Introduction

Good evening Birmingham, I’m very happy and honoured to be here tonight and excited to perform African Rhapsodies for you with the amazing City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, alongside my super talented brother Suntou Susso.

African Rhapsodies is a collection of pieces that I’ve written bridging Western and African classical music. This evening we’ll be taking you on ten voyages to and from Senegal - with a few detours along the way! I’ve always been fascinated by crossing cultural boundaries. Like classical music, kora music was originally commissioned by and performed for royal families and nobility, however all the music I write, and this project in particular, is about making music accessible and available to everyone.

African Rhapsodies was made possible thanks to my dear friend, the Italian composer and bass player, Davide Mantovani who beautifully arranged all of my compositions for orchestra.

Tonight is also a grand homage to my ancestors and also to my beloved West Africa’s iconic 22-stringed harp which has travelled so much in time and space since its birth in the 13th century.

It’s my great pleasure to present this music tonight with the CBSO and I hope that you will enjoy.

Seckou Keita
Singer/Kora

Programme Notes

This is a truly sublime set: as the second movement puts it, they are ‘Simply Beautiful’. The kora, a multi-stringed African instrument, is given the spotlight, played here by Seckou Keita. Evocative, poetic, joyful – not to be missed.

African Rhapsodies

Seckou Keita (b. 1978)

I. The Future Strings Variation
II. Simply Beautiful Miro
III. Tatono’s Path
IV. Ode to Kanou
V. Tamala’s Caravan Trail
VI. The Shadow Left by the Invisible Man
VII. L'Epopee Mande-Arab
VIII. Bamba, the Light of Touba

THE FUTURE STRINGS VARIATION

Composed initially in 2009 as a solo piece, this track is what ignited my dream to work with an orchestra. Davide’s arrangement represents my vision for this album, with the kora and orchestra fully integrated. The original 1 min 30 kora introduction is performed entirely by the orchestra. It creates a rising climax with the intention of evoking an almost cinematic journey from sunrise to sunset, with all the beauty, the danger and excitement that the African plains have to offer.

Future Strings was first released on the album Clychau Dibon in 2013 with Catrin Finch and then on the 2015 solo album entitled 22 Strings. Elements of this piece were also sampled for Robbie Williams song When you know which features on the Deluxe Edition of his album, The Heavy Entertainment Show released in 2016.

SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL MIRO feat. Abel Selaocoe and Suntou Susso

In this piece, I wanted the track to build slowly and leave a comforting, warm feeling. Miro means ‘thought’ in Mandinka. The song reminds us that whatever life throws at us, we all have the power to choose to have positive and beautiful thoughts. Choosing beautiful thinking on a daily basis makes challenges much easier to overcome and good moments even more enjoyable. The original melody is principally carried out by Abel’s cello here.

The song Miro was first released in 2012 on an album carrying the same name. Abel Selaocoe appears courtesy of Erato/Warner Classics.

TATONO’S PATH

For Davide, the first string section was inspired by the far away noise of a train breaking -a train that has the ability to connect the past and the present.

For me it is an opportunity to visit my grandfather Dialy Kémo Cisskho as a young man. Tatono was his nickname, only used by his brothers. As children, his younger brother couldn’t pronounce his name and so called him Tatono. For me to call him this would have been disrespectful. Traditionally, kora players performed for kings and nobility. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if this work could have been heard in European royal courts back then. Things have now changed and kora players are key members of West African communities at all levels. Tatono’s Path celebrates a 7th century old instrument which for the past 50 years has, and continues to, garner worldwide recognition. It was my grandfather who taught me to play. So I dedicate this piece to him and all of his ancestors.

The track Tatono was originally released on the 2015 solo album 22 Strings.

ODE TO KANOU feat. Suntou Susso

This track is written as a joyful Ode to Love -love in its most accomplished form. ‘Kanou‘ means love in Mandinka. It might start with passion, but real love creates an eternal bond that cannot be broken. This is represented in Davide’s beautiful arrangement gently accompanied by typical Senegalese rhythms from my little bro Suntou Susso. The crescendo symbolizes reaching the highest state of love.

