Ubuhle Bendalo Virtual Choir

The Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum is proud to present Ubuhle Bendalo by Bongani Magatyana. In the summer of 2019, Collegium had the immense privilege to embark on a three-week tour to South Africa. Bongani Magatyana, a prolific composer and conductor from Cape Town, taught several of his compositions to Collegium during the first week of the tour at the Nylsvley Nature Reserve in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Over the next two weeks, Collegium traveled throughout the country sharing and exchanging music in churches, community centers, prisons, and schools. At every stage of the tour, we were humbled by the generosity and benevolence of the South African people, and in honor of our tour anniversary, we want to continue to share this music with our friends, families, and fellow singers. Ubuhle Bendalo is an expression of our collective love for the beauty of nature, from the ‘green trees and colorful flowers’ to the ‘mountains, hills, and oceans’ that connect our seemingly distant lives.

Featuring………………. Emily Albery, Hannah Alton, Sophia Campbell, Ian Chan, Xavier Evans, Elbert Gong, Joey Griffith, Nazeli Hagen, Samantha Heavner, Anahita Iyer, Natalie Kahn, Nivi Ravi, Beck Saine, Andrew Shen, Dustin Swonder, Jeff Williams, Lowry Yankwich
Produced by………………. Nivi Ravi
Illustration by………………. Caroline Elson

Video Description: The rectangular screen is populated with 17 singers in square windows. One window located in the center of the screen begins with the Collegium logo then transitions into a speed-painted illustration of a landscape from the Nylsvley Nature Reserve in South Africa.

Xhosa Text:
Imine zolile, ilanga libalele
Buhle bendalo buvuyisi ntliziyo yam
Mithindini eluhlaza zintyatyambo zimibalabala
Buhle bendalo buvuyisi ntliziyo yam
Ilanga ne nyanga zahlulu busuku nemini
Buhle bendalo buvuyisi ntliziyo yam
Bona ubuhle bezontaba amawa nezilwandle
Oh buhle bendalo buvuyisi ntiliziyo yam

English Translation:
It is a quiet, sunny day
The beauty of nature gives joy to my heart
The green trees and the colorful flowers
The beauty of nature gives joy to my heart
The sun and moon, the pure day and night
The beauty of nature gives joy to my heart
See the beauty of the mountains, the hills, the oceans
Oh, the beauty of nature gives joy to my heart