[John
McLaughlin Williams]
Uploaded
by minacciosa on Jan 7, 2012
"Archaic
Ritual is an orchestral suite in three movements written in 1946 by
the great African-American composer William Grant Still. While having
no program, it is evocative of a pagan ceremony worshiping idols and
long dead Gods, with its finale suggesting a frenzied dance resultant
from the ritual ingestion of mind-altering narcotics. The work
abounds with examples of Still's gift for imaginative orchestration
and harmony. There is no commercial recording of this piece, and to
this day many of Still's large catalog of orchestral and operatic
works remain without recordings or unperformed. This performance is
by the Centennial Celebration Orchestra, conducted by John McLaughlinWilliams."
[WilliamGrant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which
features a comprehensive Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de
Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com]
i once heard Malcolm X's daughter say "ever time an elder dies, it is like a library burning down". Thanks to Maestro John McLaughlin Williams and others, the William Grant Still library is still open for appreciation and recognition.
ReplyDeleteJohn Malveaux
www.musicuntold.com