Released as a single in 2017 in Senegal, and then as part of the AKA TRIO album JOY released in 2019.

TAMALA’S CARAVAN TRAIL

Tamala means ‘travel’ in Mandinka. The piece represents a soul searching trip across what might look and feel like a desert, where nothingness can actually allow us to discover our truth. This song was born out of my attempt to multitask! I was looking after Bintou, my then 2 year old daughter while playing my kora. A tuning accident took me from the 4 traditional tunings and suddenly opened up a world of possibilities. I love exploring and pushing the boundaries of the kora to create tunings and sonorities that didn’t exist before. This has allowed me to collaborate with some outstanding musicians from different places and genres. Travelling, in all senses of the word.

Tamala was released on the 2000 debut album Baiyo, which was then renamed Mali in 2003.

THE SHADOW LEFT BY THE INVISIBLE MAN

The Invisible Man is an instrumental piece dedicated to my dad who I last saw when I was 3 months old. As an adult I went on a journey to look for him. I found his family just as my dad had passed away. For me he will always be the invisible man and symbolizes those mysterious spirits that can only exist through our imagination and our hearts. To quote the poet Hannah Lowe, my father “remains the elusive character I search for, opening one door after another.” This song is a celebration of the extraordinary power of our spirituality and imagination that can allow us to live other realities in visible and unseen layers of our world.

The track, The Invisible Man - Mikhi Nathan Mu-Toma was originally released on the solo album 22 Strings (2015).

MISSING YOU FOREVER

This piece was originally and spontaneously composed in a studio in 2007. I had just heard the news of the passing of my dear friends Salif Sylla and James Richard Brown and shortly after, Cheikh Diémé, my childhood friend from Carabane Island in Casamance. I wanted the music to slowly transport us into a nostalgic, nearly meditative state of contemplation, navigating our hearts to remember that we have the inner power to keep our dear ones alive.

The original track Missing You was first released as a solo kora piece on the album The Silimbo Passage with Seckou Keita Quintet, SKQ (2008).

L’ÉPOPÉE MANDE-ARAB feat. Abel Selaocoe, Davide Mantovani, Suntou Susso

I originally wrote this for voice and instruments. It represents my deep and ongoing desire to connect Mandinka music with Arabic music and was inspired by my work with the brilliant composer and violinist Samy Bishai. The composition showcases the changes in landscape and the adventures one might experience on a 5000 mile epic journey from West Africa to the shores of the Nile. In this version, I added new patterns orchestrated by Davide for dramatic effect. Abel Selaocoe’s fabulous vocal and cello improvisation takes us on a detour to South Africa.

The song Mande-Arab was sung by Binta Susso and originally released on the 2008 album The Silimbo Passage with Seckou Keita Quintet, SKQ - Abel Selaocoe appears courtesy of Erato/Warner Classics.

DISTANCE, A BIRD’S EYE VIEW

This track is about the distance we might experience between life events and between people. Sometimes distance is imposed upon us, sometimes we create it on purpose. For me, the song represents the distance from my homeland and my family back in Casamance, Senegal.

Distance can sometimes be difficult to live with but, when viewed from above, it is also what makes us grow and evolve. The string section repeats a series of melody lines giving the impression of a bird’s flight over a wonderful world.

The track, Distance was released on the album Miro in 2012.

BAMBA, THE LIGHT OF TOUBA feat. Davide Mantovani

This track takes us on a direct trip to Touba, a small suburb in Central Senegal, established by the Sufi Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké, founder of the Mouride Order. Bamba has been described as ‘a peacemaker of our time‘, committed to bringing about peace through non-violence. He died in 1927 and is buried in Touba next to the Great Mosque. To this day, he is celebrated as one of the most influential spiritual leaders in Senegal. Davide Mantovani’s double bass adds a guiding groove to this piece. The music invites us to follow a spiritual path, to trust our intuition, to work for peace and to always come back to what matters the most, love.

Bamba was composed in 2000 and first released in 2003 on Seckou’s family album Lindiane with Jalikunda Cissokho and then on his album Clychau Dibon in 2013 with Catrin Finch.