dyton mupawaendaThe Herald, 3 April, 1980
CHOIRS will be singing throughout the country in competitions to mark the independence celebrations.
According to one of the organisers, Mr P Marime, the choirs will sing liberation songs. Among the songs to be sung by the Tatonga choir are Iro Gore iro, Isu vanhu veZimbabwe and Mitumbi nemitumbi takairongedza.
The themes are on peace, victory and tribute to those who died during the war.
The teams in Mufakose practice for three hours a day and the songs are composed collectively by the 50 or so people in each choir, said Marime.
The best music came from the Tatonga choir whose two songs are Takawira Mukonowedzo and Long Live Comrade Mugabe.
Takawira Mukonowedzo is a tribute to the late Leopold Takawira, but the song is also a eulogy to the dead.
All songs, according to the leader of the Tatonga choir, Mr Ernest Shara, have been composed in the last month.
Lessons For Today
Freedom fighters used song and dance to mobilise support from the people. This saw thousands of young men and women living the country to go and train as freedom fighters in neighbouring countries.
Professor Alec Pongweni compiled some of the songs into a book titled, Songs that Won the Liberation War.
As we commemorate the 44th independence anniversary, song and dance continue to be used to mobilise people to support Government’s various developmental initiatives.
Music is a communicative mode that has a unique power to bring people together and transmit a rich mix of emotions, through joint music-making and listening in a variety of everyday contexts.
Online Reporter