'African Sanctus' composer Fanshawe dies

[July 12, 2010]  LONDON (AP) -- David Fanshawe, a widely traveled musical explorer best known as the composer of "African Sanctus," has died at age 68.

Fanshawe died on Monday, according to a statement on his website, which did not say where he died.

"African Sanctus," premiered in 1972, was based on music collected in four years of wanderings in Egypt, Sudan, Kenya and Uganda.

Fanshawe said of himself, "Without my travels, I would have nothing original to say."

Fanshawe recorded music in Tahiti, Tonga, Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Thailand and Laos, amassing a collection of 3,000 audio tapes and 60,000 images.

[Associated Press]

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