''Voice of Hope'' is a 2014 album by South African opera singer

Pumeza Matshikiza Pumeza Matshikiza (born 27 February 1979) is a South-African operatic soprano. A graduate of the Royal College of Music and a member of the Royal Opera's Jette Parker Young Artists Programme from 2007 to 2009, she made her début as a flower ma ...

. The album was released on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

Releases and contents

The album was first released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on 3 March 2014 with 18 tracks. An international edition was released later with a different cover and an amended order of track list and just 15 tracks. The album includes four arias ("

O mio babbino caro "" ("Oh my dear Papa”) is a soprano aria from the opera ''Gianni Schicchi'' (1918) by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy she ...

", "

Signore, ascolta! "Signore, ascolta!" ("My lord, listen!") is a soprano aria in act one of the opera ''Turandot'' by Giacomo Puccini. The Italian lyrics were written by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. It is sung by Liù (a slave girl) to Prince Calaf, whom she is ...

" and "Donde lieta uscì" from Puccini and "Vedrai, carino" from Mozart) all with musical accompaniment from

Staatsorchester Stuttgart The Staatsorchester Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Orchestra; full name, ''Württembergisches Staatsorchester oder Orchester der Württembergischen Staatstheater'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Stuttgart. The orchestra is resident at the ...

and

Simon Hewett Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

. The other tracks are mostly performed with the accompaniment of

Aurora Orchestra Aurora Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra , co-founded in 2004 by conductors Nicholas Collon and Robin Ticciati. The orchestra is based in London, where it is Resident Orchestra at Southbank Centre and Resident Ensemble at Kings Place. The ...

and

Iain Farrington Iain Farrington (born 1977) is a British pianist, organist, composer and arranger. He performs regularly with some of the country's leading singers, instrumentalists and choirs, as well as giving solo recitals. Biography Early years and educatio ...

. There is also the song "Lakutshon Ilanga (When The Sun Sets)" performed with

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...

and Iain Farrington. The last track of the international album, " Freedom Come All Ye" was a collaboration and performed by Pumeza Matshikiza with Sura Susso, Mamadou Ndiaye Cissokho, Fiona Hamilton and Phil Cunningham. The earlier version destined for German, Austrian and Swiss markets contains four tracks that have not been included in the international release, namely "Ntyilo Ntyilo (Little Bird)", "Baxabene Oxam (Click Song 2)", "Senzeni Na? (What Have We Done?)" and the South African national anthems "

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" (, ) is a Christian hymn originally composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Xhosa people, Xhosa clergyman at a Methodism, Methodist mission school near Johannesburg. The song became a pan-African liberation song and ver ...

(God Bless Africa)". In two of these tracks, "Senzeni Na?" and "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika", she invited the

African Children's Choir The African Children's Choir is a large choir made up of children ages 7 to 12 from several African nations. Since its inception, the choir has included children from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana. Many of the chil ...

to sing with her.

Track listing

The international edition contains 15 tracks. A special edition was released for Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a different cover and with three additional tracks not found on the international release.

International release

Germany, Austria and Switzerland release

Charts

References

External links

* *{{Discogs master, 1273818, Voice Of Hope, type=album 2014 classical albums Classical albums by South African artists