Friday, February 22, 2013

Dominique-René de Lerma: 'Black, Brown and Beige #4'

William Grant Still Symphony No. 1 (Afro-American) 
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Järvi, Conductor
Chandos 9154 (1993)

   Those who were tuned in to Bill McGlaughlin's fourth program of his current Black, Brown and Beige series on National Public Radio were treated to one of our landmark masterworks: William Grant Still's Afro-American symphony.  It is unfortunately quite possible that many of his faithful followers heard this for the first time.  If so, they were in the same situation as those students enrolled in my final class, which concluded fifty-two years of university teaching.  For the past twenty-nine years, I had offered at least one semester on the history of Black music.  This was initiated with a consideration of general characteristics of the music, including various uses of the blues -- and that included a sampling of the first movement of this symphony by Still.  At our very next meeting, the students entered the classroom obviously irritated.  They did not hesitate in letting me know the reason: They felt angry because, thus far in their music studies, they had never previously heard this work.  It was so characteristic of Lawrence University students. I had not assigned or even suggested that they listen to the entire work after that introduction, but this is exactly what they did that initial evening.  This initiative alerted me that this was going to be a highly motivated and receptive group, and it was a wonderful honor to end my teaching career with that audience.  Every course they took had some effect on their personal or professional lives. One went immediately to Arizona and began teaching steel bands, one went to Sénégal on research and study, and another moved to Japan to develop new audiences for American music.  To an extent, they helped me reach the goal of all teachers: obsolescence.
              I'd hope Bill McGlauglin's listeners were similarly stimulated, if their concert going and record collection had sidestepped this work.  If that were not enough, he also included R. Nathaniel Dett's piano suite, In the bottoms, performed by the late  and much loved Natalie Hinderas, a friend of his from his Temple University days.  The last movement of that work is the Juba dance, which was a targeted piece for the repertoire of almost any Black pianist of the past.  When I saw it was out of print, I encouraged the publisher to reissue it.  They did more than that -- they reprinted all of Dett's piano suites.  Natalie included at least  the Juba  on many of her tours, and it finally made it to CD from LP in the company of other works of Black composers she so ardently supported.  I found it fascinating to learn that the composer-pianist George Walker was present for her Oberlin performance when she was a child prodigy.  (The radio program included one error: Dett did not study at Harvard.)
              The Afro-American symphony will very soon be on line, in a performance by the Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Kevin Moss. Now all students on this Wisconsin campus will have an advantage those ten years ago lacked.
              Ending just over a half-century of teaching was tough.  I closed that final meeting with Darryl Taylor's singing Leslie Adam's touchingly nostalgic Sence [sic] you went away.  In my dreams, I am back in class, blessed with students I have known, introducing them to our precious heritage.

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Dominique-René de Lerma

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