Community and Connection
Sunday May 18, 2025 at 4pm
Aaron Copland, selections from Old American Songs
Nathaniel Dett, The Chariot Jubilee
Alice Parker, folk song and spiritual arrangements
David McFerrin, baritone
with chamber instrumental ensemble and piano
A Commonwealth Composer Concert
Venue
Experience community and connection through the diversity of American folk songs! We can all connect on different levels with what folk songs are about: work and labor, losing or gaining freedom, personal and social tragedies, joy and romance, historical events and movements, faith and spirituality, social or political issues, and the ups and downs of everyday life. Folk songs also provide connections across generations, by celebrating cultural and ethnic heritages or inspiring social activists. The music of Copland, Dett, and Parker explore many of these themes.
In hisOld American Songs Aaron Coplandarranges American folk songs that feature the pioneer experience, the vastness of America’s natural landscapes, political commentary, and the simple pleasure of entertaining children. Some consider his arrangements to be the characteristic sound of American music.
Nathaniel Dett’s significant and diverse musical legacy includes arrangements of African American spirituals. These arrangements fuse the simple, profound messages of these uniquely American folk songs with the European romantic classical music tradition. Inspired by the spiritual Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Dett’s The Chariot Jubileeexemplifies his blending of these two traditions. The interplay between the chorus and the tenor soloist, along with the dynamic orchestration, creates a powerful and uplifting musical experience celebrating our common humanity.
This season’s Commonwealth Composer isAlice Parker. In her many decades as a composer, she composed a wide variety of music. However, she is especially well known for her classic arrangements of American folk songs, folk hymns, and spirituals. Her love of family and community is reflected in these arrangements. As she told NewMusic USA, “When we sing something perfectly lovely together … and it really clicks, you have this marvelous feeling of brotherhood in the room. We are all human beings. We are all feeling this emotion together at the same time. And this is uniting us. We are not separate.”
Join us to experience music representing a rich mix of collective memory, cultural identity, and emotional expression, reflecting the diverse and evolving narrative of American life.
