Some of These Days: Lara Downes & Friends
Lara Downes met with WRTI's Susan Lewis on Zoom to chat about the pianist's new release, SOME OF THESE DAYS.
By Susan Lewis
May 18, 2020
As Memorial Day approaches, we think of the service and sacrifice of
so many to protect our country and keep us safe. Our classical album of
the week, Some of These Days, is a recent
release by pianist Lara Downes featuring American music about
perseverence, hope, and caring for one another in troubled times.
The
album title comes from a short piece by African-American composer,
pianist and music teacher Florence Price (1887-1983), whose music Lara
discovered in a library over a dozen years ago. Initially thinking she
would do an album on Price and her blending of the African-American and
European musical traditions, Lara began to realize the pervasive
influence of the spiritual, "and what that has meant to all of us as
Americans."
The piece, "Some of These Days" is based on the
spiritual, "Welcome Table," which has a line: "All God's children gonna
sit together some of these days."
Lara talked with WRTI's Susan Lewis on Zoom about what inspired her to create this album, and how it resonates today.
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