{"product_id":"four-spirits","title":"Four Spirits","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing on the acclaimed \u003cem\u003eWhere is Home\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eHymns of Bantu\u003c\/em\u003e, two genre-defying albums, \u003cem\u003eFour Spirits\u003c\/em\u003e is also drawn from Abel’s South African roots and seeks to create a communal experience with the audience through cello concerto, percussion, singing and improvisation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis first solo cello concerto and, formally speaking, a concerto cast in four movements. A co-commission by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony and Philharmonie Zuidnederland, it was written for cello, voice, percussion and orchestra, and features Bernhard Schimpelsberger alongside Selaocoe. (The recording was made with the Aurora Orchestra and Nicholas Collon at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2025.) \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eYet \u003cem\u003eFour Spirits\u003c\/em\u003e is unlikely to become a standalone repertory piece for anyone other than the irrepressible Selaocoe. From its premiere in 2022 to this recording in 2025, it’s gone through myriad changes, weaving Selaocoe’s personal biography and reflections on faith, love, and community ever more closely into the textures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eEach movement takes an essential aspect of township life and thematises it: ancestors, children, faith and community. Selaocoe positions himself as chief storyteller, combining improvised cello with lyrics in the Southern Sotho and Zulu languages. If the traditional concerto soloist is engaged in an existential struggle—either with themselves or in opposition to their accompaniment—then that equation is blown apart here. Selaocoe is a conduit: a leader, through whom every spirit flows.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Warner Classics","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":53004493455691,"sku":"R2190-9198","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53004493488459,"sku":"R2190-0443","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2000x2000bb_375224e3-44a0-4a58-8d82-ffeb5e4658ba.jpg?v=1753384702","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/products\/four-spirits","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}