messiaSASAmbura

messiaSASAmbura
Music of East Africa and Handel’s Messiah
religious response and cultural awakening?

In MessiaSASAmbura, a renowned work of the European tradition, Handel’s “Messiah”, meets East African music. New music is created: music in the now, in SASA – which means “now” in Swahili. Musical styles and languages that are foreign to one another converge, a reflection of the scars of East African colonial history.
The sonic abstractions create the creative spaces that are essential for mutual perception and interpenetrating transformation.
The experience of the resulting music changes listening habits and sensitizes the listener to a world that is changing and still in need of change.

MessiaSASAmbura was created through the musicians of the asambura ensemble’s engagement with the musical traditions and the people of the Usambara Mountains and the neighboring steppes in eastern Tanzania, a region that was missionized – starting from the very Europe that was long convinced of its cultural and Christian-based superiority. Even if some of the positive effects of missionary history must be viewed in a differentiated way, missionary work was combined with colonial arrogance and the development of power. Both left indelible traces – still perceptible as painful wounds, scars and imprints. MessiaSASAmbura poses questions about this complex past and present.
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composition •  Maximilian Guth (based on Georg F. Händel)

world premiere • 2016 Minden

“impressively crossing the boundaries of what has been heard so far“
Lübecker Nachrichten


“The work captivates and draws the listener under its spell. Sound surfaces are replaced by rhythmically percussive passages. The transitions are seamless and organic.” Mindener Tageblatt



“always surprise anew variety and sophistication of instrumentation.“
Neue Zeitschrift für Musik


“The motto of the work – ‘Weite wirkt’ – is a conscious affirmation of stylistic and cultural pluralism. It is not about eliminating differences, about leveling and flattening, but about tolerance, about tolerating the initially foreign without fear and prejudice.“
Neue Westfälische Zeitung


“Guth’s music allows the sound forms of the asambura ensemble to come into their own. The pieces usually grow out of a few sounds, which then form rhythmically concise sound spaces. They thus form an exciting contrast to Handel’s baroque musical language without competing with it. In times of omnipresent despair, belief in hope is one of the central messages that can have an impact far beyond countries and denominations.“
Mindener Tageblatt


“The musical level and the quality of the interpretation were outstanding without exception. The tension never let up, the deep symbolism of the work and its associative power of imagination could be experienced with all the senses. Minutes of standing ovations from the audience were both thanks and reward.”
Die Glocke


“The effect this instrumental suite has on the listener is immediate and powerful: avant-garde soundscapes from which the melodic lines of the solo instruments suddenly emerge, whispered and shouted speech passages, concise rhythms; and Handel’s original shimmers through everything again and again. World knowledge that cannot be seen.”
Mindener Tageblatt


“A cross-cultural concert treat!”
Göttinger Tageblatt


“Master of musical alchemy”
Neue Zeitschrift für Musik


“The famous “Hallelujah” from George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” is difficult to sing in these times: War and hunger, flight and displacement not only dominate the headlines, but also the lives of millions of people around the world. These people need help – and hope for a better life. MessiaSASAmbura radiates this hope and at the same time gives the necessary strength to those who help people in need.”
Hannelore Kraft, ehem. Ministerpräsidentin NRW


* Choreografie und Solistin Virginia Breitenbaumer  (1)
* Choreografie Petra Nottmeier, Solistin Waridi Kapala (2, Uraufführung)
* Choreografie & Solistin: Manuela Bolegue (3)
* Choreografie & Solist: Michael Gagawala Kaddu (4)