When we say black music it would include the spectrum of black composers who who who are not necessarily writing. What sounds like black music but I certainly in the in the arena writing music of America as well as that music which itself reflects the ethnic background of blacks.There's a recognition on my part that for me to get. Anything you're the recognition to my wife. Upper part. I have to be probably much better than that person in terms of my abilities for need to be given the same degree of serious attention. Black music is at the foundation of American music and American culture all around the world with spirituals Blues Jazz and gospel songs of the Afro-American. I loved and respected and recognized as distinctly American. However, the influence of black music and musicians extends to the concert hall as well. I'm Judy Moore Smith and what you hear on this program represents a small portion of a diverse contributions made by the black composer and performer to the music and life of a concert hall. The music is taken from a 1981 performance by the Buffalo Philharmonic incline and Tall under the direction of Julius. Rudel. The orchestra was joined by bass-baritone William Warfield guest conductors, Michael Morgan and Charles Zachary Bornstein and two choruses from Buffalo, New York. American Music first Securities identity and the spirituals those songs with spoke of love and grief of bondage and freedom religious folk songs. They were called they've been introduced to the World by the Jubilee singers of Fisk University soon after the Civil War American Music was further identified by the Blues Gospel and Jazz and later years, but the limits the black music are not restricted by these idioms nor those added when we consider music from the African motherland. We have been blessed by music by The Black composer of History, not yet well-known, which reaches back before 1600 we speak not of only a few figures scattered here and there but of many hundreds of composers from Africa Brazil Panama, France Cuba, Denmark, Spain, England, and of course the United On this program, we will encounter 3 representatives from this diversity one from 18th century France one from Victorian England and one from contemporary America First is Samuel coleridge-taylor the son of a British lady in a physician from Sierra Leone trained in England where he was born in 1875 Coleridge Taylor became a celebrity while still a student in 1898. He said hiawatha's wedding Feast to the text of Longfellow in the same year coleridge-taylor combined an interest in spirituals and fascination with Africa. The result was his composition the African Suite Opus 35 In this work, the composer Express is a kind of nostalgia for his own culture. Although he had never properly experienced it and knew almost nothing about African music. The result is sincere is not authentic the Fourth Movement which closes the suite is the Danse Negra in which we are offered to themes the first might remind one of a sprightly dance tune from a Southern plantation while the second is not a lullaby offers contrast By Its broad lyricism the dogs Negra from the African Suite by Samuel coleridge-taylor is being performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Julius, rudel. Josh neighbor on Samuel coleridge-taylor performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic conducted by music director Julius rudel Through the years the concert hall has seen outstanding black performers one such artists as soloist William Warfield was performed music from eight centuries. He secured his early same in Showboat Porgy and Bess and soon after in Handel's Messiah. His Fame has been International years old starting to piano. And by the time I was sixteen years old, I started singing in junior high school just in the course isn't things like that and that got in the music society's and various things and one day ended up singing and in the assembly program my First Assembly program in high school and it was I remember doing it with Deep River burleigh's Deep River in D flat and then one thing led to the next studied voice in public schools. And when I was 18, I want a scholarship to the Eastman School of Music and then I began at the What time RN before you even working towards what I felt it would be a teaching or a career and a concert career, but I didn't have any aspirations for Opera because Opera was just not open to blacks and so I started learning a lot of languages because I wanted to do leader in French and Italian song Arias. I started to learn all the oratory. I could like the Messiah and Elijah Bach Handel and all of the light at oratorio works and that's what I specialized in lung with that. Of course. I learned Opera Arias and was was in the Opera Department these from school and has holes and so on so forth. So after About night in 1950 after knocking around about 4 years in New York. I finally got a chance to get my have my town hall debut and that started things are rolling and since then I've been doing just that recitals Castro appearances oratorio. That's my forte. I've gotten into Opera bit here and there and then a few rows and of course, I've done several performances a very Toppers in concert version, but I've not been that have not been my main thrust. She still take it from me as it was a very very important part of my background. I was raised on to my sign them in church or my folks saying I'm at home all the time grandmother and both on both sides of the family. I have spirituals that they've sent to me that the option still not seeing written and many times for it since even the spirituals that have been transcribed or put down. I alter the version of them and make him a little more. I think because I've heard of heard my grandmother sing them in the end. So little turns into a sore a little melismas and things like that, which I know can be done. I just go on and do them in them. The spiritual itself has not reached a point of sort of a ranged version. That's almost like an art song approaching. If you look at their these spirituals of Hall Johnson friend, since you find a very pianistic, they're very much geared for reaching a climax and but it said it becomes very sophisticated writing at this point. Call ho ho ho ho. William Warfield We have already indicated there exists a legacy of 400 years of music by black composers. What about black instrumentalist and vocalist in her book the music of black Americans. Dr. Eileen Southern Trace has the rich history of Afro-American performers many of the slaves and free people in this country were accomplished performers much sought after by White Society for their dances and social events and they were outstanding virtual Souls from other countries as well including Jose White Lafitte from Cuba and the Chevalier de saint-georges