South African baritone and 2010 Kathleen Ferrier Award-winner Njabulo Madlala makes his debut on Champs Hill Records.

'Songs of Home' is a reflection of a journey from the townships of South Africa to the world of classical music and song. It is inspired by the South African songbook and songs his Grandmother used to sing.

Njabulo describes it as "life’s journey without boundaries", drawing on "songs I heard and took to bed with me every night, songs I heard from Miriam Makeba, Sibongile Khumalo and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau".

"This CD showcases the intense beauty of music. The unique harmonies and rhythms of Africa meeting those of Schubert, Schumann and Strauss. The click sounds spoken by the Zulu and Xhosa people of South Africa meeting English composers Vaughan Williams, Howells and Quilter.”

"That moment of rapt silence and attention, when an audience is entirely transfixed by a musician’s artistry, is rare at the best of times — let alone in the middle of a competition. But it happened in the finals of this year’s Kathleen Ferrier Awards, when the South African baritone, Njabulo Madlala, riveted every listener in the hall with his musical storytelling in Schumann’s dramatic ballad, Belsazar." - The Times