Central Africa’s Only Orchestra: Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanquiste
In a polyphonic country of African rhythms and pop grooves, rumba and reggae, the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste plays European classical music — unbidden, unasked and untiring. In the new German documentary, Kinshasa Symphony, filmmakers Claus Wischmann and Martin Baer explore what moves people, living in one of the world’s poorest cities, to make a long, chaotic trip after a hard day of work to a stiflingly hot courtyard. There, they sit for hours, rehearsing Handel and Orff — music that has neither tradition nor prestige in Congo, as foreign here as curling or golf. (trailer)
