[BOLCOM: From the Diary of Sally Hemings; Alyson Cambridge, soprano; Lydia Brown, piano. English text. White Pine Music WPM 221]
Sandra Seaton sends us Joshua Rosenblum's review of From the Diary of Sally Hemings:
“It would have been fascinating had Sally Hemings actually left behind a diary; a first-person written account by Thomas Jefferson's famous slave/paramour, who quite probably bore him children, would be illuminating, not to mention historic. No such document exists (to the best of our knowledge), but playwright Sandra Seaton created an imaginary one for William Bolcom, at the composer's request. Bolcom in turn had been asked to compose a song cycle on Hemings by mezzo-soprano Florence Quivar. Quivar sang the premiere of the cycle in 2001; the current disc, featuring soprano Alyson Cambridge, is its first recording.
“Seaton's texts are, as she herself puts it, a product of the imagination, within the bounds of historic possibility. Most significantly, her Sally Hemings is a woman 'whose intellect and taste were limited neither by her legal status nor racial categorization.' As a teenager, Hemings accompanied Jefferson to France for his tenure as American envoy there. Seaton's Hemings is permanently affected by the enlightenment this experience offered in terms of cultural and societal awareness. It also gives Bolcom, who studied with Darius Milhaud, the opportunity to provide an appealing dash of French influence to the music. By contrast, Bolcom, who is celebrated for his skill at combining classical and popular idioms, steers mostly clear of any obvious African–American musical references, such as jazz or spirituals. This is decidedly an art-song cycle, reflecting Bolcom's skill at text-setting and his seemingly bottomless wellspring of inspiration. The music teems with vitality, even in the slower numbers, and melds seamlessly with Seaton's libretto to create a rich, multi-hued inner life for this intriguing figure.”
JOSHUA ROSENBLUM
