Songs Of Struggle, Compassion, And Redemption
5:00 pm
Live streamed from All Souls ChurchTroubled by the onslaught of killings of unarmed black men, Emmy Award-winning composer Joel Thompson wrote his Seven Last Words of the Unarmed in 2015, after finding Brooklyn-based journalist and artist Shirin Barghi’s #lastwords project on the same subject. The piece that resulted has resounded strongly in the choral world, and Musica Viva NY and the Aeolus Quartet are honored to share it in a program that also features music by J.S. Bach, George Walker, Florence Price and Trent Johnson. Join some of the artists and creative team for a “talkback” by Zoom after the concert.
PROGRAM
Aeolus Quartet
Trent Johnson, organ
Musica Viva NY choir and orchestra
Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, artistic director & conductor
George Walker, II. Molto Adagio from Quartet No. 1
Aeolus Quartet
Florence Price, Andante Moderato from Unfinished String Quartet in G Major
Aeolus Quartet
Joel Thompson, Seven Last Words of the Unarmed
For full chorus, string quartet, double bass, and piano
- “Why do you have your guns out?” – Kenneth Chamberlain, 66
- “What are you following me for?” – Trayvon Martin, 16
- “Mom, I’m going to college.” – Amadou Diallo, 23
- “I don’t have a gun. Stop shooting.” – Michael Brown, 18
- “You shot me! You shot me!” – Oscar Grant, 22
- “It’s not real.” – John Crawford, 22
- “I can’t breathe.” – Eric Garner, 43
Trent Johnson, Elegy for Organ and Strings
Trent Johnson, Organ
Anonymous, Victimae paschali laudes (plainchant)
J. S. Bach, Cantata BWV 4 Christ lag in Todes Banden
For choir, strings and portative organ
Sinfonia
Versus 1: Christ lag in Todes Banden – Halleluja
Versus 2: Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt
Versus 3: Jesus Christus, Gottes Sohn
Versus 4: Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg
Versus 5: Hier ist das rechte Osterlamm
Versus 6: So feiern wir das hohe Fest
Versus 7: Wir essen und leben wohl
Post-concert discussion, immediately following the performance.
All Souls Church
1157 Lexington Avenue,
New York, NY 10075