African sanctus

Duration: 49

Year Published: 1977

Creator: Time-Life Films

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Sound: sound

Description: This film re-creates the journeys of English composer/explorer David Fanshawe to East Africa from 1966 to 1973. During his travels, Fanshawe recorded many examples of indigenous music and combined these with his own compositions to form a large-scale choral work of the Latin Mass which he named African Sanctus. The composer is seen discussing musical tone with a Moslem muezzin, attending a wedding celebration in Egypt and a festival of Masai warriors in Kenya, and finding the powerful chant for his Credo among the peoples of the Sudan. Fanshawe's musical exploration also reveals the cultural changes taking place in Africa as a result of western influences.