The
Spirituals of William L. Dawson; The
St. Olaf Choir; Anton Armstrong, conductor; Marvis Martin, soprano;
St. Olaf Records 2159 (1997)
William Levi Dawson
A YouTube posting has made Dawson's only symphony available in its entirety online. The Negro
Folk Symphony (35:44) was posted on YouTube May 23, 2012.
William Levi Dawson (1899-1990) is
profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive Works
List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma,
http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com
The
Dawson page discusses the recording by Leopold Stokowski:Leopold
Stokowski conducted the first performance of Dawson's Negro
Folk Symphony
in 1934. He also recorded the work for Decca Records in 1963. The LP
recording has since been reissued on CD by Deutsche Grammophon
as DG 477 6502 (2007). Alan Newcombe says in the liner notes that
the work was important to the evolution of the American symphony:
“His Negro
Folk Symphony
was first performed by Leopold Stokowski with the Philadelphia
Orchestra in 1934. After making a study of indigenous African music,
in 1952 Dawson revised his work to give it a more 'African' rhythmic
underpinning. While recalling the idiom of Dvorak's 'New World'
Symphony and the cyclic principles of the César Franck school, not
to mention Bruckner's Fourth at the opening of the last movement, the
work's individuality of texture and rhythmic energy make it a
significant, albeit largely unacknowledged, contribution to the
development of the American symphony.”
Comment by email:I met Dawson during a visit in Los Angeles and thereafter had several
conversations with him via telephone. I greatly appreciated many of his
compositions especially the haunting French Horn in the opening of
his Negro Fok Symphony. During those years, I sought to produce a
national radio program featuring interviews with neglected but worthy
composers of African descent. I requested interviews with Dawson, George
Walker and Ulysses Kay. Dawson told me that part of our problem is 'we
talk to much' and I was unable to convince him of the merits of seeking
to educate the public via radio interview. George Walker did not refuse
to be interviewed but he was not available when I went to New
Jersey. Ulysses Kay agreed to an interview. John Malveaux
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