Description

Managed by James Balmer, the South African Kaffir Choir toured Europe and America in the eighteen eighties and nineties. They played typical African songs, incorporating elements of their native dialects whilst still maintaining a predominantly English language repertoire to appeal to the populists tastes of their audiences. Miss Elsie Clark, seen second from the left on the top row, accompanied them on piano. She was born and raised in South Africa by parents described, in a contemporary programme, to be ‘pioneer missionaries’.