From Munyaradzi Munzabwa in Manzini, Swaziland
VISITING award winning Zimbabwe gospel vocalist Takesure Zamar Ncube dished out a flawless energy filled show during Friday’s Worship Night held at the Rest in Christ International Ministries Auditorium in Matsapha just the peripheries of the hub town Manzini on Friday.
A neutral would probably deserve a ‘Kuregerera in advance’ had they thumb-sucked a guess that the backing vocalists that gave the easy ride to Ncube were all Shona speaking and probably imported from Zimbabwe.
Indeed we live in a globalized era in which languages are equally migrating with perfection, and several weeks of practice sessions added an icing. On a near cold night, the Worship Night returning from a three year long global suspending novel Coronavirus pandemic induced hiatus carried enough warmth to carry the audience through it all.
For this all emaswati choir drawn from across the church’s branches, the eloquence and fluidity in singing the lines ‘Agere pachigaro, Jesu mutswene, Ishe wemadzishe, changamire muponesi, ngirozi dzino murumbidza’ left the thousand plus in awe.
When compared, the hard tongued Shona line risk presenting tough flows for soft, smooth and light emaswati but excellently through vast weeks of practice there was no struggle sounding in the flawless energy filled rendition.
Just maybe, had he performed the fame and breakthrough giving ‘Kuregerera in advance’ which carries more verses than ‘Agere Pachigaro’, that struggle could have probably bolted out and despite the entire near two hour long slot quenching the thirst for the audience, it also left Ncube equally and excitedly amazed.
“The choir was amazing, they were eloquent,” said Ncube when asked if anticipated such Shona fluidity from the local backing vocalists.
Perhaps to borrow from the theme, ‘Total Victory Through Praise and Worship’ the night had probably lived up to the bill despite the three major premiered artists sharing just about half of the time.
The night had opened with two hours of renditions by the praise and worship team and the arrival, first of Eswatini’s gospel prodigy Sphiwo Ndoni Ndlangamandla brought warm but that of Ncube and Nothando Dlamini an hour later raised the heat bar further.
By the time, Ndlangamandla took to the stage and audience sampling his forthcoming single ‘Ngohlabelela’ it was ‘Tive temhlaba’ that set the praise and worship menu on the table.
Ncube took to the stage at 2330hrs for one and a half hour long performance. It was exactly 42 minutes into his time that he belted out ‘Agere pachigaro’ that even the host, Bishop Vincent Hlatshwako dedicating out the song to Eswatini based Zimbabwe couple in the third row of VIP section just a metre away – congregants from his Siteki Branch.
In between the songs, Ncube would literally minister the word and at one longing for the days where titles meant nothing in worshipping.
“We are living in dangerous time where we have sangomas in suits, it is so difficult to separate between original and counterfeit. I long for days titles meant nothing in worship. We didn’t have bishops, a-shops and c-shops,” said Ncube throwing the house into a burst of laughter.
Once done, shortly after 0100hrs, an all sweaty drenched Ncube was whisked back to the hotel to rest before catching the first flight out of King Mswati III International Airport to Oliver Tambo International Airport enroute Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport for another show held in Harare.
Ncube didn’t leave the stage unattended but with the energy filled Nothando Dlamini preaching through her songs.