30/09/2025
As julle nog nie kaartjies gekoop het nie, koop asseblief. Dit is die eerste keer na 2016 se brand dat iets weer in die Goodnow aangebied word - sowaar 'n baie spesiale geleentheid.
O Fire of the Spirit: From the Ashes
October 11: Two historic venues. One extraordinary musical journey.
First, at noon, Goodnow Hall in Wellington breathes again for the first time since the 2016 fire – with music originally written for its walls. Then at 18:00, Stellenbosch's Moederkerk continues the story for Woordfees.
The program spans nine centuries of received wisdom and divine inspiration. We begin with Hildegard von Bingen's 12th-century mystical visions – music she believed flowed through her from the Living Light, rarely performed in South Africa. We honor Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu's ancestral Zulu songs, carried in her bones from generations past, tenderly arranged by Peter Klatzow. John Tavener's "Prayer of the Heart" merges prayer with heartbeat in a 14-minute meditation he described as remembered, not composed. Lusibalwethu Sesanti's "Umthandazo" bridges sacred traditions, weaving isiXhosa prayers with Islamic and Christian texts in contemporary harmony.
At the heart lies Braam du Toit's "My Blessing" – a work that arrived whole in 2016, inspired by Noah's ark, written specifically for Goodnow Hall. Only after the fire did he discover Goodnow was built from American timber salvaged from a shipwreck in 1885. Water, fire, ark, resurrection – the patterns were there all along, waiting to be seen.
Performing Artists:
Lusibalwethu Sesanti, Nonhlanhla Yende & Lente Louw (mezzo sopranos)
Sandra Prinsloo (narrator)
Sunell Jacobs (conductor)
Nicholas Bruiners & Kaitlin Visser-Downie (violins)
Petrus Coetzee (viola)
Ashlin Grobbelaar (cello)
Siyolise Nyondo (contrabass)
José Dias (piano)
The women of akKOORd, bringing voices from across the Overberg
Goodnow Hall, Wellington: 12:00 (inaugural concert - witness history)
Moederkerk, Stellenbosch: 18:00 (Woordfees)
R180 | Students R100 | Pensioners R162 | R200 at door
Book:
Goodnow: www.quicket.co.za/events/331135-o-fire-of-the-spirit-goodnow-inaugural
Woordfees: www.quicket.co.za/events/319740-o-fire-of-the-spirit
Like fynbos that needs fire to release its seeds, this music reflects the remarkable ability to rise from ashes – to create beauty from destruction.
Be part of history as music returns to Goodnow Hall for the first time since 2016. This isn't just a concert – it's a homecoming woven through with extraordinary synchronicities.
