Thula Baba – Resource Pack

Loosely translated as “Hush Baby”, this is a lovely South African lullaby. To make life easier for English speakers, I’ve written out the lyrics phonetically below the actual words in the score.

As with many arrangements I write, this song can be done using virtually any combination of singers. As indicated in the score, the parts can be taken down an octave if necessary. Directors of mixed choirs might also wish to create mixed voice parts that span an octave. Choir leaders know their choirs’ voices far better than arrangers, so it down to your discretion as to how you would like to organise your choir to sing this song. However, in an ideal world this is the configuration I would suggest, depending on the make up of your choir…

All women: voice 1 – soprano, voice 2 – soprano, voice 3 – alto
Women with a small number of men: voice 1 – soprano, voice 2 – soprano and baritone (an octave lower), voice 3 – alto
Two thirds women / One third men: voice 1 – soprano, voice 2 – baritone (an octave lower), voice 3 – alto
An equal number of men and women: voice 1 – soprano and tenor (an octave lower), voice 2 – soprano and baritone (an octave lower), voice 3 – alto and bass (an octave lower)
Two thirds men / One third women: voice 1 – tenor (an octave lower), voice 2 – soprano and baritone (an octave lower), voice 3 – bass (an octave lower)
Men with a small number of women: voice 1 – tenor (an octave lower), voice 2 – baritone (an octave lower), voice 3 – bass (an octave lower)
All men: voice 1 – tenor (an octave lower), voice 2 – baritone (an octave lower), voice 3 – bass (an octave lower)

Rehearsal tracks performed by Eleanor Rastall (www.eleanorrastall.co.uk).

This Resource Pack contains the full score and audio learning tracks for all parts as well as the ensemble recording.