from Guadalupe about whom we shall hear more later both of whom were violinist of great historical importance. But when coloriage Taylor visited Washington despite the presence then of a music school for black students, it was no Orchestra of black performers available to him. His instrumentalist were secured from the US Marine Band. While I'm just an instrumental training for concert music continued in Atlanta New York and a few other centers. Many players is firing for employment in the orchestra's were discouraged from such Ambitions by the social problems. They would have faced and Jazz became the Richer but we're now faced with what let us hope appears to be only a temporary shortage of violinist oboist violist and trombonist. It would appear that there are not enough to go around to satisfy the interest or obligations of our national orchestras, or is it did those who hire players for the orchestra's have no particular interest in engaging more than one or two black instrumentalist if any NPR's Laura Walker explorers this question with our soloist William Warfield group fun playing in this country that I'm not really being used by a lot of the major symphony orchestras and they always speak from the Stanford. Well, we don't need anything. We don't need strings are we don't need this. We don't need that play. We don't need that and they audition when they do and we just respect that. Sometimes that the people that they audition or not that is good and they will they will accept other people that was a big round New York a couple years ago and what they are cute and evening your car should be having a tokenism day. They print since it was like when everything came out they hired one and then since then I mean nobody you know, and then do you say well you mean to tell me that out of all the turnover in the orchestra? I mean not set. Then you've not found one other black person to play in of course that's ridiculous that they would we'd be and so therefore people have to bring that to the attention of the orchestra conductors the orchestra board and things like that. And then and it's a continual fight in orchestras around the country. The situation is the same today a few organizations are beginning to recruit black musicians, but that effort is not a major one executive directors of the Buffalo Philharmonic Ruth Spiro and Michael bielski spoke with NPR's Laura Walker about how they are addressing the problem. We have tried to find black musicians and have come very close to it on two or three occasions when they decided to go to communities in in the South rather than being Buffalo. About four or five months ago. I appeared on a panel sponsored by the American Symphony Orchestra League to discuss what some of the problems are in terms of finding qualified black musicians and the black musician finding a job in a major Symphony Orchestra. And out of that came a plan that Michael and I developed and a proposal for funding we believe is very unique. I know that the National Endowment for the Arts is going to be awarding us a grant to be able to do this, but we need a great deal of money. Basically. The program is one in which we will recruit nationally black musicians who has completed their music education, but have no Entre to a major Symphony Orchestra and there will be two weeks set aside where we will use half of the orchestra and they will fill in the other half and they will have experiences. They'll have master classes workshops even to the discussion with the problem of how do you move into a community if you're fortunate enough to get into a major or Regional Orchestra into committee where there are no support system social support system. There will be two concerts with a full Orchestra as well as chamber concerts. And one of those concerts will serve as a showcase and we will invite all the major Symphony Orchestra executive directors managers and music directors to come and hear the town and once and for all we will lay to rest if we're successful the question. Where are they are there in D black musicians who are trained and ready to play in a major Symphony Orchestra executive director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Ruth Spiro. So fantastic a figure was a Chevalier de saint-georges as one commentator noted had he not actually lived he would have been invented by Damar as it happens. The father of Dumas served under Saint George and the first all-black regiment in the French army. Any one or all of the fictional Three Musketeers may have been patterned after Saint George. He was the champion fencer of all of Europe excelling also in swimming boxing skating and dancing but this native of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe where he was born in 1739 was a major figure in French music as a violinist. He greatly expanded the instruments range and Technical latitude Paving the way for the parade of nineteenth-century virtual cells as composer. He was one of France's first to write string quartets and he anticipated both Mozart and Beethoven in the creation of violin sonatas, which would not merely keyboard sonatas with violin accompaniment. As conductor he attracted the attention of Mozart and in fact would have been appointed conductor of the Paris Opera had three ladies of the company not express the feeling to Queen Marie Antoinette that they felt it would be indelicate for them to take orders from a man of color. In addition to concertos Symphony concert Aunt string quartet and songs Saint George tried his hand often at Opera composition during this. The Opera Overture was sometimes performed as an independent work then called a symphony the Overture to his Opera La Montana name is a case in point following the Italian practice. It consists of three movements fast-slow-fast the initial movement is a full-blown Sonata form with two contrasting themes of development section and a restatement of the original material. The second movement is a somewhat Melancholy three-part serenade set for Strings alone, which leaves without pause into the spirited Rondo finale where in the strings are we joined by the pairs of oboes and horns the work we here now from 1779 is by the first black symphonist amuse. History the Chevalier de saint-georges and may be cited either as the Overture to his opera or as it is also known the second Symphony Opus 11 number 2 in D Major. Symphony Number 2 by the Chevalier de saint-georges performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Julius, rudel. The next work Contours by Hale Smith will be led by guest conductor Michael Morgan the 23 year old young black man has won wide Acclaim for his conducting achievements NPR's Jacqueline. Tally spoke with mr. Morgan about the special challenges. He faces as a young conductor the fact that I'm the youngest person