Four Spirits

Following on the acclaimed Where is Home and Hymns of Bantu, two genre-defying albums, Four Spirits is also drawn from Abel’s South African roots and seeks to create a communal experience with the audience through cello concerto, percussion, singing and improvisation. His first solo cello concerto and, formally speaking, a concerto cast in four movements. A co-commission by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony and Philharmonie Zuidnederland, it was written for cello, voice, percussion and orchestra, and features Bernhard Schimpelsberger alongside Selaocoe. (The recording was made with the Aurora Orchestra and Nicholas Collon at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2025.)  Yet Four Spirits is unlikely to become a standalone repertory piece for anyone other than the irrepressible Selaocoe. From its premiere in 2022 to this recording in 2025, it’s gone through myriad changes, weaving Selaocoe’s personal biography and