BABA YETU - Christopher Tin (SSATBB's Guide)
From Christopher Tin:
'Baba Yetu' is a Swahili setting of The Lord's Prayer, originally commissioned as the theme song for the video game Civilization IV. Since its debut in 2005, it's become an immensely popular choral work and one of the most critically acclaimed pieces of music written for a video game, winning a Grammy Award in 2011 for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists.
Missionaries of the 19th-century used Swahili as the lingua franca for spreading Christianity across East Africa; consequently, a rich tradition of vocal music arose that blended European harmonies with traditional African call-and-response. My setting of The Lord's Prayer introduces several new elements into this tradition: an explosive orchestral accompaniment, as well as a complex series of modulations to bring the choral setting into a variety of tonal centers. This became my template for many pieces to follow, particularly on my song cycles 'Calling All Dawns' and 'The Drop That Contained the Sea'.
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