Kalunga for piano

Kalunga, the final movement of Hofmeyr’s Partita africana, takes the form of a toccata-style perpetuum mobile depicting the incessant, macabre dance of Kalunga, the God of Death and Lord of the Netherworld of the Nguni. It is characterised, like many African dances, by the use of rapid compound metre, punctuated by irregular cross-rhythms. Much of the pitch material was also generated by juxtaposing two complementary forms of the pentatonic scale. The piece was commissioned by the South African Music Rights Organisation for the Unisa-Transnet International Piano Competition. This live performance with Chinese pianist Ju Jin was made during the competition.