on stage when I go out there that alone is is something of a challenge but in the case of orchestras like is especially here in Buffalo and at the st. Louis Symphony, the orchestra's are extremely supportive because I don't know I supposed to say. There's a feeling that that that if you have a young conductor who might turn out to be a good conductor, then orchestras are very encouraging and because they want good conductors just as much as we want to be good conductors. I certainly see why that many of my colleagues young colleagues want to live in Europe want to conduct in Europe and I am certainly understand that but it is my preference really to be an American conductor in America if that's possible. And so I want to build a career here. Just as it is difficult to select a handful of Works, which might illustrate the wide range of black music Styles. It is not easy to suggest any single work as characteristic of Hale Smith born in Cleveland Smith has posed problems for those seeking a label for his music his work with such figures as Dizzy Gillespie Eric dolphy Quincy Jones Ahmad Jamal and Oliver Nelson Has reinforced his own experiences in jazz his interest in having good music for educational purposes is let him to write for the concert band and the younger Pianist on commission. He has turned his hand to the arrangement of spirituals and hymns luxuriantly orchestrated in 1980 on the request of the institute for research in Black American Music at Fisk University. He said his own richly charge text in the composition of the cycle meditations in Passage. Several of his Works have titles suggestive of motion and shape such a somersault expansions and the next work. We shall hear Contours which he offered in memory of two friends Clarence Cameron, white and Wallingford riegger and Contours as in several of his other works Smith employs the twelve-tone technique, but as he Wills not as it will the germinal formula he established arranges the 12 pictures of the chromatic scale so that the second half is an inversion of the first part. It is a tripartite work with the outer sections using the same material but in totally different settings NPR's Fred Collins spoke with the composer about the creation of the work early because I had been commissioned by broadcast music Incorporated in this was part of the 20th anniversary celebration and they asked when he composes To write orchestral Works in that 20 included like Aaron screnock. I believe got to show her the Roy Harris the number of people like that and I was really going through that. That they call a New York paying the dues meaning that I was broke. And the first thing I did was to get a piece of manuscript paper just to sit at the desk and to start writing something fast and I stopped after a few measures because my initial idea was to get that thing finished as fast as I could get that money and then I stopped and I said you fool. This might be the biggest thing that ever happened to you and your life and I stopped and I put myself in the Woodshed and I took my time and thinking I asked for a whole year. I didn't do any writing. I just was purifying their self cuz I've been doing a lot of arranging and commercial stuff around the city and I just wanted to get all of that out of my system. And when I finally sat down to do the pizza It Was Written in about 2 months. My usual procedure is to just sit down and to start writing. Almost without thinking I use the term that is automatic writing is a comparison. But after I get a certain number of measures ranging anything from 6 to 25 or something like that, I stopped. And then I dissect what I've written. I separate the rhythmic elements put them on a sheet of paper what I would call being old-fashioned the melodic ailments put them on a separate sheet of paper and being even more old-fashioned what I would call the harmonic elements and then I just isolate these things and study them separately and then I make comparative analysis between the various ideas that I find there and I've discovered that even if that Elementary level for a preliminary level is more like it that there is a very high degree of motiva community it that I find these ideas coming naturally to think in these terms that have been connected so much was artificiality and serialism in that these motiva Kai Diaz with the core ideas tend to show up whether either with a Be in the ordinary form so they would be an inversion and in retrograde inversion and sometimes in augmentation and sometimes we diminution things they're already and in that sense. I say the composition for me is an active Discovery rather than decision. Continents. He Will Smith. It is performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of guest conductor. Michael Morgan. I would prefer it whenever possible my work being programmed along with the established Masters and as to which individual pieces it wouldn't matter to me, but you know, whether its Contours or any other piece of mind, I enjoy the idea of appearing on a program with Bach or Mozart Beethoven Vagner. Any of those is the idea of me being restricted simply to 20th century or let's say my peers or even more restrictive to Black composers is He's a really important to me because I think that the piece or anything I write should be able to hold its own. Long side the establish Masters and if it can't maybe it shouldn't be programmed to talk to Smith recognizes the need for music by blacks to be played in concert Halls play Sade established organizations have an obligation to play this music if it's a good music and I happened really to think that certain black composers these days are writing some of the most viable music being written today. I think that the certain work 6 a.m. George Walker or Ulysses k&o out Acosta and I can keep going on. I deserve to be played by the major performers. It was no special attention being paid to the sources of there are but at the same time there is that problem that if it weren't for those things a pieces wouldn't be hurt at all very often. Four black classical musicians the concert hall history has been a long one from the time of Samuel coleridge-taylor and before to the present black musical masterpieces have been created whether or not they are performed regularly is another question altogether. Black classic musical masterpieces was produced and directed by Judy Moore Smith of engineering assistant by Paul Blakemore and Renee Pringle. The program was based on a celebration of the black experience in music and song written by Dominic Grenada Lerma produced by Jeff Mill executive producer for black classic musical masterpieces was Frank Tavares associate producer Donna Limerick funds for the program were provided by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This is NPR National Public Radio.