The Dream Unfinished

Saturday, May 11, 2024 • 8:00pm

PHOTO OF THE EMBRACE BY TYXCHO, CC BY-SA 4.0

Florence Price: Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight

William Grant Still: Plain-Chant for America

Plus works by Margaret Bonds, Irving Berlin, Randall Thompson, André Thomas, and Dorothy Rudd Moore.
Philip Lima, baritone
Valerie Becker, piano

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ABOUT THE CONCERT

Reference to “the dream unfinished” is a poignant reminder that we don't yet all share the same opportunities, freedoms, and liberties that are the foundations on which our country was built. Told through the voices of a diverse selection of composers, the music for this concert celebrates the ideals of the American Dream, and explores racial injustice, hope, human resilience, and the possibility of realizing a world where people are not enslaved and where people of all backgrounds can coexist harmoniously.

The manuscript for Florence Price’s Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight (based on Vachel Lindsay's poem of the same name) was among boxes of her music discovered in an abandoned house in St. Anne, IL, in 2009. The house had been Price's summer home. Fortunately, those discovering the music did not simply discard it! With this discovery, more of Price’s music is now available in print. Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight depicts his restless spirit walking at midnight and mourning the struggles of his nation. The arrangement used for this concert was first created by our Artistic Director, Dr. Michael Driscoll.

Incorporating a rich mix of influences, including classical, jazz, and African American spirituals, William Grant Still’s Plain Chant for America both celebrates what we aspire to be and reminds us of what is yet to be accomplished.

Other works on this program, often using settings of Langston Hughes’ poetry, explore the same themes through Margaret Bonds' The Negro Speaks of Rivers and I, Too; Randall Thompson‘s Testament of Freedom; Florence Price’s My Dream; Irving Berlin’s Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor; André Thomas’ I Dream a World; and Dorothy Rudd Moore's Fourth of July Speech.