Nonesuch Records is set to release the soundtrack from the critically acclaimed documentary about African superstar Youssou N’Dour, I Bring What I Love, on January 12, 2010. The album features all-new recordings of music from throughout N’Dour’s career as well as two new songs, including the documentary’s title theme, written by N’Dour, Martin Davich, and the film’s composer James Newton Howard. The soundtrack to the stirring film by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi richly represents the music and the message of N’Dour the artist and the humanitarian. Pre-orders are available now in the Nonesuch Store.
 
With his 2004 Nonesuch release Egypt, N’Dour won raves around the globe. For the album, N’Dour collaborated with Egyptian composer Fathy Salama to create music in praise of the major figures of Senegalese Sufi Islam. Ironically, the album was met with worldwide critical acclaim yet lambasted in Senegal, where it was seen as blasphemous for a pop star to sing of such sacred things. Public sentiment in the artist’s home country changed, however, when the album was awarded the 2005 Grammy for best Contemporary World Music Album, a first for both N’Dour and Senegal.

Award-winning filmmaker Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi was on hand for the duration of this turbulent period of N’Dour’s career, documenting the singer’s personal, musical, and spiritual journey. Vasarehelyi was first inspired by the power of N’Dour’s music and message. “I was drawn most of all to the hope Youssou creates,” she said, continuing: “Although his is one of the most popular voices coming out of Africa, many people around the world still don’t know his work. So I wanted to make a film that would illuminate Youssou’s life and his message for others to discover.”

The resulting film, Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love, was premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews. Now magazine called it “brilliant,” praising Vasarhelyi’s “ability to keep a tight grip on the narrative through many turns without losing sight of the central figure or the essential human element,” while Rolling Stone dubbed it one of five essential rock movies at the Toronto International Film Festival.

A key element of Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love is the music itself. The Washington Post remarked that, within the film, “the most powerful element is N’Dour’s lone voice, a thing of high, pure beauty that feels at once ancient and new.” The Chicago Tribune agreed, saying “N’Dour’s piercing brilliance as a singer, and the irresistible Afro-Caribbean beat of his band’s compositions, bring the issues home.” That irresistible music is featured on Music from I Bring What I Love, including live and studio performances of compositions drawn from throughout N’Dour’s illustrious career, as well as two new songs: the title track and “Yonnent (The Messenger),” a moving duet with Moustapha Mbaye, known in Senegal as “the Prophet’s Griot.” These two tracks illustrate the source of N’Dour’s success: he has reached out to the world while remaining true to Africa, Senegal, and his humanitarian message. In the words of the Chicago Sun-Times, “N’Dour is the sort of humanitarian bridge that we need in a world so sharply divided.”