Season Finale:
An American Rhapsody
New Jersey Symphony Classical
Xian Zhang conductor
Chris Komer horn
Manuel Valera piano
Ismail Lawal drums
Diallo House bass
Aaron Dworkin poetjournalist
Gary Edison voiceover actor
New Jersey Symphony
Program Notes | Season Finale: An American Rhapsody
An American Rhapsody
Aaron Dworkin/Coleridge-Taylor: The American Rhapsody: Symphonic Variations on an African Air
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was an Afro-British composer whose popularity in the early 20th century briefly eclipsed Edward Elgar’s. Born to a Black father from Sierra Leone and a white English mother, Coleridge-Taylor identified with his African heritage and regarded the dignity of the Black man as part of his artistic mission. His Symphonic Variations on an African Air is Coleridge-Taylor’s most ambitious and successful orchestral composition. Aaron Dworkin chose it as the musical canvas for his spoken word, multimedia work The American Rhapsody. Dworkin selected the text from speeches and writings by George Washington: not only our nation’s first president but also a gifted military commander, patriot and entrepreneur who valued education and the arts. Dworkin combined words and music in a process he has dubbed “musetry.” The narrative delivers America’s story in Washington’s words. Dworkin has framed it as a tribute to freedom, courage and other ideals, as well as addressing the moral stains inherent in our history.
No comments:
Post a Comment