‘Making Grace Amazing’ a haunting history of slave trade
MAKING GRACE AMAZING
ARTISTS: Composer/Director: Neo Muyanga; Soprano: Tina Mene Chorus of We the People: Legítima Defesa; Video and Animation: Neo Muyanga and Bianca Turner
GENRE: Film, Music, Performance Art
DURATION: 28 min LANGUAGE: English, Portuguese AGES: 14+
AVAILABLE FROM: June 29
Amazing Grace is quite possibly one of the most well-known Christian hymns still regularly performed today. Few people know its origin and the context of its lyrics.
In Making Grace Amazing, Neo Muyanga uses the familiar hymn as a lens through which the audience is taken through a 28-minute history of the transatlantic slave trade that existed from the 16th to the 19th century.
The composer of the hymn is former slave trader, John Newton, who came to see the transatlantic slave trade as exactly what it was — pure evil. Newton’s attitude change is echoed in the hymn with the words “I was blind, but now I see”.
He rejected the slaving profession, going so far as to writing a tract titled Thoughts upon the Slave Trade that highlighted the horrific circumstances black men and women were forced to endure as they were ripped from their homes, carried across the sea under inhumane conditions, and, if they survived the journey, sold into a life of slavery.
Newton lived to see the abolition of slavery in Great Britain in 1807 before he died in December of that year. Muyanga ’ s work uses live and pre-recorded music, soundscapes, video footage and live performers with great effect, with Bianca Turner collaborating on the video and animation, and Dave Langeman’s sound mastery.
The creative team includes former Cape Town Opera mezzosoprano Tina Mene and São Paulo protest theatre troupe Legítima Defesa.
The opening sequence has layered imagery, with the only sounds being a stark ostinato and Mene going through her vocal warm-ups.
From that point Muyanga takes the audience through a carefully planned, yet raw experience of the disconnect between humanity and human trafficking.
The use of source material as well as stark visuals depicting scenes from slave boats creates a haunting and heartrending experience.
Muyanga’s choice of classical music is also interesting. While it can create a sense of chronological and, perhaps, geographical context, this would be lost on the average audience member.
The use of Dido’s Lament, unless taken out of the context of the original opera, creates nothing more than a haunting soundscape.
It is the final moments of this performance that leaves an indelible impression. The cleverly mixed music and soundscapes, the precise use of visuals, and the reworking of Amazing Grace, was executed with meaning and, dare I say it, grace.
There are some extremely unsettling moments which serve to add depth to a performance that worked hard to keep the narrative moving forward. Making Grace Amazing is a unique offering in the conversation around the far-reaching scars left by the transatlantic slave trade.
At 28 minutes, it provides a short but powerful statement that will leave you fascinated and moved.