Drum Speaks

Sandile Dikeni, South-African journalist and poet of freedom, recites his poems on the present WERGO-CD just as he performs them in public: from memory, spontaneously, and very moving. The German composer Klaus Hinrich Stahmer has recognized the symbols of the new age in Africa by reading modern African literature, examining the artwork of modern African artists, and listening to the talking drums. His musical works collected here reflect his interest in the musical traditions and political problems of the black continent. Klaus Hinrich Stahmer's close collaboration with Sandile Dikeni is particularly important. The result is a unique combination of lyricism and music.