[Fela
Sowande]
Rocky
Mount Telegram
By
Laura
McFarland
Thursday,
January 12, 2012
The songs were born under oppression, but they
endured. When Maureen Kroncke sings spirituals such as 'His Name So
Sweet' and 'Sinner, Please Don’t Let This Harvest Pass,' it is an
emotional experience. It is not only that she is performing beautiful
music, though that in itself always is powerful. What moves Kroncke
is knowing that the religious folk songs are a testament to the hopes
and fears, faith and doubt of men, women and children who lived as
slaves more than 150 years ago. It is a joy and honor to sing their
music, she said.
“'It passes over
the limits of religion and covers a whole range of emotion. The range
of emotion in the music really helps to enhance that spiritual
feeling. People go away feeling strengthened and moved and blessed by
it,' said Kroncke of Rocky Mount. That is the reaction Kroncke, a
mezzo-soprano, and organist Lawrence Goering are hoping for with
their upcoming concert, 'Great Day! Spirituals and Music by
African-American Composers.' The free concert is at 5 p.m. Jan. 22 at
Church of the Good Shepherd in Rocky Mount. There will be free child
care provided and a reception following the concert.”
“The
concert will include arrangements of spirituals and organ works by
19th- and 20th-century black composers, Goering said. He will
accompany Kroncke on the piano when she sings and also perform
several organ pieces.” “The
organ pieces that Goering will perform are by composers whom the
average audience has never heard of, but they are brilliant composers
whose works should be performed, he said. Some of the songs he will
perform are Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s 'Arietta' and 'Elegy';
Florence Price’s 'Adoration' and 'A Pleasant Thought'; and Fela
Sowande’s 'Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho.'” [Samuel
Coleridge-Taylor, Florence B. Price and Fela Sowande are
profiled
at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works List for
Florence B. Price by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma,
http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com]
No comments:
Post a Comment