Original music for a cappella choir by Julien Jouga, text from latin liturgy translated in Wolof (Senegal).
"When I was young in Ziguinchor, I used to pass by the mosque to go to the mass at 5 a.m. I could hear "wassifas" being sung and I was very impressed by those songs. When I wrote my first Wolof Mass, I remembered these melodies and I gathered some parts into the Kyrie. The ‘Yallah, Yallah’ are written on that special "Wassifa" rhythm. I was lucky to create the mass in 1991 in Dakar with more than 2.000 young singers. They came from everywhere in the country, they were Catholics, they were Muslims and we created the mass together.”
Djembe can be added to give more energy, but it can also be performed strictly a cappella
Julien JOUGA was born on February 5, 1931, in Dakar. He bridged cultures. He was named "Artist for Peace” by the UNESCO in 1997. He was a soldier in the Senegalese army, but he was also a chemist, a journalist, a radio-host, but first and foremost he was a musician and a choirmaster. He passed away in 2004.
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