The one and only true queen of Africa Angélique Kidjo will be headlining WOMADelaide 2016, where the award-winning diva and human rights advocate will present the Australian premiere of ‘Ife’, her three-part foray into classical music with renowned composer, Philip Glass.
“Working with Philip is a ball of joy,” says Angélique. “The enthusiasm Philip has shown to this project, I have never felt that kind of enthusiasm from any other artist. He came up with a masterpiece of work that, for me, is the best thing that could have happened to me as an artist, because I wanted to do something in the classical world without me having any idea about it.”
‘Ife’ (pron. ‘ee-fay’) celebrates the traditional music and stories of the Yoruba people in Benin, West Africa where Angelique was born. In collaborating with Philip Glass, Angélique found a kindred spirit whose mastery of composition and arrangement has brought new life to classical music.
“I’m just happy Philip, as a friend and as a composer, has done absolutely tremendous work composing in my language; I wrote the poem, I recited it to him and then to my surprise I learned from him he has studied phonetics. So he spent a great amount of time on transcribing my language phonetically to be able to write this score and it’s beautiful.
“What is also interesting to realise is his openness, he’s open to new stuff. He’s one of those composers that have great boundaries, who have opened classical music to instruments that will not have ever been played in classical music. He realises that in order for classical music also to survive, it needs to be... open for the people to come and discover. Music is a vehicle that we all use; it’s in our DNA, our heritage and there’s no difference between classical music and any other music; it’s just music.”
The highlight of WOMADelaide’s opening night, Angelique’s performance of ‘Ife’ will be accompanied by guitarist David Laborier, as well as the full 60-piece Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, led by guest conductor Gast Waltzing.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever worked on and the most satisfying too. I’m telling you, it feels so good but gee, I sweat more doing that 25-minute piece of music by Philip Glass than my whole 2-hour show I do with my band, I swear to you. It’s the concentration that it demands.”
Beyond her extensive and beloved catalogue of music, Angélique is well-known for her tireless efforts as an advocate for a range of humanitarian causes, including women’s rights, education and health issues in Africa. This laudable ethic stems from her belief in advancing humanity beyond the confining borders of nationality, culture, race and religion through the inter-connectivity of music.
“We live in the same ecosystem and in that ecosystem we come from the same place; today what affects the world will affect you, whether musically, culturally or economically, whatever it is. So how do we have the young generations play a part in preserving this earth of ours in a way that the next generation can take over musically, culturally and beyond? So what kind of legacy are we going to leave for them? That’s the question.
“Because every single life matters, it doesn’t matter where you are born, you’re a human being and because you are a human being, your future is my future; if you have no future, I have no future, period. It’s just simple math and I care for people, I care deeply for people and because I don’t believe that pain or joy have any colour. No, we are one people and when a mother cries somewhere I cry with her; when somebody is hurt, I’m hurt too.”
Ahead of her WOMADelaide performance, as well as a keynote address at next year’s SxSW Festival, Angélique has a very important message for the world: “give people something to fight for, just don’t give them something to throw you under the bus and say ‘you can die, I don’t care because my life is miserable’... You want a different world? Work for it. Work for it, and hold your leaders accountable.”
Angélique Kidjo performs the opening night of WOMADelaide 2016, 11-14 March.
