Langston Hughes Play On 'Songs for The Soul: Chamber Music by African-American Composers,' Troy1190

[Songs for The Soul: Chamber Music by African-American Composers; Mallarmé Chamber Players; Nnenna Freelon, vocalist; Albany Records Troy 1190 (2010) (70:04)]

The liner notes of Songs for The Soul: Chamber Music by African-American Composers are by Dr. Timothy W. Holley: “Project funded in part by a grant from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music. This is a co-production of Videmus/Visionary Records and Albany Records.” The notes first name the performers: “Created in 1984 by musicians Jane Hawkins and Anna Ludwig Wilson, the Mallarmé Chamber Players (Suzanne Rousso, Artistic Director) is a flexible ensemble of professional musicians based in Durham, North Carolina...” “Six-time GRAMMY® Award-nominee Nnenna Freelon has earned a well-deserved reputation as a compelling and captivating live performer.”

The composers are Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989), Thomas Jefferson Anderson (b. 1928), William Banfield, and Anthony Kelley (b. 1965). The first work is Undine Smith Moore's Afro-American Suite for flute, cello & piano (1969). Dr. Timothy Holley writes: “The Afro-American Suite was written for Antoniette Handy and the Trio Pro Viva, who gave the premiere at Virginia State College.” “The suite closes in a jubilant manner to Shout All Over God's Heaven. The beauty, wit and charm of the music is found within the folksong, which provides a pleasant sense of finis coronat opus (the end crowns the work).”

The liner notes continue: “Spirit Songs of Thomas Jefferson Anderson was commissioned by Yo Yo Ma in 1993. The work received its world premiere by the Mallarmé Chamber Players in January, 2004, and it is based on Negro spirituals.” The notes close with: “The work is improvisational in character: however, the music is organized around collective thoughts and notations.”

Dr. Holley writes: “Soul Gone Home (2001) is a one-act play written by Langston Hughes. Commissioned by Mallarmé Chamber Players, it was set by William Banfield as an opera in one act and premiered on May 4, 2002 at the Hayti Heritage Center in Durham, North Carolina. The play features two characters, a mother and her teenage son, who has just died. True to form, Hughes (and Banfield) treat these complex issues with wit as well as sadness.” William Banfield is the conductor. The libretto is reproduced in the liner notes.

Anthony Kelley's contribution to the recording is Grist for the Mill for flute, clarinet, cello & percussion, a 2005 work commissioned by the Mallarmé Chamber Players. Dr. Timothy Holley writes: Grist for the Mill was commissioned from Dr. Kelley as a result of dinner conversation at the home of longtime Mallarmé patrons, composer T.J. and Lois Anderson.” The movements are titled: Wolf Gyrator, Invincible Separator and Bran Shaker.

Members of the Mallarmé Chamber Players on the disc are: Bonnie Thron, Cello; Debra Reter-Pivetta, flute; Thomas Warburton, piano; Ira Wiggins, saxophone; Nicholas Lewis, clarinet; Jonathan Wacker, percussion; and Thom Limbert, percussion.

Songs for the Soul
Chamber Music By African American Composers
Undine Smith Moore
Thomas Jefferson Anderson
William Banfield
Anthony Kelley