WATCH | Mzansi Youth Choir's rendition of 'Silent Night' in six languages will get you feeling festive

The festive season is in full swing and Mzansi Youth Choir's rendition of  Silent Night is spreading all the good vibes. The choir collaborated with artists including Ami Faku, Lira and Donald to sing the song in six of SA's official languages.

The collaboration was part of the choir's #HopeForTheHolidays which aims to unite South Africans by breaking language barriers through music. Chorister Babalwa Maqungo said the artists were more than happy to put their names behind the initiative.

The six languages sung are IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, Afrikaans, Setswana, Sesotho and English. What makes this rendition even more special is that none of the artists sing in their mother tongues.

Bass singer Lucky Khumalo said this helped forge a connection between the artists as they learnt each other's languages.

“We had so much fun working with each artist in studio, teaching them to sing in our home languages but also learning better pronunciation of the Afrikaans verse from some of them.” 

For tenor Bheka Mkhize, he hopes that the version of the song will not only create cultural empathy among South Africans, but also inspire other choirs to sing this version as well. 

“Hearing it sung in our local languages will hopefully open the doors for deeper cross-cultural empathy. We also hope that choirs and families around SA will give singing this version a try.”