Its\nquivering hum meets Motubi\u2019s voice like a question to the heavens\nof the screen behind her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nSabbath<\/em>\nis an experience of the passion of human life on this plane. The\ndivine ear that it conjures is a full-bodied sensation. Zen Marie\u2019s\nvisual score brings the body into the tension of wanting to take it\nall in, whilst the music sometimes pulls at the heartstrings towards\na more inward listening. It can be difficult to choose when to listen\nwithin and when to look to the whole landscape. This undulating\nfeeling is part of the jazz package. You too must listen and\nimprovise your part in\nThe\nSabbath<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sabbath<\/a> was performed at the National Arts Festival on 1 and 2 July.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credits: Singer and composer, Gabi Motuba; double bass, Thembinkosi Mavimbela; cello, Themba Mashobane; viola, Tiisetso Mashishi; violin 1, Kabelo Mannathebe; violin 2, Stella Mtshali; sound engineer, Tshepo Mothwa; visuals, Zen Marie<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gabi Motuba\u2019s The Sabbath makes ears feel like they see, fingers seem to taste, and eyes listen to the world. Featuring compositions from the album released last year as well … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4891"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4891"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4893,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4891\/revisions\/4893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}