William
Grant Still
(Photo is the sole property of William Grant Still Music,
and is used with permission)
William
Grant Still (1895-1978) and Ulysses S. Kay, Jr. (1917-1995) are profiled at AfriClassical.com, which
features a comprehensive Works List for each by Prof. Dominique-René de
Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com
An hour of choral music of African American composers may be heard via the following link:
WQXR New York City
African American Choral Composers
Sunday, February 24, 2013
On this edition of The Choral Mix, Kent Tritle explores
compositions of contemporary African Americans.
...
Ulysses Kay was originally encouraged to pursue composition
by William Grant Still, and composed for chorus receiving particular
praise for his works. He taught for two decades in the city at Lehman
College. Featured on this episode is his sacred triptych called, A New Song-3 Psalms for Chorus.
They are a capella settings of portions of Psalms 149, 103 and 117.
The Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street sings this version under the
direction of Larry King.
Philip Brunelle and his Minnesota group Vocalessence
are champions of African American composition. We play selections sung
by the midwestern group composed by two leading women -- Undine Smith
Moore and Evelyn Simpson-Curenton.
This episode would not be complete without a contribution from the
great William Grant Still. Grant Still was a prolific composer and
man of many firsts -- the first African-American to conduct a major
American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony (his first
symphony) performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an
opera performed by a major opera company, and the first to have an
opera performed on national television. These are all testaments to
the great quality of work. We feature his dramatic work, Wailing Woman. It's scored for Chorus, Orchestra and soloist. We play a version featuring more of Vocalessence, with soloist Yolanda Williams led by Philip Brunelle.
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