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The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra ushers in the winter solstice with Margaret Bonds’ Christmas cantata, The Ballad of the Brown King, along with shimmering choral works by Mary Lou Williams featuring Black Christ of the Andes as the centerpiece. In these works, we witness the bittersweet intersection of music, poetry, religion, and the Civil Rights movement in America.
The Ballad of the Brown King was written in 1954/1960 with a libretto by Bonds’ long time collaborator, Langston Hughes. The cantata focuses on the journey of the Three Kings through the lens of Balthazar, the Black king. Dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. the piece is characterized by call-and-response textures, jazz harmonies, gospel vocalizations, calypso rhythms, and syncopated gestures. In using these styles Bonds affirms Black identity and its place in classical music during a very tumultuous time in United States history.
Similarly, Mary Lou Williams wrote Black Christ of the Andes inspired by the Second Vatican Council and the Civil Rights movement. A devout Catholic, Williams often infused her music with themes of social justice and served as an activist from the stage and podium. The Dessoff Choirs is joined by internationally recognized soloists Laquita Mitchell, Noah Stewart, and Lucia Bradford with Malcolm J. Merriweather at the podium.
PROGRAM:
The Ballad of the Brown King (1954, 1960, 2018) - Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)
Credo - Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981)
Lazarus - Mary Lou Williams
Noah Stewart, tenor
Our Father - Mary Lou Williams
Laquita Mitchell, soprano
Act of Contrition - Mary Lou Williams
Lucia Bradford, mezzo soprano
St. Martin de Porres “Black Christ of the Andes” (1962) - Mary Lou Williams
I have a dream - Mary Lou Williams
ALSO FEATURING:
Ashley Jackson, harp
Nathaniel Gumbs, organ
Steven Ryan, piano