Monday, June 22, 2020

Sphinx Honors Black Lives With Musical Tributes for Juneteenth


Sphinx Virtuosi and EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble Release Videos in Honor of Juneteenth
In honor of Juneteenth, the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, Sphinx is proud to share a 2-part musical offering highlighting the deep injustices that have been dividing our world and communities.


ELEGY: IN MEMORIAM-STEPHEN LAWRENCE
Performed by the Sphinx Virtuosi
 
 
ABOUT THE WORK
Elegy: In Memoriam - Stephen Lawrence by Philip Herbert

Elegy was written in 1999 by Black British composer Philip Herbert in response to the tragic murder of Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager from Plumstead, South East London. He was murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for the bus. After a lengthy, arduous process, two of the perpetrators were convicted of murder in 2012. The occasion has been recorded as one of the most important moments in Britain’s history of criminal justice and one of the highest-profile unsolved racially motivated murders. 
 
Lift Every Voice and Sing
Performed by EXIGENCE
 


ABOUT THE WORK
Lift Every Voice and Sing arranged by Joel Thompson

In 1900, James Weldon Johnson, a prominent writer, civil rights activist, and leader in the NAACP, wrote Lift Every Voice and Sing, to honor Booker T. Washington. In 1905 his brother Rosamond put the poem to music, and the new piece was given birth as the negro national hymn by the NAACP in 1919.

120 years later, EXIGENCE sings this hymn now referred to as the “Black National Anthem” in honor of George Floyd and all those we lost before their intended time.

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